From the World Wide Web to cloud services: Technological developments in recent decades have fundamentally changed industry and business – and with them the work and processes in print shops. However, one small tool, or rather file format, is often overlooked in the list – even though data exchange in general and online printing in particular would not work as we know it today.
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The time will soon come: the Online Print Symposium will take place on 23 and 24 March 2023. On these days, the Science Congress Center Munich will become the place-to-be for online print. For 10 years now, the Online Print Symposium has been an integral part of the industry and a must for all those who want to keep their finger on the pulse.
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Today I’m writing on my own behalf, as (chief) accomplice, strategy consultant and friend of Max Spies. The order doesn’t quite match the chronology of our life together, but I’ll get to that now. Don’t worry, all is well in the end. I’ll gladly tell you how the story with Max and I began. After completing his training and working in the printing industry for several years, he became an editor at Deutscher Drucker. That was back in 1999 and the millennium year was just around the corner.
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The 10th Online Print Symposium will take place on 23 and 24 March 2023 at the Science Congress Center Munich. We have come up with some highlights and surprises for the celebration event. The motto “Empowering the Future of Print” characterises the programme of this year’s Online Print Symposium: the strengthening and growth of online print.
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After a brief breather, prices in online print picked up again in the fourth quarter of 2022. According to the current ZOPI – the Zipcon Online Print Price Index – in the fourth quarter of 2022, new highs were reached in November of last year, followed by only a slight decline in December. Looking at the details, however, there have also been downward outliers, at least for flyers.
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2022 was a mixed year for the online print industry: the war in Ukraine, the paper crisis, price increases for energy and consumables and the increasing shortage of skilled workers caused problems for many companies. Nevertheless, good profits were achieved in some areas. What will happen in 2023? The Initiative Online Print e.V. (IOP) is optimistic about the future.
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Who would have thought a year ago that 2022 would be a year in which everything changes in such a brutal way? All the more reason for us to wish you a quiet and, above all, peaceful Christmas, happy holidays with your loved ones and plenty of renewed energy for the start of the new year. The past year was dominated by the war in Ukraine and all the consequences that this has also had for us.
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Even though the past year has shown how interwoven – and thus vulnerable – the markets and their players are, print shops can look to the new year with a certain degree of confidence. Certainly those who have taken the volatility of recent years as an opportunity to align their structures and processes with this “new normal” – and see not only challenges but also opportunities in the trends. What will influence the online print world in 2023?
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Digital commerce without social media? There really is no such thing anymore. Companies that sell their products online have long understood the importance of Facebook, Instagram and the like as advertising channels and incentives to buy: “Social selling” (or social shopping) is a marketing must.
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Anyone looking for individual posters, (large-format) wall decorations or iconic images on the internet will sooner or later end up at myposter or one of the brands belonging to the group. How the founders managed to make the myposter brand so successful – and keep it successful – is what the new episode of Zippers Insights is all about.
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