A record of over 90 participants coming from 18 countries joined the latest edition of the Print Matters for the Future conference that took place on 20 May 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden. This year the conference was organised by Intergraf and NOPA.

The printing industry is facing severe challenges and, in this event, participants including national printing associations, printers, suppliers to the industry, and high-level speakers coming from all over Europe, finally had the opportunity to meet again in person and share their views on the latest developments and the future of the industry. Each year in late spring, Intergraf organises the ‘Print Matters for the Future’ conference focusing on different aspects of the industry and presenting the most relevant topics to the printing industry.

The event was moderated by Ulrich Stetter, President of Intergraf and Managing Director of Druckhaus Mainfranken GmbH, and Håvard Grjotheim, Vice President of NOPA and Chairman of Scandbook Holding AB.

The conference kicked off with the presentation on the European graphic paper outlook by Alejandro Mata Lopez, Director Europe packaging and graphic paper of Fastmarkets RISI, who explained the current situation of paper supply and considered that the current recovery could be a bubble that is about to burst.

Nick Rudikoff, Campaigns Director of UNI Global Union, analysed the giant Amazon explaining that it is the most prominent and disruptive corporation of our time. There are few parts of the global economy that Amazon does not touch. Amazon is now also into packaging, printing and publishing and may create further disruptions in the industry.

Simon Biltcliffe, Managing Director of Webmart, presented how he runs his print management company putting employees at the core of the company strategy.

In her presentation, Maria Johansen, Senior Strategist at Subscribed Strategy Group of Zuora, spoke about how subscription strategies can apply to print.

Eduard Quintana, President of Traycco and Member of the Board of the European Letterbox Marketing Association, explained how to make doordrops work stating that one of the strengths is that doordrops are GDPR-compliant in a context where it will be increasingly difficult to use data.

Helen Smith, Head of Marketing at Precision Proco Group, presented how her company has coupled employee’s engagement with sustainability.

Alexander Even Henriksen, CEO of Bonnier Norsk Forlag, showed in his presentation how printed books have been resilient to disruptions.

Sarah Price, Director Sustainability at Sappi Europe, highlighted how the paper industry is preparing to meet carbon neutrality by 2050, while also looking at securing biodiversity.

Grakom representative, Carsten Bøg, explained how printers can reduce and promote their carbon footprint while avoiding greenwashing. He reported on the Intergraf Roadmap which helps printers prioritising carbon reduction over compensation.

Finally, Intergraf Young Talent Award first-prize winner 2022, Tom Maskill, spoke about print in a circular economy and how printing companies should assess, mitigate, offset and then communicate about carbon footprint.

The next Print Matters for the Future will take place on 9 June 2023 in Riga, Latvia.