The theme of the print industry's 5th Dehnberger Forum was "A new screenplay for success". Love story, action thriller, comedy? The 2010 event, held in the "Hoftheater" (court theater) in the town of Lauf, near Nuremberg, once again featured diverse perspectives, openness, and candor, as well as a broad range of topics.

For many executives of printing companies and publishing houses, as well as industry experts, all totaling approximately 100, the Dehnberger Forum is an annual "must". Organized by Frey printcom and manroland, representatives from newspaper publishers, printing companies, new media and mechanical engineers addressed overarching conceptual impulses for the future of companies, the industry, and society. Directed by speaker and moderator Michael Dömer, the speakers tackled the topic of changing markets and the resulting challenges.

Dr. Werner Schumacher, Managing Director of Bechtle Druck and the Esslinger Zeitung, explained how his newspaper has integrated new media into its business model. At the Esslinger Zeitung, user-generated content is used for editorial purposes. This was likely to have caught the attention of Professor Klemens Skibicki. The academic director of the Deutsches Institut für Kommunikation und Recht (German Institute for Communication and Law) in Cologne spoke of the effects of social media on the use of media and advertising. His speech "Facebook, Twitter & Co: Nightmare or Opportunity for the Printing Industry?" focused on the challenge of obtaining the interest and loyalty of younger target groups. Bernd Rose, Chairman of the Board at Schlott AG, conveyed a clear message of optimism, despite all challenges, and spoke of market changes in gravure printing and the difficulty of predicting investment needs. Customer consulting and fulfilling investment wishes is the task of the press manufacturer.

Gerd Finkbeiner, Chairman of the Board at manroland AG, went beyond technological considerations to address how to achieve a common future for the printing industry in a multi-channel era. Two central statements emerged in the speech "Networking the future". First, despite the widespread discussion surrounding surplus capacities, technological progress is indispensable for a strong printing industry. And second, the industry must continue to seek solidarity and strengthen its lobby. This will result in numerous output channels for information in the future and print should remain a strong contender.