What role will robotics play in the printing industry?

Enes Ciritci, co-founder of Lunes Robotics, will close this year’s Online Print Summit with a strong statement and bring the topic of robotics to the main OPS stage. As an engineer, entrepreneur, and technology visionary, he has spent years exploring how industrial automation must be rethought when software, AI, and robotics converge.

In his presentation, Ciritci connects the evolution from traditional automation to humanoid robotic systems that are flexible, scalable, and economically viable. The focus is on concrete transformation paths and their impact on production processes, work models, and industrial value creation. The topic will be explored in greater depth in an additional C-Level Classroom.

Special offering for C-level executives

With the C-Level Classrooms, Online Print Summit 2026 deliberately creates spaces for strategic peer-to-peer exchange. The sessions are aimed at decision-makers who want to view operational challenges within the broader context of technology, organization, scalability, and future readiness.

Humanoid robotics: From experiment to industrial reality

One of the C-Level Classrooms will be led by Stefan Lutz, who co-founded Lunes Robotics together with Enes Ciritci and has been working for years on the next stage of industrial transformation. The trained robotics engineer focuses on software solutions that enable humanoid robots to operate reliably in real industrial environments, not as a vision, but as an economically sustainable model.

In his C-Level Classroom at OPS 2026, Lutz will demonstrate how software, Robot-as-a-Service approaches, and scaling strategies must interact for robotics to become part of everyday industrial practice. The emphasis is less on spectacular demonstrations and more on integration, reliability, and economic viability.

Using chatbots strategically: From support to GEO

Another C-Level Classroom will be led by French web-to-print expert Ludovic Martin, who will also speak on the main OPS stage. Under the title “From Support Tool to SEO Asset: The 7-Step Chatbot Framework,” Martin shows how chatbots can evolve from pure support tools into strategic assets with relevance for UX, SEO, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

The focus is not on individual tools, but on a structured framework: from interdisciplinary collaboration between marketing, IT, and sales to building a robust knowledge base according to the RAG principle and extending to governance and security mechanisms for long-term operation and documentation.

When speed and flexibility determine competitiveness

In another C-Level Classroom, Thomas Karcher, Managing Director of the Karlsruhe-based print company Butz & Bürker, addresses the practical side of modern automation. Karcher is one of the most visible practitioners in the printing industry and openly documents the transformation of his company on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.

Under the title “Automation in Practice: 10x Faster Solutions through No-Code in the Printing Industry,” Karcher will show how no-code platforms and AI are dissolving the classic “build-or-buy” logic. The focus is not an either-or decision but an intelligent combination: external standard software, internal systems, and custom extensions are seamlessly connected through no-code workflows. His C-Level Classroom is a plea for a cooperative IT landscape. Using real projects, he explains how development times can be significantly shortened and why openness, transparency, and cooperation will become strategic success factors in the future.

Standards: An invisible scaling factor

Dr. Rainer Prosi, Chief Technology Officer of CIP4 and one of the key figures behind JDF, XJDF, and other industry standards, will highlight the importance of standards in another C-Level Classroom. In his session “CIP4 – Benefits of Standards for Scalable Online Print,” he calls for standards to be understood not as a technical obligation, but as an economic lever for scaling in online print.

At the OPS, he will demonstrate how standardized data models and interfaces help reduce complexity, lower interface costs, and make processes more robust. Among the central themes are the connection between product descriptions and production processes, transparent real-time shopfloor data, and automated job exchange between systems and partners.

Understanding EU regulation and identifying room for action

The C-Level Classrooms are completed by a session from Beatrice Klose, Secretary General of Intergraf. In her session, she provides a practical overview of how EU policy is shaped, which regulatory developments are relevant to the printing industry, and how companies can respond early to new requirements.

Using concrete examples of current legislative processes, she demonstrates why strategic policy monitoring and early engagement are crucial to avoiding regulatory surprises and safeguarding competitiveness in the long term.

At Online Print Summit 2026, discussions become concrete

“With the C-Level Classrooms, we are creating formats in which strategic questions are not discussed in abstract terms, but discussed in concrete terms,” says Bernd Zipper, founder of zipcon consulting and co-organizer of the Online Print Summit. “Automation, robotics, or standards can only prove their value when decision-makers understand their consequences for business models, organization, and collaboration. That is exactly the framework the Online Print Summit provides.”

Jens Meyer, Managing Director of Verband Druck und Medien Beratung GmbH and co-organizer of OPS, also emphasizes the added value of the new formats: “The Online Print Summit does not just scratch the surface, it stands for depth. With the C-Level Classrooms, the new Executive Briefings, and the strong presentations on the OPS main stage, we provide participants with concrete food for thought for their strategic work.”

Change of perspective: Talking to the next generation

Another new feature is the role that print engineer, minigolf world champion, and speaker Sarah Schumacher takes on at the OPS conference. As co-host, she accompanies the presentation program and brings in the perspective of the next generation. She represents dialogue between established decision-makers and a generation that sees transformation as an opportunity for new thinking and entrepreneurial mindset.

Schumacher studied Print and Media Technology at Stuttgart Media University, gained practical experience at Tetra Pak, and is currently specializing in entrepreneurship and innovation at Lund University in Sweden.

Her focus lies on the question of how innovation can be fostered in historically grown structures, not only technically, but also culturally. For this fresh perspective, Sarah Schumacher received the Druck & Medien Award in 2022 as part of the Student Group of the Year and the Intergraf Young Talent Award in 2025.

Secure your OPS tickets now

Anyone who wants to experience the new formats and the new event concept live should act quickly. Online Print Summit 2026 takes place on 12-13 March at the Alte Kongresshalle in Munich. Tickets are available via the website www.online-print-summit.com. With their ticket, participants also gain access to the OPS community and can register early for the C-Level Classrooms and Executive Briefings.

The organisers

zipcon consulting GmbH is a global consulting company for the communications, print and media industry with a focus on online print and digital transformation. The company sees itself as an independent and comprehensive technology and strategy consultant. zipcon also produces market studies and various case studies for e-business print, mass customization and multichannel publishing. Leading companies in the online print industry rely on the expertise of this company. www.zipcon.de

Verband Druck und Medien Beratung GmbH is the consulting company of the Printing and Media Associations. With in-depth industry expertise in management, controlling, environmental issues, sustainability, as well as production and processes, it supports the industry and positions itself as a driver of innovation and business success. Backed by the regional associations and the German Printing and Media Industries Federation, it consolidates expertise and future perspectives for the industry under the umbrella brand “Verband Druck und Medien.” www.vdm-beratung.de