'Green' publishing focus for Salzburg print summit

WAN-Ifra will devote a large part of its Printing Summit 2010 in Salzburg next month to the issue of ‘green’ publishing and how to adapt business needs to environmental concerns. In cooperation with the international research association IARIGAI – which groups 50 scientific institutes from around the world – nearly a full day of the two-day event (April 14-15) will be devoted to environmental concerns. "Customers are asking publishers and printers to ensure that their production does not harm the environment, and the industry is responding with rapid and sustainable solutions," said Manfred Werfel, deputy CEO and executive director newspaper production at WAN-Ifra. "It is in our best interests to do so; not only for the environment, but for the cost reductions that green publishing ultimately carries," he says. "Together with IARIGAI, we've assembled a programme that showcases new knowledge and environmental strategies from international research institutes and publishing and printing companies." The World Print Summit will also cover all other important issues of concern: product innovation, cost reduction, new business models, investment alternatives, technological advances and, perhaps most importantly, the ingenuity being brought to the printed press, which continue to provide the majority of newspaper revenues despite digital developments. Full details can be found at www.wan-ifra.org/printingsummit2010 Keynote addresses will be made by Lee Huebner, professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University and former CEO and publisher of the ‘International Herald Tribune’, and Rick Stunt, group paper director for Associated Newspapers in the United Kingdom. The sessions on environmental issues will include: - "Going Green", a survey of what newspaper companies world-wide are doing to reduce their carbon footprint, recycle paper, run 'clean' operations and reduce costs at the same time, by Martha Stone, director of the WAN-Ifra Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project, which identifies, analyses and publicises all important breakthroughs and opportunities that can benefit newspapers all over the world. - An array of presentations on how newspaper companies can best assess and reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impacts. Speakers include: Ronald Weidel, who runs the Sustainability in Newspaper Production project at University of Applied Sciences in Leipzig; Beatrice Klose, secretary general of INTERGRAF, International Confederation for Printing and Allied Industries; Åsa Moberg, a researcher, at Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm; and Hanna Pihkola, a sustainability research scientist at the Technical Research Centre of Finland. - A session on future possibilities that will include a presentation on improving the recyclability of graphic paper products, by Hans-Joachim Putz, chair of paper technology and mechanical process engineering at the Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany. Other programme highlights include: - How to sell your printing capabilities, by Michael Hack, marketing consultant at Marketing für Druckereien in Germany; - New Revenue Avenues, by R.D. Bhatnagar, chief technology officer for Bhaskar Group, DB Corp Ltd. in India; - Design: Ten ideas to save your newspaper, by Jacek Utko, design director for Bonnier Business Press International in Poland; - Niiu - a digitally printed product with user-selected content, by Steve Stein, chief technology officer at Interti in Germany; - Investing for the future of the newspaper - the evaluation and prospect of the format change from broadsheet to berliner after one year, by TackWhan Kim, director of the Multimedialab at JoongAng Ilbo in South Korea; - Optimising newsprint and complex processing to create new products in the newspaper enterprise, by Schamsulhak Ibrahimi, head of plant management, quality assurance, technical purchase, at OÖN Printing Press Center, Austria; - Continuous improvement process in production, by Markus Zentner, director of printing plants and purchasing department at Mediaprint Zeitungs- u Zeitschriftenverlag in Austria; - Zero web breaks - minimising web breaks and running costs, by Rikio Yuda, deputy general manager at the production bureau, Kumamoto Nichi-Nichi in Japan; - Closed loop colour control, by Thomas Drensek, printing plant general manager at Axel Springer in Germany; - QC through colour density control, by Mr. Wakamatsu an engineer in the production department at Yomiuri Shimbun in Japan; - Augmented reality, by Lars Wienand, Social Media, and Joachim Türk, chief editor, at Rhein-Zeitung in Germany. - A panel discussion on the future of newspaper printing featuring Niko Ruokosuo, chief operating officer of Saudi Special Publishing Holding Company in Saudi Arabia; Harald Knabl, managing director of NÖ Pressehaus in Austria; and Mr Huebner, Mr Kim and Mr Stunt. The event, designed for publishers, editors, printing managers and production directors, will be held at the modern conference centre at the Salzburger Nachrichten and will include visits to the newspaper's printing plant and newsroom. Salzburg, one of central Europe's most beautiful and visited cities, is famous for a musical heritage that includes Mozart, the Salzburg Festival and The Sound of Music. More on the city can be found at http://www.salzburg.info/de/