The Fogra Colour Management Symposium (CMS) is taking place for the 10th time–with a fresh concept and a strong line-up of speakers. On 25 and 26 February 2026, the international color management community will meet at the Holiday Inn Munich City Centre.
Under the motto ‘Matching Colour–Matching People,’ the focus will be on practical relevance, exchange, and innovation. In addition to 16 exhibitors, the event will feature 21 presentations. Only users will share their experiences, challenges, and solutions–straight from the field and highly relevant to daily professional practice. The program includes best cases, exclusive insights into real workflows, and, as a special highlight, a live AI battle on stage.
Hands-on and future-oriented
‘The 2026 symposium shows how relevant colour management remains in a digitalised and automated production world,’ explains Andreas Kraushaar, Fogra head of prepress. ‘We want to present participants with practical solutions that further develop standards while ensuring direct application relevance.’
The topics cover the entire spectrum of modern color management: from dealing with customer expectations in the digital age to colour management in packaging printing and proofing, colour consistency for complex materials in industrial printing, and high dynamic range (HDR) in printing technology.
In the AI Battle, human expertise and AI supported design compete. The audience decides who delivers the better visual result under real conditions, thus experiencing the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence in a practical test.
A strong network for the industry
‘Speakers, exhibitors and sponsors play a key role in making the symposium a place of exchange and innovation,’ emphasises Eduard Neufeld, Fogra Institute and managing director. ‘The presentations promote knowledge transfer, and the numerous breaks, when the CMS exhibition is open to visitors, create opportunities for dialogue between researchers, industry and users.’
At CMS 2026, attendees can find inspiration as printing and media industry experts share their experiences and best practices, showcase new trends and technologies, and demonstrate practical examples for everyday work. Around 200 industry colleagues from all over the world will meet to exchange ideas, maintain existing contacts or make new ones–an ideal opportunity to expand their professional network in a targeted manner.
CMS exhibition: Hands-on expertise
In addition to the presentations, CMS 2026 will be accompanied by an exhibition that offers even more value. A total of 16 renowned exhibitors will be presenting practical solutions and innovative technologies. This time, the exhibitors include Barbieri, BenQ, CGS Oris, Color Consulting, Smart Factory by Durst, Eizo, Esko, GMG, Hybrid Software, IQIP, Just Normlicht, Konica Minolta, Spectra Proof, datacolor Techkon, and X-Rite.
During breaks, participants can experience live demonstrations, test products firsthand, and talk directly to solution specialists.
Anniversary get-together and keynote
CMS will take place for the 10th time in 2026–a good reason to celebrate. In a relaxed atmosphere, participants can round off the first day with a dinner featuring regional delicacies, providing the ideal setting for informal networking, casual conversations, and exchanges among participants. The Bavarian Evening also includes another highlight, the keynote speech by Alexandra Gerhardy, CEO of Muster-Schmidt. As the driving force behind many of today’s most influential colour fans and colour charts, she brings unparalleled expertise to the industry. At CMS 2026, she will take participants on a journey through 100 years of colour standards–past, present and future.
Save by attending together
Those who attend the Colour Management Symposium 2026 together with colleagues will benefit from an attractive team discount. This not only allows teams to save money but also to experience the symposium together and discuss new ideas with each other. Fogra members also receive a discount on the ticket price.
