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Beyond the Prompt: Agentic AI for Print Professionals
Effective implementation of Artificial intelligence in the Print and Packaging sectors must move past one-off chat tools and into practical, measurable, integrated improvements both on the shop floor and the office. This webinar introduces agentic AI as a way to give “job descriptions” to AI systems and connect them through to your own production data, tools, and workflows. We will explore what data-sovereign AI means in a Canadian context, why it matters for printers and print buyers, and how Ontario print businesses can begin experimenting with private, role-based AI agents to help augment common tasks such as estimating, prepress, customer service, and production decision-making. The session will blend real examples with industry perspectives on infrastructure, standards, and implementation.
About Christopher Smyth, MBA
Christopher Smyth is an Associate Professor with Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Graphic Communications Management. He is active with leading industry organisations, including Idealliance, and serves as a member of Canada’s TC 130 group for the development of ISO standards. Christopher brings extensive experience in commercial and retail communications, as well as magazine printing and publishing. His academic and professional focus centres on automation and process improvement, content management, and the use of standards and specifications to improve quality, efficiency, and consistency across print production workflows.
About Lee Eldridge
Lee Eldridge is a Researcher and Educator in the Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he works with the graphic communications, creative industries and Media & Design Innovation programs. His research and teaching focus on how AI tools, automation, and data infrastructures are changing creative and print-related work, with a particular emphasis on practical adoption in small and medium enterprises. Lee is actively involved as a Director of the Ontario Printing and Imaging Association and collaborates with industry partners on projects that link academic research to day-to-day production, workforce training, and technology decision-making in the print and packaging sectors.