Print’s pivot to proximity signals opportunity, says P Sajith

"The foundations laid within a few kilometres of childhood matter for how businesses are run later in life," P Sajith, managing director at Impel Services (Bindwel-Stelda Group), told the Kerala printers at the Print & Beyond 2026 seminar in Kochi, as he opened a keynote that linked personal roots to the strategic future of print. For Sajith, the origin story is not sentimental; it is directional. He pressed the point that values learned close to home, such as sincerity and consistency, determine whether distance becomes an opportunity or a liability.

Armed with anecdotes from his upbringing and hard industry data, Sajith sketched a road map for printers who must decide what to keep local and what can still travel.

"India prints roughly two-and-a-half-billion textbooks every year," he said, "and that volume combined with the ability to execute complex finishing gives Indian printers a durable advantage in education publishing and other specialist fields." That combination of scale and capability is at the heart of his argument that India can capture higher value even as supply chains shorten.

Sajith explained that distance impacts different print products in fundamentally different ways. "Corrugated cartons typically operate within a 200-km radius because the cost and logistics of moving finished boxes are prohibitive," he said. "Pharmaceutical leaflets and packaging can cross oceans when approvals and trust exist. Trust travels faster than anything in pharma."  He added that books will travel when publishers can extract extra value from complexity. "I know publishers who raised the per-unit value from about two dollars to nine dollars by adding complex finishes and bespoke features," he said.

The rise of digital printing has altered economics and buyer behaviour. "Authors and small publishers can now order runs like 126 or 221 copies, and that changes the economics completely," Sajith said. He described how shorter runs tailored to actual classroom sizes have become normal and how that reduces inventory and increases relevance. Coupled with a renewed preference for physical reading in educational settings, he argued that print has regained a compelling commercial rationale. "Parents and schools are rediscovering that physical books improve focus while screens distract," he said, pointing to device restrictions in some countries and growing parental concern.

Beyond changes in demand, Sajith framed deglobalisation as a practical reset for manufacturing and sourcing. "As supply chains shorten, manufacturers are asking whether critical inputs can be sourced in India," he said. "If India builds capacity in packaging substrates and allied industries, we can capture higher value as finished goods exports expand." He cited the example of smartphone manufacturing, where localised production has created demand for boxes, stationery and related printed materials, urging printers to see finished goods exports as a more durable route to value than standalone job work.

Sajith was unequivocal about what bigger presses and more land will not fix on their own. "We have invested heavily in land and presses," he said, "but customers do not buy machines. They buy reliability, clarity and support." He called for a shift in investment from assets to people, systems and research and development. He urged print shops to professionalise the customer journey to match the clarity offered by service industries. "Make printing as simple as taking a home loan from a bank," he said. "Customers should not need to understand grain direction, GSM, and colour theory, just to place an order."

Operational rigour and transparent experimentation are central to Sajith's prescription. "We need labs, systematic testing of substrates, and inks documented experiments; and even a library of failures," he said. For him, visible R&D and realistic sampling reduce buyer anxiety and create pricing power. "A single well-made sample copy allows a buyer to see, touch, and test before committing to a long-run," he said, "That reduces anxiety, avoids surprises and builds long-term relationships."

Technology also reshapes relationships across the value chain. Sajith recounted a binder who, after investing in automation, moved from waiting in a corridor to being treated as a partner by publishers. "Technology can change status, not just output," he said, and he emphasised that elevating small suppliers creates durable bonds that outlast price wars.

The strategic edge will come from focus, not from breadth. "Real differentiation in print will not come from owning one more machine but from clarity about what you do best, where you can deliver consistently and what problems you solve for your customers," Sajith said. "Too many choices create confusion. Focus creates value." He urged printers to attend startup and technology forums where new demand and business models are formed. "Printers are often invisible when new ideas are being born," he said, "and yet print touches every industry. We should show up where customers and innovators meet."

Sajith boiled the competitive future down to intelligent proximity. "Files can travel thousands of kilometres in seconds, but printed products will increasingly be produced within short radii to meet quick-commerce and same-day needs," he said. "Winners will be those who choose the right radius, understand their customers, and excel consistently there, rather than trying to be everything to everyone." For him, hyperlocalisation is not a retreat but a strategy that leverages global content with local delivery.

He closed by returning to the formative values that anchored his remarks. "Sincerity and consistency create trust, and trust enables distance to become opportunity, not liability," Sajith said. His concluding message to the industry was a call to action. Build local capability backed by people-centric systems, applied research, and transparent customer processes. Printers can then capture the value created by shifting supply chains, changing customer behaviour, and renewed demand for printed experiences.