PrintWeek launches The Book of Trends

The Book of Trends is drawn from PrintWeek’s analysis of hundreds of physical samples submitted at the PrintWeek Awards spanning books, labels, rigid boxes, paper bags, digital print, and mono cartons. Every sample may not have taken home a trophy, but each carried evidence of where the industry is heading. Together, they form a body of work that reflects how printers and converters are responding to changing demands, tighter margins, evolving technologies, and rising expectations of quality and durability.

This year alone, the PrintWeek Awards received more than 300 entries from over 100 companies across 32 categories, including 10 Performance Awards, 19 Quality Awards, and three Special Industry Awards. The sheer breadth of submissions reinforced a recurring realisation that the awards jury and editorial team sit on a growing archive of technical knowledge, production intelligence, and process innovation. The Book of Trends is an attempt to unlock that archive.

Nowhere was this more visible than in the Book Printer of the Year (Education) submissions. Production runs crossing 1,00,000 copies were not uncommon, particularly for textbooks and guidebooks. Printers demonstrated sophisticated use of two-colour printing (black paired with a Pantone shade) to enhance readability while controlling costs.

A broader trend also became evident: a gradual shift away from reliance on traditional behemoth machines towards sturdier, made-in-India equipment, alongside deeper expertise in RGB-to-CMYK conversion and material handling. In speciality and trade publishing, multi-stage binding complexity, inventory coordination, and disciplined production synchronisation highlighted where Indian printers score consistently high.

Beyond the technical, The Book of Trends is a celebration of adaptation. From inland towns and manufacturing clusters to large plants, printers, bookbinders, and converters are reorganising mental habits and work processes to keep pace with relentless technological reinvention. At a time when the printed book was once prematurely declared obsolete, the evidence suggests a quiet re-legitimisation is underway, not just of books, but of well-made labels, cartons, and boxes.

The Book of Trends underscores an industry defined by precision, endurance, and an unwavering pursuit of perfection. It is a record of silent excellence where craftsmanship, technology, and coordination converge to create work that is meant to last. Download your copy now.