Ten years of Print & Beyond: The new calculus of print

Kochi, the Kerala port city known for its colonial echoes and monsoon-misted ambitions, was the stage for the tenth edition of Print & Beyond, the flagship event of the Kerala Master Printers Association. But despite the locale—a place seemingly built on the gentle, cyclical rhythm of trade winds — the prevailing mood was less about the past, and more about a rigorous, almost ruthless, reckoning with the future.

The conference, which paid tribute to departed industry stalwarts (Dev Nair and Ravi Joshi), quickly pivoted from remembrance to roadmap. The presentations, which have been curated by Print & Beyond chairman Raju Kutty and his merry band of KMPA team members, were a manifesto for an industry on the precipice of a profound identity change. The tenor was one of earned confidence, suggesting that the most significant innovations are now less about the press and more about the process.

Here are my ten essential takeaways from the Kochi conclave.

I The industry status imperative 

Ravinder Reddy, president of the AIFMP, was unequivocal: the "foremost priority" is securing Industry Status for printing. This is the foundational structural change, the legislative key to unlocking rational GST, reliable bank finance, and the vital support of the MSME framework. The quiet, necessary precursor to all this? Rigorous, real-time national data collection.

II The death of the outdated 

A rallying cry was issued against terminal pessimism: "Printing is not dying. Only outdated printing is dying." The mandate is clear—abandon low-value, high-volume commodity work, especially in markets like Kerala, and focus resolutely on high-value, high-quality, creative printing, particularly within the burgeoning labels and packaging sectors.

III Intelligent proximity: Knowing your radius 

Sajith Pallippuram articulated the concept of 'intelligent proximity,' which is essentially a clarity that supersedes mere scale. The lesson: not every job is your job. Strategic distance is key. A pharma leaflet, approved and trusted, may cross an ocean, but a corrugated box must remain fiercely local. Winning, in the age of de-globalisation, means mastering your neighbourhood.

IV Specialisation as the new scale 

The most successful companies, according to exporter Pulkit Chhaparia, aren't the biggest, but the deepest. In a world defined by Chinese overcapacity and non-tariff barriers, the survival of the Indian player rests on deep specialisation and operational excellence—a pivot, like his own firm’s, from domestic industrial work to a laser focus on export-oriented food service packaging. Focus, it turns out, is the ultimate financial discipline.

V Clients buy confidence, not labels 

Price-per-label negotiations are a false ceiling. Preeti Mishra, navigating the world of security printing, illuminated the true exchange: clients are buying confidence, and the conversation must shift to protecting their brand against counterfeiting. Technology — from patented dual QR codes to forthcoming RFID — is the tool for this brand confidence, not merely an expense.

VI Systems beat heroics: From 'somehow' to 'knowhow.'

TechNova's Amiit Khurana challenged the industry's belief which expects MSMEs to “stay small.” Scale, he insisted, is a matter of culture, not size. This involves a deliberate, slow, and correct shift from operating "somehow or anyhow" to operating with repeatable, scalable "know-how" through documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

VII Smart collaboration over dumb capex 

Mehul A Desai of MOS offered a grounded lesson: while technology waves are real, caution must prevail. His firm, a variable data specialist, generates substantial annual revenue in packaging without owning packaging equipment. The strategy is simple: "Specialise fiercely. Collaborate smartly." Growth, he proved, does not necessitate dilution of focus or over-investment in expensive machinery.

VIII R&D as ingenuity, not capital 

The next generation of entrepreneurs, the 'Young Turks,' showcased an R&D philosophy rooted in ingenuity. This involved the strategic use of local converting capabilities, the employment of ChatGPT for initial structural design (Idli Cafe box), and an emotional re-framing of the business as "memory-preserving" (memorial books). R&D, in this new light, is less about massive spending and more about the meticulous refinement of existing processes and a profound understanding of the customer’s story.

IX Prioritise investments in people and systems

Hiring and training talented individuals, and developing robust, scalable systems and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Speaker after speaker said, "Invest more in people and systems than in shiny machines." The key to success is operational excellence and clarity more than scale.

X Data and full-process transparency  

Implement systems to track, measure, and analyse the entire job process, from artwork approval to final delivery, and integrate those systems with customers. Preeti Mishra (Holosafe) said, "What you do not measure will hurt you." She cited losing valuable time due to hidden approval delays. Meanwhile, Pulkit Chhaparia noted that for long-distance supply chains, transparency—allowing clients to view live shipment and order data—is as critical as price.

My two big takeaways from Print & Beyond is: How AIFMP has launched a long-term roadmap prioritising industry status and skill development. Meanwhile, the young entrepreneurs of Kerala are specialising by investing in people/systems and deploying ingenuity for R&D over blind capital expenditure.