Redacción Alabrent
From Technology to Transformation: Closing the Gap Between Print Innovation and Shop-Floor Reality.1. With 2026 now underway and into Q2, how would you describe the overall mood of the labels and packaging market, and what are customers most focused on right now?
Since early 2025, we’ve seen a decisive acceleration in hybrid adoption, with digital inkjet now seamlessly integrated into conventional processes such as varnishing, foiling, and die-cutting. After several years of cautious investment and a reliance on offline configurations, the market has shifted clearly toward inline, single-pass production. Inkjet has matured to a point where reliability, speed, and cost efficiency support fully integrated end-to-end manufacturing – minimizing waste, reducing touchpoints, and protecting margins.
Importantly, this is not just a technology shift but a strategic one. Converters are investing in hybrid not only for short runs, but for increasingly complex, value-added applications, including high-end embellished labels. At the same time, rising SKU complexity, faster turnaround expectations, and pressure on total cost of ownership are reinforcing the need for flexible, scalable production platforms. Hybrid is no longer a niche bridge between flexo and digital – it has become the blueprint for a smarter, more resilient production model as we move into 2026.
2. When you look back at 2025, what shifted most – in the market and for Gallus – and what milestones stand out?
As discussed, the most significant shift has been digital and hybrid moving from perceived “future potential” into a commercially viable, mainstream production model. The industry has crossed a clear threshold: reliability, speed, and total cost of ownership (TCO) have reached a level where converters can confidently scale digital and hybrid technologies into more demanding, high-volume applications.
For Gallus, the launch of Gallus MatteJet was strategically significant because it removed a genuine adoption barrier in premium segments such as wine and spirits. By enabling inline matte finishing, we demonstrated that digital can now meet the aesthetic and brand expectations of high-value markets. For converters, that means access to new revenue streams without adding offline complexity.
Labelexpo Europe 2025 reinforced a broader industry inflection point. With Gallus Five, we addressed the shift of hybrid into higher-volume, industrial production. With Gallus Alpha, we lowered the barrier to digital entry. And with the Print Academy, we recognized that technology alone isn’t enough – operational know-how and workforce transition are now strategic differentiators.
Taken together, the year was about a lot more than product launches. It marked a structural shift in how converters build resilient, flexible production ecosystems in a challenging market.
3. Gallus’ direction in recent years has been underpinned by the idea of creating the “smart, connected printshop of the future”. As we move into 2026, what does that journey look like in practice – and in what ways have you already seen this vision coming to fruition, versus where there is still work to be done?
Smart, connected printing was always about more than just adding digital functionality. It was, and remains, our roadmap for what the industry must become to stay competitive and sustainable. It is our vision for an industry that works as an integrated ecosystem – operating more intelligently, where automation, data and connected workflows reduce complexity, address labour shortages and improve profitability. It’s about joining the dots so we focus on TCO rather than standalone machine performance. It means rethinking how we operate across the value chain, collaborating more closely, and building a more intelligent, efficient and sustainable production environment for the long term. It’s also about fostering industry-wide connection and innovation through collaboration, ensuring that a rising tide lifts all boats. Ultimately, it’s a mindset.
Beyond the concept, this has meant real practical action – shifting the commercial conversation toward TCO, introducing the System to Compose to give converters real flexibility in volatile markets, and investing in collaboration through initiatives such as the Gallus Experience Center. Today, we’re seeing this thinking genuinely resonate, with these discussions becoming increasingly mainstream: a clear signal that the direction is right.
As we move into 2026, the next natural step is deepening connectivity through smarter integration and more data-driven optimisation. But this is not a phase to be completed; it is an ongoing commitment to building more intelligent, more joined-up ways of working, and that evolution will continue.
4. From your direct engagement with customers, what are converters actually struggling with day to day, and where does a gap still exist between industry narratives and operational reality on the shop floor? More broadly, what are the biggest challenges for print businesses looking ahead (for example, around margins / profitability, supply chains, customer expectations etc.)?
While nuances vary by region, from labour shortages in North America to cost pressure in Europe and productivity priorities in Asia-Pacific, the broader themes are often consistent. Immediate priorities, and therefore adoption levels, differ, which is why our go-to-market approach and product focus reflect regional realities. This is also why being close to each market matters for both innovation and implementation.
But across markets, converters are consistently facing margin pressure, increasing job complexity, shorter runs and rising customer expectations. At the same time, a gap remains between the industry’s transformation narrative and operational reality. Many businesses do not lack technology; rather, they struggle with integration, workflow efficiency and reducing manual complexity on the shop floor.
Ultimately, the global direction is clear: converters are seeking solutions that bring greater operational simplicity, predictability and efficiency, enabling teams to manage growing complexity without increasing overhead. Those fundamentals are universally relevant.
5. Digital print has promised scalability and profitability for many years. What has genuinely changed, both technically and operationally, that makes digital more viable at scale today than even five years ago?
For starters, for many years, the industry framed the discussion as “digital versus flexo”, but that mindset is now outdated. Converters no longer need to choose sides; it’s clear that each technology has its place. The real competitive gap today isn’t between press types or technologies, but between production ecosystems. Success is determined less by what press you run and more by how intelligently your factory operates.
Technically speaking, digital has reached a high level of maturity. Quality, reliability, speed and automation at machine level are no longer the limiting factors. The shift now is operational. The real opportunity lies in translating that technical capability into measurable financial performance. But this requires factories to be organized differently. If digital is run with conventional structures and workflows, the economic upside remains limited. Unlocking scale means rethinking processes end-to-end – from job preparation to finishing – and this is where software becomes increasingly critical.
The next phase of evolution isn’t about reinventing solutions, but about enabling better interaction between existing ones. Connectivity, through robust APIs and deeper system integration, will be key. If 2025 was about bringing digital to industrial-level output and expanding access to new segments, the next step is embedding those capabilities seamlessly into customer workflows. This is when digital translates directly into measurable economic outcomes at scale.
6. One of the biggest challenges in technology adoption isn’t hardware, but skills, readiness, and labour availability. Where do you see the biggest capability gaps today, and how is Gallus helping customers address them through training and enablement?
Absolutely, the real barrier today isn’t hardware, it’s implementation. As digital and hybrid technologies move into mainstream production, the capability requirements naturally evolve. Some of the biggest gaps we see, for example, are around production and workflow management, and automation expertise. Digital integration doesn’t just change how you print, it changes how you approach and optimise the entire operation.
As production becomes more connected and automated, new competencies are required – from interpreting and processing performance data, for example, to managing hybrid job allocation more strategically. That’s precisely why we launched the Gallus Print Academy. It goes beyond machine operation to focus on workflow optimisation, operational best practices and building best practices to run digitally-enabled operations at scale.
Ultimately, scaling digital is not only about installing technology. It’s about evolving capabilities alongside it – ensuring teams, processes and leadership structures grow in parallel with the opportunity.
7. AI is dominating the conversation across manufacturing, with concerns that businesses risk falling behind if they don’t act quickly. What’s your perspective on AI in the context of print – where do you see real-world, near-term value, and how is Gallus approaching AI in a practical, customer-focused way?
AI is clearly dominating a lot of industry conversation, and understandably so. But if we look at major industrial shifts throughout history, from the industrial revolution to the rise of large-scale infrastructure, transformation never happens overnight. First comes the breakthrough moment that captures attention. What follows, and what truly reshapes industries, is the next phase of integration, refinement and intelligent application.
We’ve already seen this pattern in the print sector with digital transformation. For years, digital printing carried enormous promise, yet it has taken time for it to move beyond a small share of overall label production. Adoption follows a curve, not a headline. The real change happens when businesses learn where the technology delivers meaningful, lasting value.
AI is no different. In print, the near-term value lies in very practical areas: predictive maintenance, performance optimisation, workflow automation and smarter job allocation. But AI is only as powerful as the data infrastructure and connectivity behind it. That’s why our focus, and something we are actively evolving, is enabling better operational decision-making through structured data, automation and intelligent workflow coordination.
Converters don’t need to panic or rush to adopt AI for its own sake. The opportunity is to build the right digital foundations and apply AI pragmatically, where it genuinely improves productivity and profitability. What we see from the market is encouraging: a measured, thoughtful approach focused on sustainable implementation. That is exactly how meaningful transformation happens.
8. Geopolitical uncertainty, tariffs, and broader economic pressures remain front of mind for many businesses. What developments are you watching most closely, and how could these factors influence investment decisions and the graphic arts industry more broadly?
Tapping into market signals and geopolitical developments has been a critical source of strategic insight for us in recent years. And it’s not something you observe passively, it’s something you actively factor into how you shape the business and where you build resilience.
Geopolitical uncertainty and tariffs are no longer temporary disruptions, they are structural realities. Perhaps one of the most prominent issues we’re watching closely is supply chain concentration, particularly for critical components like printheads and electronics. Overreliance on single regions creates risk, which directly impacts investment confidence. That’s why we are evaluating second-source strategies and more regionalised production models, including closer-to-market manufacturing in Asia-Pacific.
For the industry more broadly, this environment will continue to drive more disciplined, strategic investment decisions. Businesses are no longer expanding simply to scale; they are investing selectively in capabilities and platforms that provide long-term security. Flexibility, resilience and total cost of ownership will matter more than ever. In uncertain times, adaptability becomes a true competitive advantage.
9. As you look toward 2026 and beyond, what does the next chapter of print truly require, and what role do you believe Gallus must play in helping the industry navigate it successfully?
As we look toward the coming year and beyond, the next chapter of print requires continued evolution, but at a deeper level. It’s about turning the technological progress of recent years into real, large-scale success across the industry.
That means rethinking production environments, so they are automated, economically resilient and designed around total cost of ownership. Machines will not only receive and process information; they must communicate in all directions – interacting seamlessly with workflows, warehouse systems and planning tools to enable true just-in-time operations. Presses will contribute to optimising the entire value chain, not simply executing jobs.
For Gallus, our role is to industrialise that evolution, delivering solutions that reduce complexity, increase flexibility and create sustainable profitability. The future of print will belong to those who can combine performance with resilience. Our job is to ensure our customers can do both, confidently and at scale.