What changed
Kenya’s printing and recorded-media production output grew 2.3% in 2025, even as businesses moved more communication online. The industry is shifting toward shorter runs, personalised marketing, packaging, labels, publishing, point-of-sale materials and other specialised work, with automation and AI-assisted workflows becoming part of the toolkit.
Why it matters
The important change is not that print has defeated digital. It is that Kenyan print businesses are being pushed to justify every physical page, label or package they produce.
Digital channels offer speed and reach. Print offers something tangible: a product someone can hold, a display placed at the point of sale, or a personalised piece made for a specific audience. The business opportunity lies in combining those strengths instead of treating them as rival camps.
That means the economics are moving away from sheer volume. A printer’s value increasingly depends on whether it can help a customer launch faster, reduce excess stock, improve quality or produce work that digital communication cannot replace.
Conversations at Nairobi’s 11th Print Pack Sign Expo, involving Copy Cat Group and Canon, reflected that practical pressure. Visitors examined the imagePRESS V1350, imagePRESS V900 and imagePROGRAF TM-350 across high-volume production, commercial applications, colour work and large-format requirements. The broader message was clear: there is no single technology route for every print business.
The 2.3% growth figure shows continued activity, but it does not amount to a forecast for 2026 or proof that every printer is thriving. It does show an industry trying to become more precise about where physical production earns its place in an increasingly digital economy.
Comments
No comments yet.