Koenig & Bauer is urging printers and brand owners to move beyond price-led competition by embedding security, traceability, and digital connectivity into printed products, CEO Sascha Fischer said at Print Summit 2026 — the 18th edition of the industry’s flagship event, held on 4 February 2026 at the Tata Theatre, NCPA in Mumbai. The annual summit was organized by the Bombay Master Printers’ Association and brought together industry leaders to explore innovation and future-ready printing strategies.
In his keynote titled Protected at Print, Fischer argued that the industry must shift from selling conventional packaging towards delivering digital value-added solutions that protect brands and create new revenue opportunities for printers.
He framed the challenge facing the print and packaging sector as one of escaping margin pressure by adding tangible value to products rather than competing purely on cost. To illustrate the point, Fischer posed a simple question—what do champagne bottles, chocolate bars and banknotes have in common? All are printed products, and all require protection against counterfeiting.
“Most likely all of these three products are printed one way or the other on our machines,” Fischer said, adding that what matters even more is that such products deserve protection.
Vision & Protection business unit
Koenig & Bauer, one of the world’s oldest printing press manufacturers and a global leader in security printing, is now extending its expertise from banknote production into packaging and commercial printing. A significant portion of global currencies is printed on Koenig & Bauer equipment, giving the company deep experience in anti-counterfeit technologies.
The company’s Vision & Protection business unit is now developing solutions that allow brands to protect products ranging from pharmaceuticals to luxury goods, Fischer explained. The aim is to prevent counterfeit goods from eroding brand value while enabling products to be authenticated anywhere in the supply chain.
“If you have jewellery, you want to follow it through its packaging, make sure it’s not copied or counterfeit and be able to prove authenticity even in a legal dispute,” he told the audience.
At the center of the company’s new approach is its Protect-add-Print concept, which integrates invisible security features directly into standard print production without disrupting existing workflows.
A highlight of the summit was the launch of AVA, short for Add Validation App, a new verification platform from Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection. Using technologies embedded at the prepress stage, invisible security patterns are integrated directly into the print file. These elements remain invisible to the human eye and cannot be reproduced through copying or scanning.
Printers do not need to alter their production processes, Fischer explained. Security elements are inserted during file preparation and reproduced automatically during printing, enabling finished products to be authenticated later via the AVA mobile app.
The embedded patterns create what the company describes as a “ghost-loop” of protection, forming a strong barrier against fraud and counterfeiting while remaining undetectable without the app. Beyond authentication, the system allows brands to see where products are verified around the world, offering real-time visibility into distribution and helping detect diversion or counterfeit activity.
For printers, Fischer said, the technology opens new business opportunities. By offering security-enabled packaging as a premium service, printing companies can move away from cost-based competition and instead provide digital tracking and brand protection services to customers.
Brand owners, meanwhile, gain a powerful tool to safeguard brand value while connecting packaging with digital engagement, marketing campaigns and interactive customer experiences, effectively linking physical print with the digital world.
Fischer described the initiative as an early step in connecting printed products with digital ecosystems, allowing printers to bridge manufacturing and digital services while offering additional value to brand clients.
Koenig & Bauer, together with its Indian partner Indo Polygraph Machinery, plans to train and certify printers to deploy these technologies, with India emerging as a key market for early adoption. “We want to continue this path of success together,” Fischer concluded.
