Inside GelatoConnect Summit 2026 in Lisbon
In February, print operators from the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia gathered in Lisbon for GelatoConnect Summit 2026. Across two days of keynotes, live product demos, and peer conversation, operators spoke directly about what’s working, what’s broken, and what comes next.
Here's what ran through both days.
The shift nobody can opt out of
GelatoConnect CEO and Founder Henrik Müller-Hansen opened with a frame that set the tone for everything that followed: the world is moving from centralized mass production to local, on-demand production. The businesses that act on it now will define the industry's next decade. The ones that wait will spend that decade catching up.
Four themes played out across sessions, demos, and dinner conversations.
Procurement is where margin is made or lost
Materials and shipping account for the majority of production costs. Businesses that have moved to automated, data-driven procurement are freeing up capital and improving customer satisfaction at the same time. Getting procurement right, and making it AI-powered, is no longer a back-office project. It's a competitive decision.
Product expansion is the growth engine
The fastest-growing print businesses are expanding their SKU range aggressively. Home decor is growing at 26% CAGR. Apparel at 28%. Personalized products command a 20-50% price premium over standard production. The market is pulling. The question is whether your software can keep up with the complexity.
AI is already inside the operation
Sessions dug into what AI looks like in practice today, not as a future concept. Gelato's own engineering team no longer writes code in the conventional sense. Agentic AI systems handle much of the work, and the velocity this creates is changing what's competitively possible faster than most businesses are prepared for.
The State of Intelligent Print Production 2026
Benchmarks, trends and AI strategies from the world's leading print operations — see what's driving growth in 2026.
Download the report →Software is the competitive advantage
This played out concretely in the demo sessions. Henrik framed it directly: "Machines make products. Software makes profit. And the winner will invest in both."
Producers got hands-on time with the AI Estimator and saw the results firsthand. ESP Colour processes 200+ estimates daily at an average of 72 seconds each. Their team has seen 11% year-on-year revenue growth and more than 20 consecutive weeks of margin improvement since going live.
No new machinery. Just faster, smarter software.
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Recognizing the businesses leading the way
The Summit also featured the GelatoConnect Innovative Print Awards, recognizing operators across the network for measurable progress in growth, operational improvement, partnership, and innovation.
The 2026 award recipients:
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Connector Award — Print Post
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Partnership in Action Award — SCS Solutions
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Operational Excellence Award — Ink n Art and WeMust
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Innovator Award — ESP Colour
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Visionary Award — Clarke Murphy Print
The City Tour: same format, closer to you
The conversations from Lisbon are continuing this spring. Through the GelatoConnect City Tour, we’re bringing the same operator-focused format to cities across the US, Europe, and Australia.
Each stop is a full-day session with product deep-dives, live demos, and peer exchange with operators running similar businesses. Sessions are confirmed in:
- United States — Register here
- London, UK — Register here
- Frankfurt, Germany — Register here
- Australia — Register here
- Sweden — coming soon
