Automation, and what printing can learn from the car industry – Gelato, Printbox and MHP

Experts from MHP Technology, Printbox and Gelato discussed what happens when GenAI meets print on demand and mass customisation.

“We make canvas-stretching machines: we’re a specialised company,” says Georgette Sawan, executive vice-president, business development at MH+P Technology. “And as much as odd production processes interest many people, I think the two important topics for a FESPA audience are automation and AI, and that’s what I wanted to deliver.”

Georgette introduced speakers from two partner firms at the Personalisation Experience Smart Hub presentation entitled Printbox: GenAI meets print on demand, and Gelato: What printing can learn from cars.

Krzysztof Szczepańczyk of Printbox showcased the firm’s Masterpiece AI interface by inviting audience members on stage to use the firm’s tools to make graphics on demand using only prompts. These were then sent to the ROQ stand to print the actual t-shirts, which they could then collect.

“Our core business at Printbox originated in personalised photo products for the B2C market, with photo books serving as our foundational offering,” says Krzysztof. “We’ve embraced generative AI as a transformative force in the printing industry, developing Masterpiece AI to bring this technology into the print-on-demand sector.

“Currently our offerings span photo products including photo books and wall art, with strategic partnerships like that with Georgette for canvases. Masterpiece AI currently focuses on simpler products, particularly gifts and apparel, where the technology shows the strongest use cases.

“Our mission is to make AI accessible. To avoid overwhelming non-technical users, we provide curated art libraries and automated prompt enhancement. This approach allows them to create beautiful artwork without needing deep technical knowledge, as simple one-word prompts are engineered in the background to generate more accurate and aesthetically pleasing results. We integrate this powerful AI generation with user-friendly editors and robust back-end printing systems to ensure flawless, print-ready output files every time.”

What does the future look like for this kind of technology? “We are prioritising the expansion of our AI design capabilities into more complex personalised products. However, our vision isn’t about giving users more buttons to press but about reducing their effort. Instead of overwhelming them with endless choices, the future of AI is to understand user intent and context to create perfectly curated designs automatically. Imagine an AI that knows what will look best, selecting ideal layouts and elements to offer a small batch of beautiful propositions that always look…