The 28th National Awards for Excellence in Printing and the Global Print Excellence Awards
united the industry’s finest at Bharat Print Expo 2026, marking a defining moment for Indian
print.
Chennai, India’s gateway to the south, proved to be the perfect host city for one of the most
awaited evenings in the Indian printing calendar. On 28 April 2026, the Chennai Trade
Centre came alive with the glitter of trophies, the hum of industry conversation, and the quiet
pride of craftspeople whose work had passed the scrutiny of some of the most discerning
judges in the business. The occasion was the dual gala ceremony hosting the 28th edition of
the National Awards for Excellence in Printing (NAEP ’26) and the Global Print Excellence
Awards (GPEA ’26), organised by the All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP) in
association with ReEnvision Events Private Limited.
Held on Day 2 of Bharat Print Expo 2026, the combined awards ceremony brought together
the best of the domestic and international print community, highlighting achievements in print
quality, innovation, and application development across both Indian and global markets. In a
thoughtful touch that set the tone for the evening, samples of all award-winning entries were
displayed at the entrance to Bharat Print Expo, offering visitors a preview of the recognised
work, a gallery of ambition, precision, and artistry that welcomed the industry’s thousands of
trade visitors before they even stepped onto the exhibition floor.
NAEP is supported by the Government of India. The awards recognise excellence across a
wide range of print categories, reinforcing quality benchmarks within the industry. Running concurrently, GPEA focused on global standards, celebrating creativity, innovation and
technical excellence among print and packaging professionals worldwide.
The theme for this year’s awards, “celebrating excellence with change”, reflected the
industry’s transition towards new technologies, applications and business models.
The evening began with the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony, led by chief guest A V
Anoop, chairman and managing director of AVA Group, along with Ravindra Reddy,
president, AIFMP; Mehul Desai; Tushar Dhote; and Anil Arora of ReEnvision Events.
Often described as the Oscars of Indian printing, the National Awards for Excellence in
Printing is organised by AIFMP to motivate and recognise printers in their quest for quality.
Now in its 28th edition, NAEP has grown from a domestic recognition platform into
something far larger, a benchmark that the industry uses to measure itself against global
standards. It remains the only print award in India supported by the Government of India, a
distinction that lends it both authority and aspiration.
Established in 1953, the All India Federation of Master Printers is the sole representative
body of 250,000 printing companies across India and is recognised as the world’s largest
printers’ association. For such an organisation to stage a combined national and global
awards ceremony alongside South India’s largest print exhibition was, in every sense, a
statement of intent, that Indian printing is no longer content to be measured only by domestic
yardsticks.
The GPEA, which runs alongside NAEP, was conceived with a broader ambition. It began
with the idea of recognising world print and packaging experts who push their limits and go
beyond the ordinary, to appreciate the most creative, innovative, and quality-conscious
among them, and to honour the distinguished and deserving. Together, the two awards
create a unique platform that acknowledges excellence at every level, from the local
pressroom to the global stage.
Before the glittering ceremony in Chennai, the awards went through a demanding judging
process. The evaluation was carried out at the CIDCO Exhibition Centre in Vashi, Navi
Mumbai, bringing together some of the most respected experts from the printing and
packaging industry to assess outstanding print works from across India and the global print
community. This year witnessed an impressive response, with a diverse range of entries
submitted across multiple categories, reflecting the remarkable creativity, technical
expertise, and evolving capabilities of printers from India and international markets.
The categories spanned the full breadth of the print universe: offset, digital, screen,
flexography, hybrid printing, packaging, security printing, and more, ensuring that excellence
in every discipline had its moment of recognition.
When the results were announced, it was JAK Printers that emerged as the undisputed star
of the evening. The company secured over 60 accolades, including the coveted titles of
Global Printer of the Year and Best Commercial Printer of the Year. Their haul spanned gold
and merit honours for magazines, hardbound books, diaries, and innovative personalised
digital products.
CDC Printers followed as the second-highest recipient with 18 awards, excelling in the rigid
box and hardcover book segments, and were specifically recognised as the Best Rigid Box
Manufacturer of the Year for their work in high-end packaging. Trigon Digital bagged 16
awards and was named Best Digital Printer of the Year, winning for digital labels, pouches,
and rigid boxes across the NAEP and GPEA categories.
Print Vision took home 11 awards, highlighted by the Shri SS Batra Special Award for
excellence in fine art and poster printing, while Param Packaging earned 11 trophies for
corrugated cartons and hybrid printed products. Spectrum Scan won 10 awards, including
Global Innovative Printer of the Year and several honours for specialised screen-printing
effects.
Miracle Group of Companies received nine awards for its diverse work in flexography,
security printing, and fluted carton manufacturing. Among other notable performers, Creative
Graphics achieved a clean sweep of five gold awards for screen printing. The breadth of
winners, spanning Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, and Chennai, was itself a
statement about how widely the culture of print excellence has taken root across India.
The ceremony was graced by an inspiring Guest of Honour. AV Anoop, an Indian
entrepreneur, social worker, actor, author, film producer, and Managing Director of the AVA
Group, known for building iconic brands such as Medimix across personal care, spices, and
Ayurvedic healthcare, added a cross-industry perspective to the evening’s celebrations.
The evening’s significance was best captured by those who shaped it. Saubhagyanidhi
Seksaria, Chairman of NAEP & GPEA 2026, reflected on what the awards truly represent:
“The NAEP & GPEA Awards represent more than recognition, they reflect the discipline,
innovation, and continuous improvement that define this industry. Every winning entry this
year demonstrated how far Indian print has come in terms of creativity, precision, and global
competitiveness.”
Anil Arora, Director of ReEnvision Events Pvt. Ltd., pointed to the community spirit at the
heart of the platform: “What makes this platform special is the way it brings the entire
industry together to celebrate excellence. It is not just about competition, but about
contribution, each participant is helping shape the future of print and packaging in India.”
Ravindra Reddy, President of AIFMP, noted that the scale, participation, and business
activity at the expo had been exceptional, and described the strong regional engagement
and industry collaboration as genuinely encouraging.
Beyond the awards themselves, the evening stood out for its role in strengthening industry
relationships. The gathering created a rare space where printers, converters, technology
providers, and brand owners interacted in an informal yet meaningful environment, with the
celebration transitioning from formal recognition to a vibrant industry networking experience,
marked by conversations, collaborations, and shared aspirations for the future of print.
The 2026 edition marks a new chapter in how NAEP and GPEA are structured. Going
forward, NAEP & GPEA will be held alongside every edition of Bharat Print Expo, reinforcing
a unified platform for the print and packaging industry. The next edition, NAEP & GPEA
2027, is scheduled for May in Bengaluru, promising greater scale, sharper focus, and
stronger collaboration across the sector.
For the Indian printing industry, the message from Chennai was clear. The craft has never
been more technically sophisticated. The ambition has never been more global. The
community gathered under one roof in the city that has long been a printing heartland has
never felt more united in its purpose. The trophies awarded that April evening are not merely
prizes. They are proof points in a larger story: that Indian print, in all its diversity and
dynamism, is ready to take its place on the world stage.
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