Uganda’s commercial printing industry turns to new technologies
"If Ugandans can also acquire this finishing technology, we as an industry can compete with Nairobi and Dubai on quality, cost and delivery time. The future of printing in Uganda is no longer just about printing, it is about finishing with the highest quality."
The Director of Gazelle Ltd, Lau Larsen, speaking to Eng. John Mwasa, the Printing and Production Specialist at Parliament of Uganda after the workshop. (Photos by Isaac Nuwagaba)
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Ugandan printing companies are set to benefit from the latest automatic book sewing, offset and post-press technologies as a strategy to boost commercial printing and tackle market gaps caused by analogue machinery.
The commercial printing industry will take a major leap towards modernisation as printers embrace modern strategies to improve quality, speed and competitiveness in heavy-duty printing.
The new technologies were showcased on Thursday (October 8) at a participatory workshop on printing technology at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala organised by Gazelle Ltd, a Nairobi-based supplier of German printing solutions.
Moses Waidhuba, the Vision Group's printing supervisor, said the new technologies will help commercial printers to handle more complex projects which have previously been taken abroad for execution.
“As New Vision Printing and Publishing Company Limited, we have already invested in modern offset technology, but what we saw today complements what we have," he said.
"The Koenig & Bauer AG KBA Rapida 105 speed and the Wohlenberg perfect binder plus Aster automatic book sewing are exactly what Uganda needs to stop exporting book jobs.
The Director of Gazelle Ltd, Lau Larsen, addressing printers in Uganda at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala on Thursday, October 8, 2026.
Thursday's workshop attracted leading industry players, including New Vision Printing and Publishing Company Limited, Uganda Security Printing Company, Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC), Parliament of Uganda, and private printers from Nasser Road in Kampala.
Those who attended witnessed presentations of the latest offset and post-press solutions, including the KBA Rapida offset Press, Aster automatic book sewing machines, Perfecta cutting systems and Wohlenberg perfect bindery systems.
Lau Larsen, the director of Gazelle Limited in Nairobi, said leading packaging and commercial printers around the world place their trust in Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed for high-quality commercial printing.
He said the objective of the workshop was to discuss in a participatory manner, together with industry investors and players, how opportunities for further investment with the present technologies and market developments are best identified and developed.
Eng. John Mwasa, the printing and production specialist at Parliament, said adoption of hi-tech machines will require intensive training.
“We have a problem here in Uganda with old technicians who do not want to embrace the latest technologies for fear of losing jobs. It is only the government which can afford new machines, but all other imported reconditioned machines can't have good market value without technical staff that are trained in such fields,” he said.
“It can be very expensive to hire Kenyan technicians who demand air tickets and expensive salaries to come and maintain those machines here."
Printers at Nasser Road said the biggest challenge has been finishing. Many can print but lack perfect binders and automatic sewing machines, forcing them to do manual stitching, which slows work and reduces quality.
With the new Wohlenberg bindery systems and Aster sewing machines, they said Uganda could stop exporting book printing jobs to Kenya, Dubai and India, especially for school textbooks and government documents.
Gazelle Ltd said it will offer after-sales training and maintenance partnerships to help local printers transition from reconditioned analogue presses to modern automated systems.