Is AI a useful tool or a threat to a brand? · Gee Ranasinha · CEO · Kexino
Happy New Year, and welcome to INKISH’s first interview of 2026. Morten Reitoft is joined by his good friend Gee Ranasinha for a wide-ranging conversation about AI, with a particular focus on generative AI and what it really means for marketing, creativity, branding, and trust. They unpack the difference between machine learning, generative AI, and agentic AI, discuss why tools alone don’t replace human judgment, and explore how brands risk becoming generic if technology is used without intent. The discussion moves from AI in marketing and design to bigger questions about authenticity, differentiation, security, and the future value of human creativity in an AI-driven world.
I asked ChatGPT if it believes that Generative AI can be a threat to brands - and here is its answer:
Yes — generative AI can be a threat to a brand, but only under certain conditions.
Generative AI becomes a threat when it is used as a shortcut rather than a tool. If a brand relies on AI to produce content without clear direction, taste, or accountability, the result often drifts toward generic, formulaic output. Over time, this can erode distinctiveness, making the brand harder to recognize and easier to replace. When everything starts to look and sound “AI-made,” audiences subconsciously read it as inauthentic, low-effort, or interchangeable.
The real risk is not the technology itself, but the loss of human judgment. Brands are built on consistency, intent, and emotional resonance — things that require someone to decide why something should exist, not just how it can be produced. If AI is allowed to define tone, visuals, or messaging without strong brand governance, the brand can slowly hollow out, becoming a polished shell that says nothing meaningful.
Used correctly, however, generative AI is not a threat at all. It can accelerate ideation, lower production friction, and help teams explore more options in less time. When guided by clear brand principles, human taste, and strategic oversight, AI can strengthen a brand rather than weaken it. In that sense, AI raises the floor of execution — but it does not raise the ceiling. Brands that continue to stand out will be the ones that use AI to move faster, not the ones that let AI decide who they are.
In short: generative AI threatens brands that surrender authorship to it. Brands that treat it as an assistant, not a substitute, will be just fine.
Trevor Schroeder · Director of Product & Solutions · PageWide T700i · HP
This video features Trevor Schroeder discussing how HP approaches print as a set of distinct segments, shaped by long experience in areas such as photo printing, publishing, direct mail, and commercial print, and more recently by rapid growth in packaging. He reflects on the industry’s shift from analog to digital and how similar transformations are now playing out across all segments, with inkjet packaging standing out because of its speed, quality, and ability to handle very high volumes. Labels and packaging are described as a significant growth opportunity within HP’s portfolio, combining inkjet and liquid electrophotography technologies.
The conversation explains how packaging differs from other print segments due to supply chain complexity, large repeat volumes, and increasingly unreliable forecasts. Digital printing, supported by more interconnected software and ERP systems, enables faster responses to changing demand. Schroeder also addresses material and substrate challenges, including long or unpredictable lead times and strong demand driven by the shift from plastic to paper, particularly in Europe. These trends require manufacturers to reassess strategies, understand their customers’ needs, and invest in the right equipment.
The video also touches on material science collaboration across the value chain, ongoing consolidation in the packaging industry, and the importance of manufacturing efficiency beyond the press itself. Digital production is presented as a way to optimize entire plant workflows, free up constrained capacity, and unlock growth within existing assets. The discussion concludes with insights into HP PageWide Industrial’s focus on high-throughput, integrated systems and platform-based investments designed to adapt to evolving packaging and corrugated market demands.
Even Lucanish · Product Marketing & Business Development · PageWide T700i · HP
This video features Even Lucanish explaining how digital packaging solutions are designed to complement, not replace, large-scale analog production. He emphasizes that the packaging industry still depends on long runs, which is why significant effort has gone into ensuring that the economic crossover points between digital and litho production make practical sense. The discussion focuses on how digital presses can add capacity, modernize older equipment setups, and improve overall efficiency within packaging facilities.
Lucanish describes the T700 as a strong fit for the litho-lamination market, particularly for integrated producers or larger independents with single-face laminators. The press is positioned as a complementary asset that allows shorter runs to be shifted to digital, while longer runs remain on litho equipment, reducing setup times and improving utilization across the plant. He explains how higher laminator speeds, enabled by roll-fed digital printing, can increase throughput and unlock additional capacity in existing operations.
The video explores the concept of crossover economics, noting that jobs under roughly 30,000 sheets are often more cost-effective digitally, especially when multiple SKUs are involved. Digital printing allows multiple graphics to be produced sequentially in a single continuous run, effectively combining many short runs into a single longer digital run. Beyond cost, color consistency is highlighted as a key advantage, with digital production delivering repeatable results over time without manual adjustments.
Lucanish also addresses broader adoption challenges, explaining that packaging has been more cautious with digital than commercial print, but that real-world installations have helped demonstrate its benefits. He points to easier staffing and training, tighter integration with MIS and ERP systems, and long-term platform upgradability as essential factors. The video concludes with a comparison of the T700 and T1100 platforms, outlining how form factor, corrugator compatibility, and versatility determine where each solution fits within the packaging and corrugated markets.
Chris Pereira · President · C17 Media
This video follows the development of a print operation in Toronto that evolved from print brokering into complete in-house manufacturing over more than a decade. What began with basic commercial print needs gradually expanded into wide-format production, vehicle graphics, and specialized automotive and motorsport applications.
The conversation explains why depending on external vendors became a limitation—particularly around scheduling, consistency, and accountability—and how bringing production in-house changed both operational control and long-term planning. Growth happened incrementally, through measured investments in equipment, space, and people rather than rapid expansion.
A significant part of the discussion focuses on workflow and automation. As job volumes increased and margins tightened, software became critical to meeting timelines and controlling costs. The video outlines how imposition is handled using Ultimate Tech software, where layouts are automatically generated based on material type, sheet or roll size, flute direction for corrugated work, and production method. This reduces manual intervention, material waste, and ink usage, while improving repeatability across jobs.
Ultimate Tech is shown as one component in a broader workflow that also includes web-to-print, ERP, preflighting, and accounting systems. Rather than being implemented all at once, the workflow was built piece by piece, with adjustments made over time as requirements became clearer. The video also addresses early limitations, the evaluation of alternative solutions, and why the final setup reflects practical production needs rather than theoretical efficiency.
