When one of the biggest printing exhibitions of India decided to move to Greater Noida, why did DPA and OPA decide to organise Interprint Expo in Pragati Maidan?
We believe that exhibitions are important for interaction between the manufacturers, dealers and buyers. We are a printers’ association, and we believe in helping the industry and market develop. We don’t want to earn from the exhibition. Our intention is to set up an exhibition that is built on the pillars of trust and knowledge-sharing. Until the printers are provided with a good platform, until they learn and share knowledge, how would the industry grow? The per square feet rate of the stalls at the Greater Noida’s India Expo Centre is much more than what ITPO offers. In fact, we have heard that ITPO has blacklisted that association from conducting any exhibition at Pragati Maidan.

A group of 100 Pakistani printers were expected to attend the show. That was a no show. What happened?
Visa issues became a major hurdle in their arrival. We too were expecting them; the visa formalities are regulated by norms which we don’t govern. This had affected the visitor turnout from overseas, but we did have few visitors from other neighbouring countries.

When the show was announced, the three main attractions which were promoted were – the Landa stand, refurbished machinery forum and Screentex (live screen printing demo). Were the promises fulfilled?
The video from Landa Show at Drupa was played on a loop every 30 minutes for the visitors at a dedicated space as promised. We were expecting few officials from Landa Corp to attend the show, however, in the last moment they had to cancel their plans. The used machinery forum was more of a concept and not a special stand as it was misconstrued. We had several used machinery importers who exhibited at Interprint Expo. They were all placed at strategic positions whereby it automatically developed into a forum. Screentex had to be cancelled due to unforeseen reasons; however, the exhibitors were running live demos of their screen printing machines at their stand.

According to unconfirmed reports, MSME officials were given just one minute to share their views and concerns on the printing industry at a recent meet. Have you heard any such rumour?
To be frank, no I haven’t. Chandra Kishore Mishra, joint secretary, Ministry of MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) accompanied a huge delegation of Indian printers to Drupa. He was particularly impressed by the growth prospects the industry holds. In fact, of the four industries that he chose to focus in the near future, one was printing industry. This was also the first time that MSME had booked a stand at a printing exhibition. MSME officials were at the stand just opposite where the Landa Show was being organised. They were offering assistance and information to each and every visitor to their stand.