Ramesh Kejriwal who was the print expert on this table moderated by Tushar Bhotica of Shree Arun Packaging made five key points.

 

1.Ramesh Kejriwal was cautious about the growth in mono carton packaging. One reason is the over capacity in the market. He was concerned that a lot of commercial printers who feel packaging is easy money are voyaging into this segment. He spoke about packaging being a capital intensive industry, which requires considerable funds for the post-press technology, often tied with diminishing returns for those investments. Plus he mentioned instances where a printer invests in a printing press but does not invest in a die cutter or a lamination. This results in a lopsided workflow and bottleneck.

 

2. Next he was asked, if after the high of 2008, we are going through a grim phase, and if there is no end in the sight? To this query, Kejriwal was optimistic and he felt, the worst is behind us. He said, "Over the past few months, things certainly have been looking more positive." India has got it "right" when it comes to managing the macro-economic scenario even as several international economies are huffing and puffing. He added that there are signs of a good monsoon in 2016. We have had two bad monsoons in a row.

 

Kejriwal felt, if 2016 breaks that taboo then it will boost the food segment and improve the purchasing power. This augurs well for packaging.

 

3. There was a question about Parkson's investment in inline cold foiling technology with the installation of a new KBA Rapida 106 press. Kejriwal said KBA’s inline cold foil press at Pantnagar is an eight-colour press which can achieve speeds as close to 18,000 sheets per hour. “We can actually print foil like ink. This allows designers to create stunning metallic effects that was not possible earlier, embedded completely within the graphics. The reason to opt for inline, was through the combination of foil one can achieve a wide myriad of metallic and non metallic hues, in different forms of gradients, halftones, solids and can make the packaging look completely unique. 

 

4. In terms of an interesting technology, Kejriwal spoke about the Prinect Inpress Control 2 inline ink and register measuring and control system from Heidelberg. As readers of PrintWeek India will recall, the fully automated Speedmaster CX 102 at Parksons Packaging features the patented “Prinect Inpress control 2” for print quality control.

 

Kejriwal said, "This advanced version of Inpress control 1, automatically measures and controls colour and register on the fly and at any speed. Any corrections in the colour measurement are forwarded directly to the Prinect Press Center for adjustment. So, the press need not be stopped for either make-ready or for monitoring the production run. This helps reduce wastage and shorten

make-ready times, promoting maximum productivity.”

 

5. When asked about "what next" for the mid-sized firm which is Rs 30-40 crore, Kejriwal said the main concern is the investment in infrastructure. "A printer can purchase secondhand machines and equipment. But a printer cannot purchase secondhand infrastructure." Kejriwal advised that the cost of funding the packaging business is an important part of the total recipe.

 

 

He said printers should be aware about the cost of borrowing money is in the form of funders, debtors and stock - also the cost of capital equipment purchases and above all, business premises.

 

Kejriwal said he was "quite content" about a liquid packaging that was created by the Parksons team at its Chakan design centre. 

 

This roundtable discussion was a first, and we are sure that we the printers shall take this to a higher level in the next editions
Tushar Bhotica, Shree Arun Packaging