The fun side of print
During the Mumbai Mudrak Sangh Printer’s Day celebrations in Mumbai, Ramu Ramanathan took the opportunity to have a bit of fun, envisaging print applications in 2050 during the panel discussion - 21st Century Printing.
05 Mar 2015 | 2812 Views | By Ramu Ramanathan
In 2050... we will have a 3D printer with an additive manufacturing process that can make three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. Every house in India will have one of these. And so, you can create a 3D printed teeth in office on a digital file; and replace your present set of teeth by the time you reach home from your office.
In 2050... CIP3 will become CIP10, and the workflow won’t stop at integration of pre-press, press, and post-press. CIP 10 will integrate dreams into reality. All dreams will become a reality. And all reality will become a dream.
In 2050... JDF will still be around. It will still be JDF and even then no one will know what it does.
In 2050... Digital will be faster than an offset press. But offset will be faster than gravure. And gravure will be cheaper than screen. And screen will be less complex than flexo; and letterpress will make a comeback. All these six processes will be a part of one press.
In 2050... Print-on-demand will become print on “crazy” demand. A press will be manufactured in Faridabad that produces jobs day before yesterday.
In 2050... Newton’s theory of gravity will gain importance. This would be particularly true with print prices which will continue to fall below the Rs 80 per 1000 impression barrier.
In 2050... Benny Landa will still be around. In fact he will launch a new press at PrintPack which will be able to print “profits”.
In 2050... The English alphabet committee will drop seven alphabets. This is because CMYK and RGB will no longer be used. Pantone will print gray shades. That’s it. Gray will become the national colour.
In 2050... Printers in India will still not be able to attain their gray balance.
In 2050... My colour guru, Kiran Prayagi will still be hosting colour conferences so that printers in India can attain their gray balance.
In 2050... Conductive inks will replace blood in human beings. Blood related lifestyle disease will drop. Health gurus will give gyaan on PH levels and ink-water and alcohol balance.
In 2050... Therefore consumption of alcohol will be made compulsory. Gujarat will lift the ban on alcohol.
In 2050... Printed books will make a comeback. The Indian population of two billion will buy one book per week. This is because books will be available at kirana stores, paan beedi shops, subzi mandis and roadside dhaabas. Suddenly, India’s average IQ-levels will skyrocket to 200+.
In 2050... Top firms like Seshaasai and Friends and Manipal and CMS will produce “really” smart cards (RSC). These cards will be owned by each and every citizen in India. When kept idle in the wallet, these RSC will hook up to Cloud (Version 2.0) and hedge fund on currency on behalf of India. In one single stroke the Rs six lakh crore fiscal deficit will be wiped out.
In 2050... Because of RSC, India will be the richest country in the world. The Rupee will be stronger than the Yuan. As a result, the Below Rakesh Jhunjhunwallah Line and Above Rakesh Jhunjhunwallah Line will replace BPL as the economic benchmark.
In 2050... Smart packaging will be truly smart. Brown corrugated boxes will serve as smart mobile homes. And white folding carton boxes will transform into tiny cars that drive children to school.
In 2050... Pharma and textiles will merge. Outserts will have multi-purpose usage as sarees. Likewise bedsheets will serve as inserts; and vice versa.
In 2050... GST will be withdrawn. Multiple taxing will return. This is because the government of the day will realise it’s easier to evade one tax. The industry will welcome the move.
In 2050... Almost all print firms will be run and managed by women. As a result, top associations and federations like AIFMP and INS and IPAMA and PlastIndia and Paper and Ink Federations will be helmed by women. All these women will be able to achieve what the men haven’t been able to do, which is sit across the table and present a united common print and packaging front.
In 2050... Because of the initiative by the women, the Indian print industry will be the biggest in the world. Uganda and Kenya will be number two print centres.