The Delhi Printers' Association (DPA) on 10 July organised an outreach programme, called ‘DPA Aapke Dwar’ in Trans Delhi Signature City (Tronica City) in Delhi-NCR for printers located in the neighbouring areas, where the DPA members met and discuss with local printing units about the problems plaguing the printing industry today.

Explaining the motivation behind the programme, Sunil Jain, president, Delhi Printers' Association, said, “The motto behind the DPA Aapke Dwar is to educate the printer at his doorstep, thereby ensuring maximum attendance by small and micro printers in the comfortable company of their fellow printers without wasting their time, energy and money.

And what does DPA do? Jain said, first, DPA scouts for areas where the programme can be held. Then it looks for a printer or a group of printers to help with the venue, logistics, etc. “Then we make a team of our core members to address the printers with data-based research as well as experience,” Jain said.

For the event at Tronica City, Jain also lauded the efforts of DPA members Deepak Bhatia and Prashant Aggarwal. “They were the ones who came with ideas, location and execution. They were the ones who came up with data and addressed the audience,” he said.

Jain said there was a need to organise such events for the small and medium-level printers as the segment appeared to be marginalised by the big manufacturing companies in the field of printing machinery, financial institutions, etc. These printers are not considered a part of the so-called elite printers buying new machinery for constant upgradation.

Has the organisation sought government help in this? Jain said, “No support has been sought from state/ central governments as they have a complex web of dos and don'ts, plus a number of layers in the sanction process. All this leads to de-motivation.”

Thus, for the recent programme, DPA used its association funds and the support of the local printer member, SDR Printers. “We would try to keep the same pattern and rope in some local sponsors also for our future programmes,” Jain said.

He added with the programme, an educated and informed printer will be able to empower himself and others, thereby working for the betterment of the industry.

The programme is open for all printers, and DPA plans to hold at least two to three events every month. The organisation will choose the location based on the number of printers interested in gaining knowledge within an industrial cluster.

Talking about the event that took place in Tronica City, Jain said, “Despite the lockdown, we could attract about 20-25 printers, with a large number of second-generation printers in their twenties. They took advantage of the programme with active participation and also came forward with their questions as well as suggestions.

Tronica City is a hub of around 75-80 printers with a mix of micro, small and large printers primarily into book printing. The hub has an abundant supply of printing specific labour in close vicinity. The rental and land values are quite economical as compared to Noida and Sahibabad.