“Just-in-time demands are the movers and shakers for the digital industry,” says Sunil Chhugani of PODS

Touching upon the three core contributions of the digital technology, Chhugani says, “The digital technology is here to play its role. Digital as a technology has expanded the array of special effects that can be added to a product, it facilitates publishers and packaging printers and also permits personalisation, a trend which is here to stay for long.”

Chhugani showed the audience print samples with dimensional printing, printed on the Kodak Nexpress. "We have used the fifth unit on the Nexpress for 3D effect on the images, to highlight certain motifs, create a raised effect and also for effects like watermark, which act as a security feature." He added, “The ability to produce a product which cannot be scanned or duplicated is digital printing’s contribution to security printing.”

“We have had brands which approached us demanding prototypes as few as 10-50 and that too, overnight. We have publishers who opt for a pre-run of 50-100 books to help them gauge the response of the readers; this trend is fast picking up with the self publishers.”

According to him, the continuous changes in fashion, and the ever-increasing wedding industry in India, are instrumental in driving the demand for digital printing. “Personalisation is the most preferred by individuals, across gift articles, wedding cards and corporate statements.”
Chhugani emphasised the role of design, stating it to be an integral predecessor to printing.

“Designers need to explore more to enable the printers to use the available technology at its optimum. At the crux of producing an excellent printed product is the design and the knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of the equipment.”

As Chhugani puts it, “The print-on-demand model, with shorter runs and quick turnaround time, is the crux of the digital technology.