Readers will recall, how a  year ago, Danaher Corporation announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with X-Rite, Incorporatedto acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of X-Rite at a purchase price of $5.55 per share, for an enterprise value of approximately $625 million, including debt assumed and net of cash acquired. 

The company, which includes design industry color provider Pantone, develops, manufactures, markets and supports innovative colour solutions through measurement systems, software, colour standards and services. The firm has been represented by AGS for the Indian market.

Vishwa Shukla said, "the debt story is an old one; and we are bullish about the market, now."

He added: "X-Rite Pantone will be able to provide not only the current state of colour management in the Indian print industry, but also give valuable insights into where the industry is headed in coming years.  In an era of tight profit margins and increasing competition, the print industry must embrace every opportunity to harness the latest technology to speed workflow, reduce waste and improve customer satisfaction. As the global leader in colour science and technology, X-Rite Pantone has unique perspectives on trends and best practices in the field that are being used worldwide.  Two immediate trends come to mind: the use of digital tools to manage spot colours of brand owners and news ways to manage colours in hybrid production on a wide range of products."

To achieve this, the company has integrated some of the most trusted names in colour measurement and management -- such as X-Rite, Pantone, GretagMacBeth and Munsell -- into one entity that can provide a complete spectrum of solutions, from design to final printed product.  We use online and traveling seminars as a cost effective and convenient way to share the extensive knowledge base with everyone to hopefully improve the professionalism and profitability of the print industry as a whole.

Shukla shared how the X-Rite Pantone products are found at all stages of workflows, sometimes integrated directly into larger equipment. he said, "For example, our colour calibration solutions can be found everywhere from the Lenavo ThinkPad W530 mobile workstation to digital printers made by HP and Xerox. However, we can say that companies in Asia, and particularly India, are showing a strong interest in solutions such as our i1Pro2 family of spectrophotometers for prepress work, and the recently introduced eXact family of spectros and IntelliTrax system that provide precise monitoring of colour in the pressroom."

Speaking of best practices and consistent colour, he commented, "Brand owners are demanding accurate reproduction of their trademark colours as a way to build customer loyalty, and even newspapers are tightening their colour quality requirements on relatively low-grade paper. Additionally some printers were simply confused on how to implement colour management. The good news is that the tools today make it easier to use and implement. Printing companies today can buy spectrophotometers that provide spectral data as opposed to density readings. At the same time, using this new equipment has never been easier, thanks to user-friendly software packages and touch-screen menus."   

Shukla highlighted key trends in the industry. One trend, according to him, was "the continued emphasis on industry standards that are used by companies worldwide. Printers in India need to be confident they are using the same colour measurement standards as their customers use in America, if all stakeholders want to improve their bottom lines.   X-Rite Pantone responded to this fundamental need by introducing its XRGA (X-Rite Graphic Arts Standards) standard to reduce problems that companies face when they try to exchange colour data that has been measured with different model instruments made by the same manufacturer or with instruments made by different manufacturers."

He pointed out yet another trend, which is "the accelerated use of the internet cloud to share data, such as the way PantoneLIVE allows brand owners to communicate colour any where in their supply chains. Software will continue to play a major role in best practices, such as iQC Print that measures and manages colour over time, transmits data to other locations, and reports results back to brand owners."

Later, he spoke about SaaS which he said has "its place as a software solution; similar to the way that Microsoft now offers its Office suite of applications to anyone online."

He explained, "SaaS removes the cost barriers and makes products more accessible to businesses. It also takes an enterprise model and makes it a global model. PantoneLIVE allows brand owners to manage their colour data securely in the cloud, and make it accessible by invite to other stakeholders in the supply chain.  This allows everyone to start with the same colour standards, measure to common standards and report back with data that everyone can agree upon. For instance, X-Rite Pantone’s new eXact connects to PantoneLIVE so a brand owner in the U.S. is working to common standard s  with a supplier in India. Starting with the precise specifications of PantoneLIVE, the supplier can measure work on press using eXact and know that the results are consistent with what the customer a thousand miles away expects."

And finally when asked if X-Rite has improved since the acquisition by Danaher, he replied in the affirmative.