CTP numbers in Chennai hit by slowdown
Chennai print industry has seen a slump citing weak quarterly sales and squeeze on pricing.
22 May 2013 | 4364 Views | By Samir Lukka
CTP system sales have been down in Chennai due to the "slowdown". A significant reason for this has been the absence of any brand-new presses being installed; although there are 20 pre-owned four-colour presses which have been installed.
According to market reports, the 2008 number for CTP systems (not including newspapers) was 45 which was dominated by thermal CTP platesetters.
The overall order book for CTP in 2009 saw the arrival of 15 violet platesetters largely due to TechNova's violet plate drive. These violet systems were in addition to the 60 thermal platesetters plus UV CTP systems.
In 2010, the number ramped up to 19 (15 + four) violet platesetters; 65 (60 + five) thermal platesetters; and 14 UV CTPs.
Meanwhile according to T P Jain of Monotech, there has been a marginal upswing in sales for UV platesetters and he pointed to the marked improvement in performance of the UV platesetters with the price more or less remaining constant in the last few years.
Although acknowledging "unsatisfactory trends" and a volatile market, Jain said that his company, Monotech was working hard towards sustainably improving its results and had already seen "a noticeable improvement" in UV CTP technology.
"Our goal is that all product sectors and business lines contribute positively to group results," he added.
Chennai's first CTP systems were installed at J B Khanna and later at SPS CTP systems, a service bureau. Now there are 17 service bureaus which cater to the market. The remaining systems are in-house; a trend which is picking up.
Looking ahead, packaging and publishing seems to be the growth markets. The other factor, according to M Ilango of TechNova is the severe electricity shortage which is driving "print business to Chennai." This is reflected in 20% increase in overall plate consumption at the service bureau segment.
Ilango said. "Now, we have a raft of projects in various market segments and I am confident we will announce the first sales with a Konica Minolta digital press."
TechNova announced a partnership with Konica during PrintPack 2013. TechNova's focus on the digital markets is aimed to compensate for the general market decline in CTP.
TechNova announced a partnership with Konica during PrintPack 2013. TechNova's focus on the digital markets is aimed to compensate for the general market decline in CTP.
He added, "In 2013 we anticipate that these new market segments will make a solid contribution."
Meanwhile Monotech remained firm on its goals for 2013, forecasting a modest improvement in terms of sales (which he expects to increase by 50%). Jain said, the market size will largely remain untouched.
"I believe that our targets of a moderate rise in earnings and similar sales to 2012 remain realistic and we’d continue targeting newer markets and also specific application domains to achieve them," Jain said.