The second edition of Romancing Print in Delhi according to Jacob George, the editor of Press Ideas and main-brain behind the one-day seminar witnessed an increase of 30% in the delegate registration, as compared to last year.

The one-day conference in its edition in 2011 boasted of Chetan Bhagat as a keynote speaker, invited adman Prahlad Kakkar in 2012. In his keynote address, Kakkar discussed creativity in digital printing. One statement from Kakkar that resonated throughout the day in the mind of each participant was – “There would soon be a day when even the European manufacturers and printers would salute us.”

The first half of the conference included a panel discussion spearheaded by Xerox that discussed innovative application opportunities that digital printing technology offers. This was followed by a Rene Shieber’s presentation on the initiatives by Heidelberg to empower the industry. Shelly Singh, co-founder and VP, PeopleStrong spoke about the importance of human resource developments and offered “a quick fix” to the audience.

The second half of the day shifted gears. The session began with Dilip Cherian’s address on how print has helped in the evolution of thought makeover.

From evolution to the current scenario, the next panel discussion on the legalities in the business was chaired by Kapil Dev Sapra, founder and managing partner, Kapil Sapra and Associates. The panel analysed the pitfalls and potholes of contracts and business management that print firms face every day. The issues shared – and aired – during the session created a connect with the delegates, as many of them stated they had encountered similar legal tangles in their business.

The second session post lunch – Romancing the CTP – saw Ranesh Bajaj of Creed Engineers chair a session which had print experts such as Professor Franz Sigg, Ravi Shroff of Nutech Print Services, Satish Nayak of Bodhi Professional Solutions, and Tarun Chopra of Color Dots Prepress Studio, about CTP (thermal and violet) and CTCP technologies.

Bajaj stated that while violet was gaining popularity in India, thermal CTP still ruled the roost. Nayak added that while violet has been witnessing traction in the newspaper segment, it has started making significant inroads in the commercial printing segment. Shroff said that although CTP is not a direct cost, it helps in reducing the make-ready time by a significant percentage. However, Proff Sigg felt that while violet might be gaining traction owing to the cost factors, the industry would witness a return of the thermal CTP systems in the market.

The last two sessions of the day created a buzz among the delegates. In the previous edition of Romancing Print, delegates had suggested to discuss the power of women in print. And so, in this edition, the organisers included a fascinating session on women in the print industry who have made a mark. The panel chaired by Amila Singhvi, managing director, International Print-o-Pac, comprised of Poonam Dikshit of Perfact Color Digital Prints, Priyata Raghavan of Sai Security Printers, Aparna Govil of Shree Maitrey Printech, Sachee Patel of Rajkalp Mudranalaya and Nimisha Kulshreshtha of Rave India. They confabulated  about why there is a dearth of women-talent in the Indian print industry. Is it due to patriarchal models which prevail or lack of opportunities.

Kulshrestha who had been vocal in the previous edition of the Romancing Print reiterated her view that the industry needs to be more glamorous to attract young talented professionals, regardless of what gender. She stressed that the owners of print businesses have to be more open in accepting professionals.

Patel said there are several women who have made their mark as a top level executive in the industry, there’s a need to boost opportunities for women professionals to contribute at the grass-root and operational levels.

“There’s a belief that there are areas where one sex has an edge over the other, but that’s a misconception. People should be educated to respect the strengths of the opposite sex and accept them,” added Govil.

Post the session Raghavan told PrintWeek India, “It was nice to see that there are so many more women in the industry. It is more of a cultural issue than an adverse mind-set. The session helped me realise that a few micro-steps can change the landscape for women at all levels.”

Romancing Print 2012 rounded off with an engrossing panel session titled The Dirty Picture chaired by the conference chairman – Satish Malhotra, managing partner of Swan Press. Govind Bhargava of Solar Press, who was one of the panellists said, “Merely putting ink on paper is actually making the picture dirty. It is, adding value to it that makes it special.”

MN Pandey of Avantika Printers added, “Printing industry has become a commodity. Until you provide value addition there is no differentiation between you and your competitor.” Ashwani Arya of Perfact Digital Prints agreed, “One cannot afford to sell a product by commoditising it. Understanding your customer is critical to be in business.”

The panellists equivocally discouraged the price war that is being witnessed in the industry. They agreed that unfettered price war disrupts quality and affects industry industry standards.