Drupa is platform that helps customers understand the benefits of selecting the best, says Manish Gupta of Konica Minolta

Interestingly, the displays were divided as per the application specific zones allowing customers to connect themselves with their business objectives and look for suitable solutions. 

The exciting technology at the Konica Minolta stand was the B2-size inkjet machine.In the current scenario, printers in India do not have to seek knowledge from others’ experience. Today, printers are looking to invest in entry-level and mid-production machines with the aim of catering to short-runs.Konica Minolta as an organisation is new to production printing in comparison to other players and that’s a challenge.

We have launched some solutions with various finishing options to suit the application requirements, which are unique and our customers are benefitting from these applications.India is not behind any other countries in the world when it comes to printing technology and the products and solutions would be available to India market as and when they are launched.

That said, customers were very excited to see the business applications running at the stand. Customers were very focused in terms of seeking knowledge on the products and solutions on display. The C70HC machine on display highlighted the capabilities for specialised printing and photo book applications.

 Konica Minolta (KM) started business in India in the year 2009 with two distributors and came in with its own establishment in 2010. KM has completed a first full financial year – 2012 – with an impressive figure. We are now aiming to reach four digit figure of installed base of production machines before the end of this year.

Inkjet has been there for years and some of the customers in India are using it for various applications. In the current scenario, customers are asking which inkjet digital press is the best investment? New solutions on a bigger format of media where they can reach to their customers more quickly with innovative ideas?

All this boils down to when you want to purchase the digital press and the applications you wish to produce. Inkjet technology should help them with their business objectives of reaching a better cost of ownership for higher run lengths but there are reportedly very few that are commercially available, and most would be available only after a year or two.

That said, customers are also looking for complete end-to-end solutions for their business needs, regardless of which technology it is based on. The customers want to improve on their time to reach out to their customers. Our success in India emanates from the fact that printers have seriously considered having digital press to complement their offset operations.

My takeaway: Drupa is platform that helps customers understand the benefits of directly interacting with the principle organisation, selecting the best and integrating them into their operations for higher growth.