Print buyers put forth their requirement before printers at the Print Summit 2012

“Printers today have a reason to be happy,” said Ramesh Kejriwal of Parksons Packaging, one of the two moderators at the panel discussion with print buyers. “Today printers have a certain respect and dignity that they did not receive 30-35 years ago.”

On that note, Sidharth Kejriwal, also of Parksons Packaging, began the panel discussion by posing the question: What according to the print buyers on the panel are the shortcomings of the Indian printers and what are the good points?

Kanorwala of HH Print Management, started with a rather negative note but also said that there is a considerable improvement over the last couple of years. “The printers are a fragmented lot. There’s lack of professionalism, but they are beginning to realise the importance of quality, finishing and timelines. They have to realise what their USP is, which is providing end-to-end solution. He has to understand what the end-user wants, his requirement and what he can deliver.”

Patil of L’Oreal agreed but was a lot positive. “I think Indian printers are hard working, innovative and their involvement with the print job is appreciable.” On the flip side he demanded transparency and clarity in communication, particularly with regard to timelines and costs. Patil also lamented that Indian printers live with a fear of losing a print job.

Agreeing with Patil on the good and the bad, Soma Roy of Marico, added, “We look at printers as a data-bank for knowledge with regard to material and cost, which seems to be in the domain of only the bosses at the print firm, and does not percolate down the hierarchy.”

The reason why Indian printers may not be open and frank is because he may lose the print job, summarised Siddharth on the topic.

Are large companies who are one-stop solution better than proprietary-driven firms? “Not really,” said Ramprasad of Citibank. “There are small print firms who are professional and large ones who are not. We have 35 vendors empanelled and they are big and small, all based on certain parameters not just cost, price and quality. They all have professionalism as a hallmark.”

Patil said that L’Oreal evaluates the vendors on the basis of quality, technology and printer’s receptiveness to social responsibility.

Taking the social responsibility agenda ahead, Patil said that he expects the printers to respect nature, provide innovative suggestions to go green and reduce carbon footprint. “In the next couple of years, there will be new green norms, and printers should be ready with green solutions.”

Citibank’s mantra of going green is to reduce printed communication and rely more on e-module. “I believe that printing will go through a paradigm shift. Print will not die but there will be print as less as possible,” he said. Citibank, in its pursuit to go green uses recycled paper where it has to use print as a medium. “There is a strategic cost management of finance, which allows us to re-invest the savings to make print green.”

Most of the panellists did not like the idea of reverse auction. "60-65% of reverse auctions don’t work,” said Ramprasad. “Perceived cost should be higher than the perceived quality. Printers should operate within the framework of quality and innovation.”

Siddharth agreed that reverse auction leads to pressure on margins, which in turn affects the quality.

Most of the panellists were of the opinion that digital print is here to stay. “22% of our total print spent in 2011 was in digital,” said Ramprasad adding “in 2009 it was 8% and in 2010 it was 11%.”

Agreeing to it, Ramesh Kejriwal asked the print buyers the extent to which they would prefer a digital proof over the wet proof for a packaging job. “Digital proof is the best solution to enable saving on the consumables. However, the quality should not be negotiated.”

He asked the panellist if digital proof in packaging would be acceptable to them. “It will, provided the final print matches the proof,” said Patil of L’Oreal. Patil clarified that it all boils down to purpose for which the proofing is used. “If it’s for marketing purposes, then it’s fine. But a 10% deviation in the final print of our colour shade means a lot to our product in the hair colour segment.”

The final point for discussion was audit. “How does a printer prepare itself from audit perception?,” asked Siddharth. Marico has 10 point audit consisting 153 criteria, mostly based on producing quality product consistently. Roy of Marico, believes that the print firms should exercise self-control and be “self-certified”.