Romancing Print 2012 imparts optimism for the Indian print industry

According to a source from AIFMP, this edition of the conference witnessed an increase of 30% in the delegate registration, as compared to last year.

The single day conference that made its debut last year with Chetan Bhagat as the keynote speaker Chetan Bhagat, had adman Prahlad Kakkar delivering the keynote speech to an audience of  around 130.

Kakkar discussed about creativity in digital printing. However, one statement from Kakkar that resonated throughout the day in the mind of each participant was – “There would soon be a day when the European manufacturers and printers would salute us.”

The first half of the conference included a panel discussion spearheaded by Xerox that discussed various innovative application opportunities that the digital printing technology offers. This was followed by a Rene Shieber’s presentation on the various initiatives taken by Heidelberg to empower the industry with a greater understanding of the printing technology. Shelly Singh, co-founder and vice president, People Strong spoke about the importance of human resource developments and offered quick bits to the audience.

It was the second half of the day that shifted gears and stuck the delegates to their seats. The sessions began with Dilip Cherian’s keynote address on how print has helped in the evolution of print 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. It discussed the various bottlenecks of contracts and business management that Indian printers face every day. The different issues and experiences shared during the session created a close connect with the delegates, as several of them pointed out to have encountered similar legal entangles in their course of business.

The second session post lunch - Romancing the CTP – saw Ranesh Bajaj of Creed Engineers talking to a panel of printers and print experts such as Professor Franz Sigg of RIT, Ravi Shroff of Nutech Print Services, Satish Nayak of Bodhi Pro, and Tarun Chopra of Color Dots Prepress Studio, about CTP (thermal as well as violet) and CtCP technologies.

Bajaj pitched the conversation by stating that while violet was gaining popularity thermal CTP still rule the roost. Nayak added to it and said that the violet has been witnessing traction in the recent time, and that it has already started making significant inroads to the commercial printing segment. Shroff started off by stating that although CTP is not a direct cost, but it helps in reducing the make ready time by significant percentage. Proff Sigg however, felt that while violet might be gaining traction owing to cost factors attached to it, in the future the industry would witness the return of the thermal CTPs in the market.

However, it were the last two sessions of the day that had created a buzz of anticipation among the delegates. In the last edition of Romancing Print, delegates had suggested to discuss the power of women in print. And undoubtedly, in this edition of the conference, women in printing industry who have broken the glass ceiling to make a mark were called on for a panel discussion headed by Amila Singhvi, managing director, International Print-o-Pac.

The panel which 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 talked about why there is still a dearth of women-talent in the print industry.

Kulshrestha who had been a vocal delegate in the last edition of the Romancing Print reiterated her view that the printing industry needs to be more glamorous to attract young talented professionals, regardless of what sex they are of. She also stressed upon the fact that the owners of the printing businesses have to be more open in accepting professionals from both genders.

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

“There’s a belief that there are certain areas where one sex would have an edge over the other, but that’s only 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 few small steps can change the landscape for women at all levels.”

Romancing Print 2012 rounded off with an entertaining 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, “Giving just ink on paper is actually making the picture dirty. However, adding value to it makes it special.”

MN Pandey of Avantika Printers elaborated the thought and said, “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 added, “One cannot afford to sell a product by commoditising it. Understanding your customer is very critical to remain in business.”

The panellists also equivocally discouraged the price war that is being currently witnessed in the industry. They agreed that blind price war to a level where customers can’t be served with quality affects the industry as a whole.