When we last visited Meerut in mid-2015, we witnessed a mixed reaction among printers and publishers of the city. Although Meerut saw a record all time high investment in FY 2015–16, with printers installing more than nine brand new offset presses in a single year, the atmosphere was charged with apprehension and uncertainty; Meerut printers were too skeptical to talk about what was in store for them in the days to come. They were at the receiving end with NCERT putting on hold its decision to change textbook syllabus. The slow-paced action had left many printers paralyzed since demand for textbooks had dropped drastically— publishers ceased to order new books while awaiting the new syllabus to be announced.
It was around this time last year that we met Faisal Khan of Hi-Choice Offset Printers, who said that 75% of the printers in Meerut might have to close shutters if the situation was not straightened out in the next couple of months. Khan added, “Meerut is one of the biggest textbook printing centers in India and there are printers whose business is 90% textbooks including those of private publishers. So they are going to be worst hit if NCERT takes more time to declare the new syllabus.” Another printer, Deepak Goyal of Meerut based Laser Point, had estimated that more that 10,000 press employees in Meerut alone would be forced out of work if the close-down were actually to happen.
This year in November, when we visited Meerut again, we found that things have changed for the better. The printers we met appeared enthusiastic about the market, which is evident from the fact that they have invested in as many as 20 used offset presses this year. One particular publisher of children’s and guide books, Children Choice Publication, has even installed a brand new 25 x 36 inch 4-color RMGT 920 press. The publisher has a collection of about 3,500 book titles, which it earlier used to print on third-party presses. This is also the story of a publisher setting up its in-house prepress, pressroom and postpress section under a single roof in Meerut. Children Choice has further invested in a TechNova thermal CtP system and Electromac binding machine as well as a web offset press from Pressline. With the new RMGT in place, the company is now able to print 25% of its jobs in-house. The company now plans to invest in more presses and equipment and has set up a new plant which has enough space to accommodate more machines in future. According to Vipul Manglik of Children Choice Publication, they installed the RMGT because it fits all their requirements as well as the format size that is needed by them. He feels that the textbook and children’s book market is picking up once again after last year’s debacle.
Meerut-based Children Choice Publication installed a brand new 25 x 36 inch 4-color RMGT 920 press. The publisher has a collection of about 3,500 book titles, which it earlier used to print on third-party presses.
Another printer, Shekhar Sudhakar of Sudhakar Mudralaya, said, “Last year was a bad phase for the market. But things are getting better now and there is enough capacity in the market to absorb a couple of more offset presses in future.” The company prints 70,000 to 80,000 offset impressions a day, which includes children’s book titles, catalogs, booklets, magazines, folders, leaflets, posters, bills, banners, brochures, books and envelopes. Sudhakar Mudralaya installed a brand new Komori 429 offset press in 2015. “Meerut is a market where the need for capacity building will always exist. It has the power to absorb more presses,” he stated.
