Xerox shows its colors at Pamex 2017

Xerox optimistic about A3 color and monochrome digital

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Xerox
Balaji Rajagopalan from Xerox India with Versant 3100

Xerox India showcased its Marquee press, Versant 180, Versant 3100, D110 Copier/ Printer and Colour C70 at the Pamex 2017. Altalink C8035, a versatile A3 colour multifunction device, part of 29 ConnectKey enabled devices launched recently, attracted visitors and printers for its capability to print on A3 in colour printer – Phaser 7800. Xerox will also be promoting this product more aggressively in the coming year.

Digital adoption on rise

Balaji Rajagopalan, executive director, Technology, Channels & International Distributor operations from Xerox India, believes, “Indian printing industry is growing along with digital segment’s growth since the last five years.”

Talking about the short runs and variable data printing, he states, “Some years back printers operated with huge volumes but with single jobs on their offset machines. The time has brought a sea change since then. The run lengths are shrinking and volumes are also low. This makes it difficult for an offset press to work. This is where the digital printers come in who can easily manage small runs and faster output. In the coming years the digital segment will further expand, and adoption rate will also grow. We have solutions based on printer’s requirement. A remotely located printers will have a low-cost machine plus the business will have very small run lengths. We have D110 copier/printer for such applications.”

Rajagopalan also informs that focus will be on Altalink C8035 and Phaser 7800 which are multifunction devices and the company would be promoting them more aggressively.

Diversified solutions based on requirements

Xerox brought an array of solutions keeping in mind variety of requirements. One such solution, Xerox Colour C70, is an entry level production press that offers application versatility and high-quality output. It is also capable to print on coated and uncoated paper as well.

The mid-production-colour Xerox Versant presses consist of a unique combination of high-quality output and greater media latitudes backed by higher duty cycles. Xerox’s Altalink Series is best suited for high-volume jobs and comes with advanced finishing requirements.

D110 Copier/Printer gives exceptional monochrome print quality output, enabling the printer to print more for less. This is a perfect fit for pay-for-print shops and centralized reprographic departments.

Another product showcased at the Pamex 2017, Phaser 7800, the only tabloid-size colour printer that delivers consistently with the combination of superior image quality and professional-level colour-matching technologies. This tabloid-size colour printer gives creative professionals and offers freedom to produce more customer-facing collaterals in-house.

“Many visitors have shown their interest in our products like C70 and D110 Copier/Printer. This is a great platform to communicate with the industry and share our offerings with them. We have also seen interest in Phaser 7800,” Rajagopalan states.

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

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