The Indian Printing Packaging & Allied Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (IPAMA), which is organizing PRINTPACK INDIA 2019 exhibition at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida from February 01-06, 2019, has signed agreements with various associations, as industry partner, for promoting this international mega event. These associations are Association of Label Printers & Suppliers (ALPS); Indian Paper Corrugated & Packaging Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (ICPMA); and Screen Printers’ Association of India (SPAI). Most of the associations representing different segments of the Indian Graphic Arts Industry have agreed to provide full support to IPAMA. Since the objective of all the associations are the same, betterment of the industry, some of the associations have already started working to make the forthcoming PRINTPACK INDIA a grand success.
IPAMA, which is completely devoted to its one point program of promoting the entire Indian Graphic Arts Industry, has included all the segments of the industry in the exhibitor profile of PPI 2019. This has been done for the first time. Perhaps, there is no exhibition in the world which incorporates all the segments of the industry in its display profile.
The previous edition of Printpack achieved a massive footfall of 86,000 visitors. IPAMA plans to increase the number in 2019 and for doing so, the association is undertaking a number of steps. Firstly, IPAMA is planning to send 50 lakh (5 million) eMails, 25 lakh SMS messages and 5 lakh WhatsApp texts to the prospective visitors in various parts of the world. This is the first time that IPAMA is undertaking such a step in order to increase footfalls, and it is also planning to conduct roadshows.
IPAMA has recently organized two major promotional meets, one at Mumbai on 19 December 2017, and the other in Amritsar on 19 January 2018, relating to PPI 2019. These were represented by top and senior functionaries of different associations, government departments and leading organizations.
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.
