Mac Papers, one of the largest merchant distributors in the Southeast U.S., has announced an agreement with Electronics For Imaging to sell and service EFI Wide Format printers across Mac Papers’ extensive distribution footprint.
“We are extremely happy to become an integral part of EFI’s sales network in the Southeast,” said Marty Davis, director of wide format and graphics for Mac Papers. “EFI is a premier provider of wide format printers and services; being a member of their partner program enables us to offer even more value-added solutions to our print and sign and display customers.”
As an EFI distributor, Mac Papers sells and supports an extensive range of EFI Wide Format printers, including the VUTEk H2000, EFI H1625, EFI Pro 24f and EFI Pro 16h. Furthermore, the latter printer is scheduled to be installed at Mac Papers’ Orlando-based wide format demo center, which opened in May.
“Mac Papers’ objective is to help commercial printers and sign and display businesses optimize their wide format printing programs and excel in this growing and dynamic segment,” added Davis. “Our partnership with EFI is perfectly in alignment with that commitment.”
Moreover, Mac Papers operates wide format demo centers in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Nashville and Orlando. It provides its customers with hands-on wide format equipment and media experience.
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
Subscribe Now 
