Consumer Electronic Imaging Fair (CEIF) is an annual exhibition organized by the All India Photographic Trade and Industry Association. The event was organized from 10-12 January 2019 at the India Expo Centre, Greater Noida in Delhi-NCR. At the 10th edition of the photo fair HP focussed on the wedding photography segment. “On an average about 40,000 people come to this show. Comparatively, this year, the event is smaller maybe because of the location. For us, we always believe in taking the latest technology to the printer. So here, we’re actually targeting the photographers, showing them the latest and greatest innovations that HP has done whether in the form of color or in terms of high-definition laser equipment or the media that we’ve introduced. The first step for us is to reach out to as many photographers at this show and show them our products,” said A Appadurai, country manager for HP Indigo.
About 40% of HP’s stand at the show was utilized by its customers. The company hosted its customers, those who didn’t have a stand of their own. Visitors attending the fair had the opportunity to witness nearly 20 customers of the company participating and exhibiting at its stand. At the exhibition, one part of HP’s offering was about the products. The company displayed the HP 7900 Indigo digital press with vivid pink and vivid green. Both vivid pink and vivid green are the latest inks offered by the company. In addition, HP also showcased a lot of software, workflow automation and applications of the HP Indigo 12000 HD digital press.
“It’s a B2 size machine and we had all plans to bring it to the event. However, owing to heavy demand for this press, we sold three machines and were left with none to bring to the show. The applications of the 12000 HD digital press was being shown for the first time in India. We also have the press going into different parts of the country starting from down south in Kerala to up north in Punjab. These are the places where one wouldn’t generally imagine having this press because none of the installations have happened in mainstream metro cities,” Appadurai added.
“The printing industry is a big terminology for someone like me. We deal in the digital printing segment only. The growth for us has been in double digits throughout the previous year. I think we will continue to grow in double digits for some time. We’re extremely upbeat in the market. As the manpower cost goes up in the country, we will witness more and more conversions coming into digital,” Appadurai explained.
With the plastic ban coming into effect in Maharashtra and recently in Tamil Nadu, there has been a lot of opposition from trade union members although many others have welcomed the move. Sharing his opinion on the ban, Appadurai said, “With plastics being pushed out of the cities, we think that we are on the right track. All our products are completely pollution free. We don’t use water, we don’t use chemicals and, above all, our inks are FDA approved. Apart from this, the presses we manufacture have no CO2 discharge. Taking these factors into consideration, as I said, we’re extremely upbeat about our future.”
