Hitech Systems stall at Media Expo Mumbai 2020. Photo IPP
Mumbai-based Hitech Systems, which deals in a variety of print finishing solutions from leading global brands, had a successful Media Expo Mumbai 2020 which was held in Mumbai in late-February. The company closed 14 deals worth about INR 80 lakhs. At the expo, Hitech Systems displayed eight machines with iEcho cutting table being the highlight of the show.
“The Media Expo Mumbai 2020 was a reasonably successful show for us as we closed some really good deals. We also got some strong leads. Most of the visitors at the expo were copy shop owners,” says Parag Shah, chief executive officer of Hitech Systems.
Hitech Systems displayed a visiting card cutting machine, a paper cutting machine, a die cutting machine for customers who do not have big volumes, a foil printer, a foil printer for boxes, foil printer for pens and a thermal roll laminator. The highlight of the show for the company was the iEcho 604 with a 15 x 23-inch size.
“The iEcho 604 has a speed of 1000mm per second and the machine can cut materials up to a thickness of 2mm. It can process materials such as vinyl, sun board and POP material,” Shah says.
Talking about the overall impression of Media Expo Mumbai 2020, Shah says that this year’s edition was better than what was expected. “All the three days of the expo were busy. This shows that the year ahead will be good,” he says.
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.
