Sagar Shah, director of Brigar Media with the newly installed Ricoh Pro 8310S Monochrome digital production press. Photo Monotech Systems
Monotech Systems has installed a Ricoh Pro C5310S color digital production press and a Ricoh Pro 8310S monochrome digital production press at Ahmedabad-based Brigar Media.
Established in August 2020, Brigar Media offers digital book printing services and is run by Sagar Shah and Brijesh Panchal, both of whom work as directors. Built as a right-sized solution, the Ricoh Pro C5310s offer a fusion of vibrant color, agile media handling, and a wide range of finishing options.
According to Shah and Panchal, the company opted for the Ricoh production presses for their quality and robustness. Also, the after-sales of Monotech Systems is also a fact that they considered while going for the presses. According to Shah, after-sales service is the biggest challenge in the digital print business.
Shah added that the company went for Ricoh to take advantage of the future of digital printing. “Technically, we were quite sound and by personally taking a trial of the machine, we were able to tackle the challenge,” he said.
Before this investment, the company was using a Konica Minolta 6120. Shah added that with the new investment, the company is able to print on time and is able to satisfy its customers.
“This joint investment will enable Brigar Media to deliver both monochrome and color applications to their customers. Earlier, they used to serve color printing applications from outside but now they will be able to make it in-house. Both the engines are robust productive and offer high quality. We congratulate Brigar Media for their association and their trust in the Ricoh and Monotech Systems,” Akash Kumar, marketing head, Monotech Systems, said.
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.
