Jyotsna Inks – ahead of the inkjet curve

Indian signage suppliers look for recovery from the pandemic

723
Jyotsna Inks for inkjet
Rajsingh Chaudhary and Dharmendra Singh of Jyotsna Inks at their stand at Media Expo in November in Delhi. Photo IPP

Jyotsna Enterprises was founded in 2011 in Bharatpur in Rajasthan, with the primary purpose of importing and manufacturing inkjet inks. It is a compact firm with an annual turnover of Rs 3 to 4 crore (approximately US$ 500,000). For a decade, it has provided what it describes as exceptional customer service for inkjet ink solutions – with its state-of-the-art technologies, high-efficiency production plants, and responsive management processes.

Jyotsna Enterprises manufactures solvent, eco-solvent, LED UV, sublimation, dye, and pigment inks for a variety of inkjet output devices. These include wide and large format signage printers and digital textile printing machines. It also produces inks for office inkjet and laser printers. The company has a structure for delivering quality products and services that include research and development (R&D), production, sales and marketing, and lastly administration. 

Dharmendra Singh, a partner in Jyotsna Enterprises, participated in the recently concluded Media Expo in New Delhi in October 2021 to interact with his industry peers and end-users to introduce some of the company’s innovations in the signage sector.

The Indian signage market falls 40 to 80% in the pandemic

Singh discussed his thoughts on the Indian media and signage business that have borne the brunt of the pandemic’s lockdowns and decline in overall out-of-home economic activity. “The markets that our company addresses within the signage and textile industry fell as much as 40% to 80%, and we were, consequently in great trouble. There was no demand and our customers were not ordering consumables including our inks.

“We had seen very strong demand before the pandemic, and as the pandemic went on, the situation became quite depressing for us.” Referring to the October to December 2021 period, Singh said, “But as the exhibitions are beginning to take place, we are again getting a chance to display our products to industry peers and customers. Let’s see, if this will help the industry take flight.”

Jyotsna Inks
Jyotsna Inks displayed a large variety of inks at Media Expo 2021.
photo IPP

Singh explained the USPs of his company. “We manufacture inks for printheads from Konika, XAAR, Proton, Gongzheng Starfire, and other printhead manufacturers. Our inks provide high print quality, strong color endurance, fast-drying, good permeability, and strong adhesive force. They have a long storage time (shelf life), excellent scratch-resistant, and are eco-friendly.”

The impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on ink manufacturers

According to a recent report by Mordor Intelligence, the global printed signage industry was estimated to have a value of US$ 40.283 billion in 2020 (approximately Rs 3,05,874 crore). According to it, the printed signage industry is expected to grow at a measly CAGR of 0.19% during the forecast period from 2021-2026 – although the same study forecasts that the Asia Pacific region will be the fastest-growing.

IppStar’s research on Indian signage

However, our sister organization, research company IppStar (www.ippstar.org), believes this to be an underestimate and certainly for India and the Asia Pacific region which are not nearly saturated by many types of essential indoor and outdoor signage. According to IppStar’s estimates, as stated by its analyst, Purva Dwivedi, “The Indian signage industry is currently above US$ 2 billion (approximately Rs 14,900 crore). We estimate it will achieve a CAGR of 10% in the five years from 2022-2027. IppStar also believes that the signage industry is often underestimated globally because it comprises many smaller creative agencies and output companies – as well as fabrication and vertical space rental agencies that are not included at all.”

With countrywide and local government lockdowns, the Covid-19 epidemic has had a significant detrimental impact on interior and outdoor signage businesses from March 2020 onwards. Since September 2021 there some opening up of travel, hospitality, and the overall outdoor economy has gained traction. The extended pandemic factors have had a negative effect on signage demand and the ink and substrate supply chain for both domestic and foreign markets, resulting in a progressive drop in printed signs during the epidemic.

Healthy signage

On the other hand, the healthcare industry has seen a massive expansion in interior and outdoor signage, with an unparalleled need for signs. The dissemination of scientific knowledge and virus control has been aided by signage portraying Covid-19 precautions and safety measures in pharmacies, grocery shops, retail outlets, testing and immunization clinics, public areas, points of purchase, banks, airports, and transportation hubs.

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

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here