The Asia Pacific market has been very steady for HP Indigo and is expected to remain so in the near future as the region, especially China, emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, Arnon Goldman, general manager, Asia Pacific at HP tells Indian Printer and Publisher.
“The Asia Pacific is a diverse region with a mix of developed and developing economies. The developing economies will show higher growth while the developed ones will be steady. We do not see any contraction in our business in the region. However, China remains unknown as it emerges out of the lockdown. We will be at Print China in April and that event will set the stage and provide direction to the industry in the region,” Goldman says.
Print China will take place from 11-15 April at Guangdong Modern International Exhibition Center in Guangdong.
Label market a growth driver for Indigo
In Asia Pacific, label and packaging and commercials contribute equally to Indigo’s business. According to Goldman, the label market has been an engine of growth for Indigo.
“Our performance in the label printing segment has been very impressive. It is, in fact, leading our growth in the region, I would say,” Goldman states.
HP is working on the LEPx technology for the label printing segment with the first press, V12, being unveiled recently. “This technology offers customers continued growth potential in terms of features and inks and so on. But only faster. This will be a big step for us,” Goldman says.
HP unveiled the V12 press for the public last year at Labelexpo Americas 2022. The narrow web label press is the world’s first press to utilize the new LEPx technology and has the capability to print at 120 linear meters per minute. The first V12 press has been installed at a North American beta customer.
Commercial print market bouncing back
The commercial print segment is an important vertical for Indigo. The segment was hit due to the onset of the coronavirus outbreak. Goldman says the commercial print is now bouncing back.
“The volumes in the commercial print segment took a hit due to the outbreak of coronavirus. At the same time, volumes in the label printing segment grew. With things getting back to normal, the commercial print is bouncing back and the business is rebalancing. In recent months, we have seen the commercial market come back strong. It is taking back the share it lost,” Goldman says.
Goldman says the nature of the commercial printing market is changing. “For us, this change is very good. We have versatility and we are helping our customers adapt to the change. This is our strength,” he says.
Indigo B2 solutions well-received
Indigo offers a range of presses such as 15k, 35k, 25k, and 100k in the B2 segment. Goldman says that these presses have been very well-received by the market. “Printers are now striving for higher productivity and the market has responded very well to the B2 solutions we offer,” he says.
Importance of India for Indigo
Indigo’s business has seen massive growth in India over the last decade. Goldman says that India is now the most important market for Indigo.
“The growth rate and the scale of the Indian economy make the Indian market a very important market for Indigo. The quality and the size of human capital and innovation are top-notch. The impact of all this on digital print has been great and will continue to be so,” Goldman argues.
A Appadurai, country manager, Indigo & Inkjet Business Solutions, HP India, echoes Goldman’s sentiment.
“Our customers in India have seen triple-digit growth in terms of print volumes. The emergence of so many new startups has boosted the short-run print market. On the B2 side, our customers in the photo segment are printing bigger. We are now converting the market to 14X40-inch. Now our customers are printing 7,500 albums per day,” Appadurai says.
