Sivakasi institute hosts printing expert Prabakar

Lecture on innovative packaging designs

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Sivakasi
M Nandakumar, principal, Arasan Ganesan Polytechnic College, Sivakasi, honors R. Prabakar, a alumnus of the Printing Technology Department and a recipient of International Kalams Golden Award 2023.

The Department of Printing Technology, Arasan Ganesan Polytechnic College, Sivakasi, and the Students Service Cell recently organized a guest lecture on ‘Innovative Packaging Designs’, delivered by printing expert R Prabakar – an alumnus of the college.

Principal M Nandakumar, who presided over the function, pointed out how printing technology was developing very rapidly in modern technology. Most industries are using 3D printing technology but its application in the printing industry was not as expected, he said, adding 3D printing was being used in Printed Electronics. He asked the students to do research on the application of 3D printing in the printing industry.

Sivakasi
M Nandakumar, principal, Arasan Ganesan Polytechnic College, Sivakasi addressing the students.

Congratulating Prabakar, a recipient of the International Kalams Golden Award 2023 for the ‘Best Miniature Paper Artist of the Year 2023’, Nandakumar said every student should become an achiever like him. “If he can do it, you can also do it. It all requires will and wish, packed with hard work and persistence.”

Nandakumar said an R&D unit has been proposed in packaging and design in the Printing Technology Department to encourage and motivate printing students to create innovative package designs. The R&D will focus on basic packaging design concepts for the II-year and III-year printing technology students to understand how to create a normal package design.

The research will focus on creating miniature packaging designs to assess and bring out the skills of the students. It is also proposed to conduct a packaging design competition among the students and appreciate them by providing certificates and prizes. An awareness meeting will be organized with internal staff and one packaging expert from outside to spread awareness on packaging.

Sivakasi
R. Prabakar addressing the gathering

Prabakar said he started his career as production in-charge in Hitech Universal Printers & Publishers Coimbatore. During this time, he developed an interest in packaging and concentrated on learning a lot in this field. He spoke to the students about how he managed to achieve nine world records in the packaging industry.

Carton box production and corrugated packaging products, Prabakar said, are much used today. Manufacturers and sellers try to make a product look good and ensure safety measures too. He said he thought of how to fit even the smallest object into a cardboard box in a way that suited the object perfectly and this made him a miniature cardboard designer.

M Pugazh, academic officer, gave the welcome speech while A. Paramasivam, HoD In- charge, Department of Printing Technology, delivered the vote of thanks.

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

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