Moving away from book printing and publishing heavyweights, Indian Printer & Publisher visited small and medium printers in the nooks and crannies of Noida. These are print service providers relying mostly on a single digital press paired with a couple of multifunction printers — providing letterheads, pamphlets, visiting cards, and short-run book printing to nearby clinics, schools, and other small businesses. Some of these own auxiliary businesses to support their finances, or have shifted from conventional printing to produce related products with a different value proposition.
Noida Sector 10 is one such hub of digital service providers. Some of them have managed to retain direct customers, while a majority rely on third-party orders. Sector 10 is one of the most preferred markets for short-run jobs, ranging from visiting cards to book printing and binding. Most printers there own at least one machine from Konica Minolta. If not a digital press, at least one KM multifunction printer can be seen at every production unit.
Printing Dial, run by Mohammad Rashid, entered the market in early 2024 with a Konica Minolta AccurioPress C7090. When we visited Rashid after the installation, he seemed optimistic about growing his printing business and venturing into sticker labels. At present, Printing Dial’s sticker label business outshines his commercial portfolio with orders from appliances and nutraceutical products. Rashid also prints handbooks and other literature for appliances.
With the hope of becoming a one-stop printing solution provider, Rashid got into training right after his graduation. After learning the intricacies of handling a digital press and managing day-to-day operations, he started his business one and a half years ago. He started as an agent, getting outsourced orders, and eventually buying a press.
“Direct customers are more profitable, and we try to retain them. Third-party clients offer low margins. Sometimes we work on credit. Our quality keeps us in the good books of our customers. As our orders are growing, we plan to add another digital production press to enter the premium labels segment,” Rashid said. He plans to enter the mid-format vinyl business as well.
Established in 2005, Bhagwati Printers provides services such as color printouts, photo albums and frames, ID card printing, photostat, drawing maps, lamination, spiral binding, hard binding, project binding, thermal binding, and spico binding.
However, printing is his secondary business. His primary source of income is school uniforms. Printing complements the hosiery part as the majority of his printing orders come from schools.
Rohit Singh, partner at a printer in Sector 22, says low demand for printed commodities is a concern. Lamination, binding, and small orders keep the press running. “Orders are as unpredictable. We get both direct and third-party print jobs, and as such, the margins keep fluctuating. Having two related businesses helps us stay afloat when the market is down.”
Repeat business includes some large-format printing on a Mutoh printer, he says, “We have serviced happy clients such as Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Ayesa Ingenieria Y Arquitectura SA, Yfc Project Noida, Aplinka Solutions & Technologies, Sterling and Wilson, Sterling and Willson Powergen, NKG Infra Structure (FDR), REPL Rudrabhishek Enterprises, ISGEC Heavy Engineering, NTPC Limited, Kalpataru Power Transmission SAM (India), Built Well, DGLL (ministry of shipping), Central Bank of India, Employees Provident Fund Organization, and more.”
We also found an odd duck, Poster N Frames, in Sector 7. Starting as an interior decor set-up, the sign and poster maker has expanded to commercial printing as an additional service with the installation of the AccurioPress C7090 digital press.
Sakshi Jain, owner of the company established in 2019, told Indian Printer & Publisher that she started Poster N Frames with her husband, Manish Jain. The majority of the sales are online. Poster N Frames has an online mode of delivery through Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra, and its own website. “Our printed products are for interior decoration. We provide posters and signage for homes and businesses alike with beautiful framing.”
Along with the Konica Minolta press, Poster N Frames owns two mid-web eco-solvent printers from Grando and a PixelJet wide-format printer from Monotech Systems. For customers with bulk orders, the company outsources offset capabilities.
Jain said incorporating the digital press to increase profitability and retain customers is a priority. “Any capacity building in the future will be digital only as the market is highly competitive in the bulk segment and digital allows more scope,” Jain said.
