In our earlier reports on this year’s Wan-Ifra Indian Printers Summit (IPS) Delhi, we noted a sense of optimism, hope, and a strong belief in the print media’s future – albeit with a sense of caution. There was also talk of a hybrid model and bridging the gap between print and digital for a harmonious future.
The heads of the digital units of legacy print media houses discussed and debated innovations that bind print and digital – building on the USPs of each medium, and how they plan their strategies to grow together.
In an insightful session between Puneet Gupt of Times Internet, Puneet Jain of HT Digital, Jaideep Karnik of Amar Ujala, moderated by Veena Venugopal of The Financial Times, the message was loud and clear – publishers aren’t stuck in the old “print vs digital” fight anymore — they’ve realized each format plays a different role.
Print still signals credibility and routine, while digital is about speed, reach, and personalization. “Print stands for authority, credibility, depth and habit,” Puneet Gupt said, adding “digital delivers speed, reach, and personalization.”
The real challenge now is loyalty. Instead of chasing huge traffic numbers, publishers want readers who come back on their own, not just because an algorithm sent them. “You need to be able to get them back on your products faster and better. The way print does it,” he said.
That’s no cakewalk, however, because platforms such as Google and Facebook constantly change what they promote. The speakers, however, argued against panic — it’s building direct relationships through newsletters, subscriptions, and notifications, so that a sudden drop in traffic doesn’t hurt as much.
Many publishers are also shifting to higher-value subscription products to enhance reader lifetime value. The trick is balancing reach with paid offerings — keeping casual readers through ads while giving paying subscribers something special.
Jaideep Karnik described Amar Ujala’s dual-track strategy, where paying users get premium bundles, while casual readers have ad-supported access.
On the journalism side, accuracy still matters. Some newsrooms practice “velocity journalism,” meaning they move fast but hold back when verification is needed. Digital errors happen, but they can be corrected instantly.
“We intentionally go slow on some stories where we will wait for a confirmation to come,” HT’s Puneet Jain said, adding, “We are guardians of trust as much as our print colleagues are,” a thrust which Puneet Gupt from Times Internet agreed with.
AI is already embedded in many workflows — fact-checking, personalization, translations — and publishers say the key is mastering the tools, not fearing them. The real long-term risk, they warn, is that AI answers might limit the range of information people see, narrowing their worldview.
“Technology comes as a helper, as a solver, if you use it in the right way and you master the technology, rather than technology trying to master you or overpower you,” Karnik said.
Print workflow efficiencies
A technical but important session with Debarshi Ray from BCCL, BS Shesh from HT Media, Mohan Raj P from The Hindu Group and Gururaj Shastry from The Printers Mysore discussed strategies for operational excellence, lean practices, automation, newsprint cost, waste reduction, workflow management, manpower capabilities.
To a question by Shesh, Shastry emphasized there is no shortcut or guru mantra to operational excellence or sustainability, suggesting it is a step-by-step approach. “Operators have to understand the machines, go near and build a relationship with them,” he said.
The conversation shifted to product innovation, with Mohan Raj explaining how ad-based innovations, such as perforations, despite a thumbs-down from readers and the editorial team alike, are necessary at times. Shesh seconded with a caution, “Innovations shouldn’t obstruct editorial content.”
The reluctance of skilled engineers to join printing houses because of night shifts was a key area of concern, which Ray raised. He suggested the need for performance-driven shifts and connecting with printing institutes to nurture young talent in the printing industry.
Shesh spoke on the mandatory and constant need to train all employees, especially those on the technical side, to brainstorm, update and absorb new ideas, while Shastry stressed on incentives for team performance to enhance efficiency in quality control.
Other topics that came up for discussion in this panel included the challenges of higher grammage of paper vis-à-vis ink bleeding from ads, the shift from 40 gsm to 38 gsm paper, the pros and cons of reducing plate thickness to cut costs; and the compatibility of paper width with new machines.
Other important presentations included carbon footprint reduction and green certifications for newspaper printing plants by printing technologist Ganesh Kumar Vujayakumar, who took from his last year’s speech in Kochi, Amit Waghmare’s insights on how IT or cloud frameworks enable efficiency in the publishing workflow; and lessons from MV Mahamunkar of ABP in streamlining color & workflow in plant and prepress environments.
