Konica Minolta displayed applications printed on MGI JetVarnish, AccurioLabel 230 and AccurioJet KM1 at its stand at pacprocess 2019. “The capex for these equipment is extremely high. These machines are meant for cutting-edge applications. Our customers need to be trained about marketing these applications. By participating at the exhibition, we help our customers reach out to their end users. We also help our customers pitch to new clients,” says Vijay Kamat, national product manager – Industrial Print.
Apart from these initiatives, Konica Minolta also organizes close to 80 roadshows in a year to demonstrate samples printed on it presses. These roadshows are organized mainly in the areas where Konica Minolta has its installations. “There are cases wherein our customers based in Delhi print and supply to customers based in Kerala in a single day delivery schedule. But this has to happen all across the country. We’re trying to encourage our customers from B class cities also to take up this initiative,” adds Kamat. KM also maintains a database of printers from various areas. The company uses this database to connect various service providers with new customers.
In the photobook industry, there are a couple of major equipment suppliers for print embellishment. More than 80% customers of MGI embellishment machines in the market operate in the photobook industry. Kamat adds that foiling gives MGI an edge over its competitors in the market. De-bossed foiling is very rare in the print industry and MGI customers are the only ones who are able to provide this service. “Our customer in Ludhiana, Dulari Digital who installed an MGI increased its volumes in the last six months. The company is doing almost 80% work in the photo segment and only 20% in the commercial and packaging segments. We as a company believe that photobook is an Indian application. We are now putting greater effort in promoting MGI in packaging and commercial segments,” Kamat shares.
He also believes that the Indian packaging market is maturing every year with an increase in demand for packaging that looks appealing on the shelf. Hence, he sees a very promising market for MGI in the coming future in India.
Talking about the show, Kamat says, “We got a good response from the visitors on the first day. We got brand owners at our stand with whom we managed to have a healthy interaction. Some packaging companies also came to us. Overall, this exhibition is proving to be a good networking oppotunity for us,” Kamat concludes.
