The Indian print industry will see a faster move towards automation in the post-lockdown environment as companies will look to rationalize their costs and increase productivity, Parag Shah, chief executive officer of HiTech Systems said.
“Printers will start looking at their cost more minutely in the post-lockdown environment. Owners will start scrutinizing the labor productivity more closely. All this will lead to greater demand for automation in the industry. Printers will not only look to reduce labor costs but also enhance productivity,” Shah argues.
Mumbai-based print finishing solutions provider Hi-Tech Systems was established in 1989 and since 2007 it has emerged as a leading name in the short run, on demand and quick print finishing solutions business.
Shah believes that printers will strive to match their finishing speeds with their printing speeds and focus on reducing wastages.
“Many printers who were waiting for drupa to decide on their investments will go for it in the near future as the event has been postponed to 2021,” Shah says.
Expect quick bounce back but challenges remain
The Indian print industry has been mostly shut since the lockdown came into effect on 25 March. According to Shah barring few printers servicing their customers in essential sector, nearly the whole of the industry is non-operational.
“We are in touch with all our customers and all of them are shut. Few printers who have customers in the essential services industry are working, but at hugely reduced capacity. It has been a tough few last weeks but good thing is none of our customer is thinking of cancelling previously placed orders,” Shah says. Shah expects the print industry to get back to normal operations within a month after lockdown is lifted.
“I expect the industry to get back to pre-lockdown level within 30 to 45 days after the lockdown is lifted. Say, if lockdown is lifted to a large extent by mid-May, I see operations going back to normal by mid to late June. Yes, but there will be some challenges that the industry needs to tackle such as liquidity, etc,” he comments.
Shah advises that printers need not panic and cancel their orders that they placed before the COVID-19 pandemic as that would be unhealthy for their business from the medium to long term point of view.
“If some printers decide to cancel their order because of the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic it would be a mistake. The market will improve sooner rather than later. So, when the demand comes back, which it will, those printers will not have appropriate technology and capacity to compete in the market,” Shah says.
Two new product launches soon
As and when the lockdown is lifted, Shah says, Hi-Tech Systems is ready to launch new products. In the next few months, the company plans to unveil two new solutions- a digital label printer for short run applications and a packaging machine.
“We see a lot of potential in demand for short run label jobs and that is why we are going to launch the short run digital label printer by Anytron. As for the packaging machine, I would not like to disclose any more details yet,” Shah says.
