The Association of Label Printers &Suppliers (ALPS) organized a seminar on ‘Going Digital- When & How’ on 24 November at India Habitat Centre, Delhi. The seminar centered around the theme of having an open discussion on digital printing and finishing technology, discussing issues of moving towards digital printing and sharing latest inventions, ideas and views of industry experts.
The event, co-sponsored by HP, VINSAK and the FIG group, witnessed a record turnout of printers, converters and media dignitaries from Delhi/NCR.
The seminar was commenced by an opening speech of Guru Raj Ballarwad, president, ALPS who gave a warm welcome to all the visitors and shared his views on how ALPS plans to support the entire printing industry by starting magazines, organizing seminars and conferences. The event was moderated by Ashish Gupta, managing director of Rational Business Corporation, New Delhi.
Gaurav Roy of FIG Group gave a presentation on how printers can enter the digital printing business by tackling the entry barriers and discussed the various benefits of digital and inkjet printing. He shared a very interesting journey of an Indian convertor from the late 1990s to today and also talked about the role Mark Andy is playing in offering affordable digital and hybrid solutions to the Indian market.
Shamim Alam of HP gave a presentation on how printers can generate unique labels in digital printing at optimized costing. He cited the examples of big brands such as Coca-Cola or Oreo biscuits using digital printing technology to create unique labels.
Ranesh Bajaj of VINSAK India talked about short-run inline converting and embellishments. He shared his opinion on optimizing digital finishing costs and saving on turnaround time on short- to medium-run jobs. He laid emphasis on variable data personalization on wads, lottery tickets, scratch cards, etc., adding that going digital could mean starting as small as adding a variable data printing head to the existing presses, finishing lines, etc.
The presentations were followed by an open and animated panel discussion where leading convertors like Sanjiv Sondhi of Zircon, Harish Gupta of Sai Com Codes, S Prabhakar of Ikon Labels, and Girender Kumar of Shree Ram Vertitech shared their thoughts on the entry-level barriers of the high cost of Industrial digital equipment, high cost of running of digital vs. conventional as well as the reluctance of the brands to pay the premium for digital, etc. The vendors tried to offer solutions and advise on these problems but the key point revolved around both the convertors and equipment suppliers joining forces and working towards educating the brand owners and packaging development teams on the benefits of digital.
A generous vote of thanks was proposed and delivered by Ajay Aggarwal of Syndicate Labels, who is also the vice president of ALPS. He lauded the efforts of the entire ALPS team, including Arunesh Bansal, secretary of ALPS, and the executive team in organizing the interactive and informative evening. He also confirmed that subsequent events in the West and South of India are planned in the very near future.
