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MMS has had many firsts like the Lifetime Achievement Award, World Print Hub, Round Table Conference (the first one was hosted in 2016), Hidden Gems and more. MMS celebrated Printers’ Day by hosting the 7th edition of the Circle of PrintRound Table Conference and recognizing three maverick yet lesser-known printers with the Hidden Gems award. The Conference was held at the MCA Club, Mumbai, on April 5, with a packed hall consisting business owners and industry leadersfromtheprintandpackagingindustry.
Prof. Rajendrakumar Anayath the keynote speaker for MMS’ Printer’s Day celebrations advised the printers that print and packaging businesses must address quality, cost, and time to market by consistently investing in future-proof technologies. He shared case studies of a few enterprises using AI, automation, machine learning, and data communications technologies to achieve higher, sustainable, and profitable output.
The 2024 Conference featured the following thematic tables with industry and print experts and eight to ten print industry players participatinginthediscussions.
Smart Factory Round Table: Chandra Gaur of Machnika urged the printers to implement a smart factory as in a market where brands are becoming experimental, innovation-driven, and proactive, the print and packaging suppliers must also be agile, connected, transparent, and optimized in their operations and communications with clients. Moreover, capturing, storing, analyzing, and accessing data becomes the crucial aspect of the system implementation. He suggests that one may start small, “but the business must have a well-defined goal” while investinginasmartfactoryproject.
AI in MIS & Design: Parmeshwar Patidar from Indas Analytics stated that he witnesses ample opportunities for generative AI in many business areas for print and packaging companies in building future designs. These opportunities include design, team communication with customers to help standardize processes and automation of repetitive tasks to free human
resources, machine management automation through data analysis/reporting between machines and customers, and trainingforteams.
On the other hand, “Dharam Mentor of Design Horse LLP. firmly added, “AI helps designers create multiple ideas, customizations, and design options with variables. Dharam also opined that new technology always brings more opportunities for example, from mechanized to digital printing, printed products have exponentially increased and become moreaccessible.
Digital Labels & Flexo: Parag Pimple, TechNova Imaging, highlighted that digital and flexo packaging are poised to grow as consumption has doubled in recent years.” Physical retail stores are the only places where customers can touch and feel the brand’s products, and it is in these stores that packaging has the chance to touch consumers. In the same market, “B2C brands are thriving in the online, digital-first, consumerdominated marketplace. In a pull market now, this has put the brand and the printers in a fix to change and be more sustainable, for example, lower the MOQs, better the speed to market,andoffercost-effectiveVDPcustomization.”
‘Computer to fabric—décor printing’ round table had a diverse set of printers and a broader set of technologies to discuss, currently deployed in India—from reactive printing and pigment inks to dye sublimation. Jigar Satra of Reliable Prints stated, “Though much more expensive, pigments are taking over other technologies worldwide, but in the Indian context, people are investing in all technologies as they remain relevant forthemarket.”
Inkjet Digital Publishing: Ajay Agarwal of Insight Communications and Dinesh Gada of Star Copiers, Pune, concurred that standardization is the most critical aspect of achieving higher efficiency in publishing. Ajay cautioned the delegates to use no-cuts, fluff-free paper grades to ensure the long-termdefect-freelifeofaprinthead.
Shri Ranbireshwar Temple Patnitop Vaishno Devi (Katra)
