PAMEX 2023 will be led by the torch-bearers of convergence in printing industry!

PAMEX has seen an unprecedented growth in terms of the number of exhibitors, net area and the footfall from all over India,over the last few years. The 2023 edition of the show is 25% bigger than the last edition, which was held immediately before the pandemic. Themed around ‘Convergence in Print’, the event will showcase several products and solutions that have been produced out of overlapping technologies and discovering new businesses based on convergence.

‘Gateway to the Gods’ – the final stop of the road show !

The PAMEX roadshows carried the theme of Convergence to six flourishing cities across the country over last five months, with the final destination being Haridwar, the industrial hub that is served by several printing and packaging companies. The promotional road show, held on March 3,2023 at Yashail Hotel, saw attendance of more than 125 delegates.

Precursor to the main event, the event at Haridwar gave a final push to the efforts PAMEX has been putting in gathering local printers and educating them about the pros and cons of adopting Convergence as a strategy in their businesses.

The event was enlivened by the presence of the very enthusiastic personality from the printing industry – Prof. Kamal Chopra who is the Past President of All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP) and also the General Secretary of Offset Printers Association (OPA). “For a printer or an association, visiting trade expo is very important. It is the best source of information on what is trending, what will the future be and where we are heading. Every printer faces a different challenge, it is not the same game for everyone. So, we all need to understand where we are lacking and work on those areas,” he said addressing the audience.

Kamal Chopra was joined by Nitin Narula, Vice President North, AIFMP; Tushar Dhote, Co-Charmain, Pamex, AIFMP; Raanu Bisht Oberoi, President, Devbhoomi Printers & Publishers Association; Rakesh Shethi, President, Saharanpur Offset Printers Association; Rajesh Rawat, Chairman, Bhagwanpur Industries Association; Ketan Bhardwaj, Chairman, Roorkee Small Scale Industrial Association and Anil Arora, President, Print-Packaging.Com (P) Ltd., for the inaugural ceremony at Haridwar.

Panel discussion…Ashutosh Tripathi, National Centre for Flexible Electronics, IIT Kanpur who had shared a technology presentation at Bangalore event, moderated the panel discussion at Haridwar. Themed around “Convergence in Print- The Way Forward!”, the discussion was joined by expert panellists including Sanjeev Sondhi, Zircon Technologies (India) Limited; Arvind Singhal, Square Vision India Private Limited; Nitin Sharma, Ekta Graphics & Printing Solutions; Amitabh Luthra, Printers Supply Co Private Limited and Ashutosh Tripathi, National Centre for Flexible Electronics, IIT Kanpur. The discussion started with a relative gist of Convergence given by Ashutosh, “Haridwar lies along the Ganga- which is formed with the Convergence of two rivers –Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi.” He further added, “In terms of technology, convergence is the merger of two or more stand-alone technologies resulting in new values, new features and even new business.”

During pandemic, many companies explored other verticals of business and that brought an upsurge in Convergence. Sharing his experience, Sanjeev Sondhi said, “I feel that keeping the trunk of the tree safe, means keeping your base business same, you can still apply convergence by adding more elements of technology to your current business. For example, keeping our basic printing business intact, we looked at multifaced converting options during pandemic. We moved from labels to metallised printing for enhancement and also explored high secured printing to avoid counterfeiting. The vision of the future is important. Today our new products are doing much better than the old ones.”

The technology presentation by Pawandeep Sahni from OMET India has been one of the highlights of all the road shows held by PAMEX. “If the convergence is applied in the process that you are already well versed with, it is easy to adopt and analyse results. However, if there is a shift of form, material or solution – the learning and understanding of new process is important before the convergence is applied,” he said.

Ashutosh Tripathi, National Centre for Flexible Electronics, IIT Kanpur then took over the dais to talk about the importance of Printed Electronics in these times. “Though the concept of printed electronics is not new, there is a lot of potential in the Indian market. They add value to your product and process with automation, enhance displays, produce decorative and smart packaging,” he stated.

Surya Lamba, FUJIFILM, shared his presentation on ‘Process Optimisation’, where he spoke about the role and expectation from plates in printing and packaging. “Consistency, accuracy, quality & quick output, less chemical wastage, higher productivity and better for environment are some of the requirements from the industry, which need to be met when it comes to the technology we adapt for plates,” he said.

PAMEX roadshow @ Bengaluru ‘converged’ with Printers’ Day to make a gala event

It was a festive atmosphere at the FKCCI Auditorium in Bengaluru for the penultimate PAMEX roadshow on 24 February that also happened to be the Printers’ Day. Nearly 200 delegates from Davangere, Hassan, Malanad, Tumkur, Udupi and Vijaypur Districts were greeted by the KSPA team over breakfast. The delegates then made a beeline for the tabletop exhibition before filling up the auditorium for the start of the inaugural session where they were also joined by the local delegates from Bengaluru making it among the most well attended event in the series of Roadshows to promote PAMEX 2023.

The Panel Discussion at the conference was moderated by Amitabh Luthra, Printers Supply Co Private Limited, who started the discussion giving a brief on how Convergence is clearly visible in all stages of printing. “Whether it is the software used in pre-press, printing machines which have inline finishing options, the possibility of printing on various substrates, convergence in label printing processes and now even in cartons,” he said. The panellists at the session, Gopi Ballarwad, iTekPackz LLP; Denver Annunciation, Janus International; Suresh Srinivasan, Kamsri Printing & Packaging Private Limited and C. N. Ashok, Autoprint Machinery Mfrs. Private Limited, then shared their success stories around – ‘Convergence in Print-The Way Forward.’