“Indian market is proactive rather than reactive now”

said Jeff de Klejin, director and general manager, graphic solutions business – sign & display, printing and personal systems group, HP APJ, in an interview with Varsha Verma.

HP has recently unveiled the HP Latex 3500 and 3100 printers, expanding its proven HP Latex Technology portfolio, and grew its digital corrugated offering with the HP Scitex 17000 Corrugated Press. These new solutions help sign and display print service providers (PSPs) and corrugated converters increase productivity and workflow efficiency. Jeff de Klejin, director and general manager, graphic solutions business – sign & display, printing and personal systems group, HP APJ, shared, “We are looking at newer applications like decorative wall paper, flooring furniture for both residential as well as commercial purposes. We are also looking at printing with cheaper and recyclable materials like polypropylene, besides offering multiple possibilities on paper and textiles.”

To remain competitive, high-volume PSPs are constantly challenged to deliver short turnaround times across varied applications, while maintaining top-of-the-line quality. HP is addressing these challenges to better meet the various production needs of sign and display PSPs with the new 3.2-meter (126-inch) HP Latex 3500 and 3100 printers, which build on the success of its more than 26,000 HP Latex printers installed worldwide. “There is a market of 380 billion sq ft prints, which is growing at 48 percent year on year,” added Tomas Martin, business manager, HP sign & sisplay, graphic solutions business, printing and personal system, Asia Pacific and Japan.

“PSPs are increasingly faced with complex jobs and shorter lead times, stretching existing equipment to meet client demand and digital is the only solution,” said Jeff. Talking about the Indian market, he shared, “India is top five in the APJ segment and is fast in adopting new technologies and HP Latex is making strong inroads here. Indian market is innovative and PSPs are coming up with very creative solutions for their customers.”

“There has been an overall transformation of Indian market, which was earlier more reactive, but now it is more proactive. We are extremely optimistic about this market as the macroeconomic environment is also conducive. PSPs are brave enough to do something different, be successful at it and have followers later on,” added Jeff.

Talking about the packaging segment, Jeff said, the new HP Scitex 17000 and 15500 Corrugated Press help converters address market demand for shorter runs and faster turnaround times. The new press features the recently introduced HP Scitex Corrugated Grip and HP HDR230 Scitex Inks and prints at speeds of up to 1,000 sq m/hr (10,764 sq f/hr) for economical, high-volume production of industrial-grade corrugated boards.

On a concluding note, Jeff said, “HP is your partner to grow and expand and have the broadest portfolio to serve all kind of needs.”