Indian Printer Publisher

  Indian Printer and Publisher asked Kodak India ’s managing director, Bhalachandra Nikumb a few questions about the company’s challenges and views of the pandemic and its effect on the print industry. Indian Printer and Publisher – How has Kodak fared during the pandemic in India in offset plates, inkjet and software? Bhalachandra Nikumb – India went under nationwide lockdown beginning on 25 March 2020. Kodak India started operations from 1st April onwards to serve its newspaper and offset packaging customers that were classified under the category of essential services. Since April, we have seen our business growing gradually on a month over month basis. During Q4 we expect business to be in the range of 75-80% pre- Covid-19 level. IPP – In offset plates how is the consumption in a. newspapers; b. commercial and book presses; and, c. in the carton packaging industry? Bhalachandra Nikumb – Newspaper [offset plate] consumption was badly affected initially because of lower c...

On 24 September 2020 we published Nava Thakuria’s story of the two dozen deaths of Indian journalists due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A report by Rowan Philip of the Global Investigative Journalism network dated 17 November updates the number of Indian journalist deaths due to Covid-19 at 57. The GIJN report based on the Press Emblem Campaign reports 462 journalists deaths from 56 countries as of 15 November. Peru’s journalism community has been the hardest hit, with 93 reporter deaths, followed by India with 47, Ecuador with 41, and Brazil with 36. In an interview with GIJN , Blaise Lempen, PEC secretary general, said the true tally was likely much higher than 462, as researchers were limited to cases officially confirmed to be virus-related, through testing or certification. The PEC had recorded 64 Covid-19 deaths in 24 countries by 5 May 2020, a number that rose to 462 on 15 November, in 56 countries. Both numbers are likely to be an undercount. While this is a seven fold increase i...

 Twin brothers (aged 27 years) - Ronak Panchal and Tarak Panchal have recently taken over the management of Newtech Machines , Valsad, India. They will continue the legacy left behind by the late Anup Panchal, founder of Newtech Machines, a renowned manufacturer of round screen printing and heat transfer label (HTL) printing machines. The company was founded by Anup Panchal, who died in 2018. Meanwhile, a new factory is being developed on a plot of land adjacent to the current factory, and it would be ready by 2020-21 to augment production. In a joint statement to the media, both Ronak and Tarak said, “As sons of a successful visionary businessman, we have a responsibility to take his legacy forward and write down our own success story.” Both Ronak and Tarak are armed with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from California State University, Los Angeles, California, USA. The brothers, designated as directors, joined the company in July 2020. Commenting on his new respons...

  After successfully completing the project phase, Hamburger Abendblatt has been producing magazines with Content-X from ppi Media and Digital Collections since August 2020. Funke Mediengruppe is now planning to use Content-X to produce magazines for other newspapers. Funke Mediengruppe , one of the largest media groups in Germany, has long been producing its newspapers with solutions developed by ppi Media , including PlanPag and OM for page production. In June 2020, the group decided to use Content-X for the creation of magazines for Hamburger Abendblatt. In addition to the daily newspaper, the Abendblatt team regularly produces mono-thematic magazines on local issues, such as Historical Hamburg , and titles aimed at the national market, such as Jürgen Klopp . Thanks to the web-based CX planner developed by ppi Media, the editorial solution is ideal for planning and producing magazine publications. All pages can be managed via the planner’s web interface and continuously updated...

  In a move towards ensuring a safe packaging environment in the country, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) recently prohibited toluene-based inks for food packaging applications under a revision of its IS15495 regulation ill-effects of toluene on human health and environment. Mandeep Kaur and Naresh Khanna discussed this topic and others in a conversation with the DIC India’s managing director and CEO Manish Bhatia. Noida-based DIC India (a part of the DIC Corporation based in Japan) is one of India’s largest printing ink manufacturers, with R & D centers in Kolkata and Noida and manufacturing facilities in Noida, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. The company marks its presence in UV, UV flexo, conventional sheetfed, flexible gravure, and CI flexo inks. It is also present in the industrial adhesive segment. As one of the oldest global ink companies present in the country, DIC worked closely with the BIS standardization committee on the ban of toluene-based inks. Speaking ...

  We recently spoke with Rohit Jain of VK Global Publications , one of the country’s leading textbook publishers based in Faridabad. The publishing group was founded by Rohit Jain’s elder brother, Rahul Jain, and father Late Professor TR Jain, a well-known teacher of economics and author. Professor Jain’s economics texts, including Macroeconomics, Indian Economic Development, and several titles in economics have, over the years, become amongst the most prevalent and widespread textbooks on the subject. They are prescribed in CBSE schools, college and university courses throughout the country, as are many of the other books co-authored by TR Jain and specialist co-authors in microeconomics, analytical techniques, and statistics. Since 1979, VK Global has published some of the most widely used economics and commerce textbooks at the school, college, and university level in the country. Becoming a large, modern, and forward-looking publisher, in 1999, it launched a children’s book off...

  INEOS Styrolution recently announced an agreement with Ferrero to explore the feasibility of using its advanced recycling concepts, such as depolymerization for future packaging solutions. The aim of INEOS Styrolution is to develop a process to convert complex plastic waste back to fully recyclable materials that comply with food contact regulations. The INEOS Styrolution recycling concept aims at contributing to a circular economy, based on the depolymerization process that converts post-consumer complex plastic waste back to its monomers. The new material created through this process would also comply with food contact regulations. Ferrero comments, “We are pleased to work with INEOS Styrolution to explore opportunities for future packaging solutions that, today, are not available in practice and at scale. We are interested to see whether INEOS Styrolution’s approach can offer a circular solution and support the Ferrero commitment to make all its packaging 100% reusable, recy...

  HP Publishing Solutions is hosting a webinar on 'The Future of Export' as part of the HP Publishing 2020 vision series of webinars aimed at looking at the future of publishing in all its guises. The webinar will take place on 24 November 2020 at 2130 hours IST. Book exports contribute substantially to the UK, US, French, and Spanish publishing revenues and, while the Covid-19 pandemic impact has been significant, not least because of bookshop closures and increased shipping fees, other factors need to be considered when diagnosing the future health of export in these markets. Off stage, increased audiobook streaming, Brexit, and environmental considerations all play their part in determining the longevity and well-being of this important revenue stream. Four expert panelists share their experiences over the last extraordinary year and debate what the future might look like/hold and the role that print can play in ensuring a sustainable agenda. Register for the webinar here

  An integrated sustainability work and an ambition to constantly meet customers’ sustainability requirements are reasons why BillerudKorsnäs maintains its leading position for the third year in a row, according to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index – a globally recognized sustainability ranking for investors. The results from this year’s ranking show that BillerudKorsnäs is one of the ten percent most sustainable companies and the company with the highest score in the Containers & Packaging category. S&P Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) is a comprehensive annual evaluation of companies’ sustainability practices and performance with a coverage of over 7,300 companies representing approximately 95 percent of market capitalization. The top ten percent are included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. “ We are very happy to keep our position as the industry leader. This is a result of many years of integrated sustainability work, covering everything from huma...

The trials for newsprint paper production on the paper machine 6 at UPM Jämsänkoski paper mill as well as paper test runs at printing plants have been successful. As a consequence of this, the product portfolio of uncoated mechanical papers of the paper machine 6 will, in the future, be extended to cover newsprint paper also. “ Our employees have invested a great deal of effort and development work in recent weeks to get to where we stand today. We have developed high-quality coldset paper grades, especially for domestic newsprint customers and the feedback from our customers’ test runs has been extremely good. With those enlarged capabilities of Jämsänkoski paper mill, 6 UPM is able to deliver newsprint qualities uninterruptedly to Finland. This is keeping our site flexible and competitive,” says Antti Hermonen , general manager, UPM Jämsänkoski. A complete range of SC and newspaper grades can now be produced on-site in Jämsänkoski, focusing on its Finnish and Nordic customers with ...

  Xerox announced its new Xerox AltaLink C8100 and Xerox AltaLink B8100 Series multi-function printers (MFPs) that can better support today’s flexible work environment and help companies speed their digital transformation with access to the ConnectKey ecosystem of apps. In addition to its printing capabilities, the AltaLink 8100 series helps speed workplace digitization with ultra-fast scanning of up to 270 images per minute and optical character recognition that allows clients to extract more value from information. Combined with ConnectKey apps, including connections to the most popular cloud solutions, these printers can support a key area of focus for businesses as they shift from physical to digital enterprises. According to a recent global Future of Work survey by Xerox, 34% of businesses are expediting digital transformation plans as a result of Covid-19. Vineet Gehani, director - Technology and Channels, Xerox India , said, “We are committed to helping Indian businesses d...

  EasyCut Studio, the software development company providing sign-making solutions for vinyl cutter users, recently announced its updated version of Easy Cut Studio. The newly released version 5.007 extends the capabilities of Easy Cut Studio by offering support for KASA, UKCutter SMURF, VEVOR, Marsh Stencil Express, SSK Designtech 60, Helo HSP, and OmniSign Plus cutters. The new version provides many optimizations and improvements. Easy Cut Studio is the cutting plotter software that allows users to manage their preferred workflow with highest flexibility. The latest version has an all-inclusive signage design and cutting solutions. The software works for both beginners and experienced users and is compatible with the best printers and plotters on the market. It includes support for all the vinyl cutting plotters used by most sign shops today. Manufacturers supported include Roland, USCutter, Mutoh, Summa, Gerber, Liyu, GCC, Graphtec, KASA, UKCutter, VEVOR, SSK, Helo, OmniSign Se...

Once again bringing the industry together at a time when the opportunity to connect face-to-face is extremely limited, the second edition of the FuturePrint Virtual Summit saw attendance by over 3,908 people from over 80 countries, and the international profile of the visitor base grew with a larger attendance from outside UK and US this time. In fact, all areas of visitors grew compared with the June event which registered 1,550 from 65 countries, demonstrating the value delivered by this event and the importance the industry places on having a platform where businesses, peers, and friends can engage and learn in these challenging times. Top ten countries were UK, US, Netherlands, Germany, Finland, France, Belgium, Japan, Italy, and Austria.   The visitor demographic profile remained similar to the June event with a more youthful profile and a better gender balance than is typical with a live event in the print sector. According to website analytics, this included approximately 5...

  The investigations Beilenhoff Consulting and partner companies carried out into ‘ink savings using laser-engraved cylinders’ were recently presented in a webinar. Due to the very favorable response, the webinar is to be repeated. HELL Gravure Systems recently hosted a webinar on ‘ink savings using laser-engraved cylinders.’ During the event, Stefan Beilenhoff from Beilenhoff Consulting presented test results achieved in partnership with printing press manufacturer Windmöller & Hölscher , ink manufacturer Siegwerk Druckfarben and service provider 4Packaging. The 90-minute seminar, held in English, was attended by more than 100 participants, mostly from Asia. Due to the highly positive response, this free event is being repeated in the near future, although a specific date has not yet been set. If you are interested in this event, please contact your HELL sales partner or send an eMail to info@hell-gravure-systems.com, Betreff: HELL-Webinar You can also click here to read the ...

Print service providers can now benefit from highly flexible print production on roll-fed media, as well as rigid media, with the Ricoh Pro TF6251 hybrid flatbed UV printer . Building on the Ricoh Pro TF6250, the all-in-one hybrid system supports the versatile production of a wider range of applications for sign and display, industrial, graphic arts, and interior decor. It also delivers high productivity with its 12 Ricoh inkjet print heads. On its compact 2.5m x 1.3m sized table, the print heads enable flatbed print speeds of up to 116 square meters per hour in four color draft mode. For roll print, speeds are up to 67 square meters per hour in four colour draft mode. Excellent image quality and exceptional reliability are also integral attributes. The combination of tried and tested technology and leading inkjet capability offers a number of benefits for multidiscipline print operations. T he Ricoh Pro TF6251 hybrid flatbed UV printer is a hybrid rigid and flexible solution that sup...

  Wan-Ifra is hosting a special virtual edition of Digital Media Europe 20 (DME20) subscription marketing & premium advertising from Tuesday, 10 November to Thursday, 12 November 2020. DME20 aims to mix practical tips and inspiration. And share news of an industry severely impacted by the pandemic.   The international speakers at the event include Stefan Buhr, distribution director, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , Germany; Fleur Lavedan, sales and customer marketing director, L'Equipe , France; Haakon Johansen, vice president Consumer Market, Amedia , Norway; Anita Zielina, director of Innovation & Leadership; Xenia Daum, managing director, styria digital one , Austria; Koen Meeusen, director reader revenue, Mediahuis , Belgium; Arun Venkataraman, global strategy lead, Google News Initiative, USA; Jerusha Sukhdeo-Raath, head of Brand Studio: 24.com, News24 , South Africa; and Jarrod Dicker, vice president Commercial Strategy, Technology and R&D, The Washingt...

  The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a proposed rule to fix the stay of non-immigrants to improve national security. Specifically, the proposed rule seeks to remove the current framework that allows representatives of foreign Information media to remain in the United States for as long as they maintain compliance with the terms and conditions of their period required to complete their assignment or employment. If adopted, the proposed rule will establish a fixed time period of admission and an extension of stay procedure for 'representatives of foreign information media”. Under the proposed rule, most foreign journalists would be admitted for a maximum of 240 days. The applications would remain pending after their period of admission. Citing security concerns, Homeland Security says it plans to replace the current visa system with a fixed period visa for foreign journalists, students, and exchange visitors. The maximum period granted for a journalist to stay...