Paper printing biz unlikely to come down in next 10 yrs

The growth of the concept of 'paperless world' notwithstanding, the business of paper printing in India is not likely to come down in the next ten years. At least that's what Katsuhisa Asari, Managing Director, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt Ltd, feels. With the spread of the concepts of paperless offices or paperless world, green world, sustainability practices, as high as 20 per cent of volumes of paper printing business disappeared globally.

However, in India, it's a completely different scenario. With new offices being set up, new businesses coming up, wedding businesses growing, packaging and labelling businesses growing, print volume in India is going to grow up, in the days to come, said Asari. Industrial printing, therefore, is their highest growing segment, he added.

Normally in India, 1400 units of printing machines are placed every year. This year, the number is expected to go up to 1700-1800 units/year. The digital printer business, which has been growing at 10 per cent per annum for the last few years, is likely to go up to 18-20 per cent, this year, he said.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt Ltd a wholly owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Inc., Tokyo, Japan, has expertise in imaging, data processing, and data-based decision-making, creating relevant solutions for its customers and solving issues faced by society. As a digital workplace solution provider, Konica Minolta helps its clients to identify and unlock the potential digitalisation to help companies reach the next level in the digital maturity of their organisation by rethinking the workplace.

Konica Minolta's production printing division has more than 50 per cent market share, in India and Leadership position in Eastern market. With India continuing to transform itself into a digital economy, the company will be able to further strengthen and expand its business in the East region. Currently the company is having our customer base in entire eastern zone – Kolkata, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and seven states of North east with wide network of service and supply chain management. It has recently opened its Mother warehouse in Kolkatta to support our Eastern Zone customers.

Asari said that the market, the world and the consumer behaviour are constantly evolving. We have moved from analog camera to digital camera to mobile camera. The printing industry has also evolved dramatically in recent years by showing a growth of more than 10 per cent YoY, thereby creating a path for modern technologies that expedite operations and deliver high-quality prints. On the customer side, the demands are also shifting. "We therefore, need to continuously look at different kind of business. For instance, we have developed offerings with integrated workflows and accessories to automate printing solutions, thus saving time and meeting the customers' print requirements," he said.