Pranav Parikh: TIE will help customers connect the dots

With the upcoming launch of TIE, TechNova Imaging EcoSystem, for its newspaper customers, TechNova is all set to reinvent itself as much more than a solutions provider. According to the company, TIE is TechNova’s unique endeavour to offer its customers a “unified experience” beyond products and services, which will help customers “connect all the dots” in pre-press, pressroom and post-press - with products, equipment, services, advisory, inventory management; transactional efficiencies - giving customers a single touchpoint for all their requirements. Pranav Parikh, chairman and managing director, TechNova, explains in an interview with Ramu Ramanathan

24 Sep 2018 | By Ramu Ramanathan

Pranav Parikh, chairman and managing director, TechNova

Ramu Ramanathan (RR): Some say newspaper is a sunset industry in India. And yet, balance sheets are showing a solid 5-6% CAGR. Your view?
Pranav Parikh (PP):
 Though the sun has started setting for the newspaper industry in the advanced countries, Indian newspapers, especially the regional language ones, are growing at a robust rate, with a temporary pause due to the current newsprint crisis. Tier two and three cities are the growth drivers, along with the unique business model of Indian newspapers, like low cover price, which ensures high readership which, in turn, protects ad revenues.

RR: Re-structuring is a buzzword these days. What kind of structural change are you seeing with print newspapers in India this year?
PP: 
Key structural changes taking place in Indian newspapers include moving from print-and-distribute model to distribute-and-print model; investments in digital media and innovations in the structure and design of the newspapers to create greater engagement with readers and deliver better value to advertisers.

RR: TechNova has been working silently behind the scene. What type of work have you been doing recently
PP: 
TechNova’s primary focus has been on providing eco-friendly pre-press solutions as well as pressroom systems that result in low cost-in-use. Case in point is our chem-free VioGreen plates which have saved more than 75 million litres of water, reduced effluents by 5.5 million litres and cut down power consumption by 1.5 million units. Our soon to be launched new chem-free plates will eliminate the pre-heat process, further reducing costs and simplifying the process.

RR: One thing from the TechNova portfolio to look out for at Wan-Ifra?
PP: 
Our prime message at Wan-Ifra 2018 will be TechNova’s Total Imaging EcoSystem for Newspapers with a special mention of our green products and services.

RR: One change you expect to come to the newspaper industry in the coming months?
PP:
 We clearly see the need for greener products and services on one hand and cost-optimisation enabling automation on the other, driving technological developments for newspapers printing in the near future.