October issue of PrintWeek, WhatPackaging? now out

In another publishing interview, Neeraj Jain of Scholastic shares the details about the ‘value proposition of Indian publishing’ report and the current state of Indian publishing. And it’s not all bad news, as Jain says, “We were equal to the task and innovative enough to manage the impact.”

The issue also highlights the production details of all the 10 novels longlisted for the 2021 JCB Prize for Literature.

In features, PrintWeek reports how the GST rate on cartons, boxes, bags, packing containers of paper and other related items have been revised from 12% to 18%. While the printers say the move will remove the confusion caused by different rates but will impact the print business, the paper association says, it’s a blow to the government’s policy on single-use plastic.

In the business section, Noel D’Cunha discusses the impact of the aluminium’s high prices with TechNova’s CG Ramakrishnan and Fujifilm’s Kentaro Imafuku. The cost of aluminium, for the first time in 13 years, has gone up substantially – to USD 3,000 a tonne. It will have a cascading effect on the printing industry, particularly the plate prices.

In Technology section, seven industry leaders share their best purchase.

In Economy section, three manufacturers explain why they are hopeful of the future.

In Print Sector section, Aultrin Vijay profiles Dharwad, Karnataka-based New Foto Fox Studio.

The October issue of PrintWeek comes with a supplementary edition WhatPackaging?.

The cover story is an interview with Pankaj Poddar of Cosmo Films, where he says, “Sustainability is a wide concept, one which involves the proper implementation of the 3 R policy – reuse, recycle and reduce, in order to build a truly circular economy. Looking at it from a broader frame, sustainability is a concept which, if acted upon today, will help save the environment we live in for the future.”

Also includes an interview with Tejas and Ankit Tanna of Printmann Group, as they discuss the potential of packaging. Will the Group’s clear strategy for all four businesses (cartons, labels, leaflets and foils) yield the desired results?

In another interview, Nitesh Jain, director, CRISIL Ratings, explains how robust demand, supported by heightened hygiene consciousness, growing in-home consumption, and benign input costs, will improve the operating profitability of packaging film companies to a decadal high of 19% this fiscal.