Kulakkada Pradeep: Pandemic questions the survival of print

What change in the print market should we anticipate in the post Covid-19 era? 
Covid-19 era brought in an important realisation that the digital medium has taken over many of the print segments. This has led to a shrinkage of the print market size in 2020. Many publicity related segments which were catered by printers will eventually vanish if it hasn’t happened already.

Is this the end for printing?
Not really. We have to expect new areas to emerge as well. It will take some time to understand the ill effects of digital communication or the excessive use of it. But one clear trend I can see is the emergence of printers as solution providers rather than just being printers. They will need to provide solutions for social media and digital platforms as well in the future. I feel, this could be a real opportunity for them.

What effect will work from home (WFH) policies of large corporations have on the print volumes?
It will definitely affect the stationery producers and paper suppliers as there isn’t any stationery requirement in offices. The overall migration to digital platform will affect the print volumes even if we are talking about the short run digital print volumes. Unfortunately, many of these existing print volumes may not come back in the future as the digital medium has had the time to showcase many advantages to the users.

What will be the effect on run lengths? Will shorter run lengths mean more digital print volume?
Shorter run length jobs will see more trials on digital printing and the comfort of this kind of trend will lead to more acceptances for digital. The cost cannot be compared but convenience and lesser hassle will take precedence for print buyers. That can tilt many consumers towards digital print.

Colour vs mono. Will this equation change in the post Covid-19 era?
Colour is the name of the game now and mono cannot displace it ever. It has got nothing to do with the printing. It is the choice of the new generation which gets bored with mono even though it has artistic values.

Any major trends especially in the wedding photo album market, education vertical and jobber vertical that you foresee?
Wedding photo album market will bounce back as it has some nostalgic values. Also albums are close to the heart for the members of the families, especially in South India. Though the wedding albums still face the challenges in reproducing the vivid colours of Indian marriages or details of wedding functions in the night, the people are up for it. Education books and materials will be printed in lesser numbers, but art and craft will see a rise. Activity based materials and guides will also see more acceptance.

Will firms do away with dependence on people availability in their printing shopfloor. For example: with investments in workflows and finishing equipment?
Post Covid-19, the trend of investments will spread like wild fire, as overdependency of skills and routine is a problem faced by Indian print industry. The companies will have to upgrade and take advantage of the future technology. They will have to upgrade the workforce too by equipping it adequately to take the full advantage of new technology.

Is it the right time to focus on losses due to productivity standards?
The overall observation is that Indian print community is less inclined to workflows and processes, which is the reason for the poor productivity standards. A productivity audit should be the first thing to be conducted in many printing presses. For example: during the productivity audits conducted by Future Schoolz at a few leading presses, the data presented was heart breaking. They had to take immediate steps to arrest further losses.