Photo Fair 2014: Say cheese!

Industry watchers put the commercial photo printing market in India at about Rs 3,072 crore and growing. The four-day long Consumer Electronic Imaging Fair (Photo Fair) 2014 organised by All India Photographic Trade and Industry Association was a testament to a rapidly growing industry. A vast range of manufacturers, consumable suppliers and printers showcased their photo-printing prowess to more than 100,000 visitors.

Words and Photographs: Mihir Joshi

17 Jan 2014 | By PrintWeek India

100,000 visitors flocked to the Bombay Exhibition Centre for the 19th edition of Consumer Electronic Imaging Fair (Photo Fair). Visitors of over 20 nationalities visited the show

The registration procedure was nothing short of a mayhem. We overheard someone say that the registration queue resembled something that one would see outside a temple

HP's Appadurai sees Northern India as an untapped treasure trove for photo printing solutions

TechNova showcased photo printing substrates by Felix Schoeller Group, a 119-year old German manufacturer of specialty paper, photo paper and decorative paper

Ricoh India made its presence felt at the show by promoting their Pentax range of digital cameras

Many exhibitors who were in the B2C sector displayed their photo albums in order to attract potential clients

Kodak Alaris, the new avatar of Kodak Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging businesses made its Photo Fair 2014 debut

There were many stalls that displayed accessories to complement the photo printing industry. Few of these stalls were almost exclusively dedicated to photo frames

Ramanan of Glo Colour Lab said, "The number of visitors that we have received is very encouraging and there are many leads that can be converted to clients. We are satisfied with how Photo Fair 2014 has panned out for us."

Glo was recently in news for the installation of HP Indigo 10000 at its Coimbatore unit. The firm already houses the Indigo workhorses - 3050, 5600 and 7600

Epson showcased it's Epson Pro Lab imaging solutions which according to S M Ramprasad are unique, customised, scalable and focused on enhancing the output business of photography

Mumbai-based Mazda Imaging was a major crowd-puller, on display were some of their best photo albums

Phiroze Havaldar, at the helm of Mazda Imaging, is credited to have brought in India's first HP Indigo 10000. The machine, according to Havaldar, is a game changer

Kaydee Color Lab, who specialises in the B2B space and offers printing solutions to studios, has rapidly expanded with 14 offices and caters to no less than 8,000 studios and 15,000 individual photographers

French fine art paper manufacturer, Canson, made their Photo Fair debut at TechNova's stall. TechNova is the official Indian distributor for Canson papers

A major attraction at the show was Kakubhai Kothari's photo gallery. Beautifully captured images of the Bombay High Court, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Ladhakh

Fujifilm exhibited a vast range of photo printing products including dye-sublimation printer ASK-300, a compact kiosk system

Sony's stall provided photo artists with an interesting range of models who posed for them. Here is one of the models dressed as a Kathakali dancer before he took the stage for shutterbugs

Among the vast range of post-press solutions on display at the show, Pinnacle Technocrats exhibited its range of offerings to enhance the aesthetic appeal of photo albums

Monotech systems showcased the Scodix S75. Two machines were sold during the course of the show to Ludhiana-based GEE7 and Vijaywada-based Zoom Capital Lab

Sumulas Color Lab introduced their talking album at the show. The album is embedded with chip that stores an audio file that explains the context of the photo with the help of an appropriate listening device

KMI exhibited Konica Minolta's KM 70HC RGB digital press, which has more than 100 installation across the country. Nilesh Shah of KMI talked about KM 70HC's cost effectiveness and its quick ROI

Daya Sheth Printograph displayed the latest version of their Nano 25N double-side laminator which was well received by the visitors

Colo Color used the fair to print on-demand souvenirs for the visitors. Personalised mugs with one's photo on it sold like hotcakes

Zund India were also at the HP stand. Sanjib Baruah of Zund India, said, “The footfall that Photo Fair gets is very high when you compare it with other graphic art industry shows in the country.”