The Centre is equipped with the HP Indigo 6K kit, but soon will be backed up by supplementary machines. Inaugurated by TechNova’s chairman Pranav Parikh and HP’s country manager A Appadurai, the 3,000 sqft space empowers mono cartons and label converters in India to experience HP Indigo technology and performance, and use it to develop new applications and prototypes. “We hope to provide technology and tools to the packaging converters to develop creative solutions to complex problems,” said Parikh.

Touch is an  acronym for TechNova Open University for CHange.  It is a knowledge-sharing centre launched by TechNova in 1996. “Innovation and customer-first have been TechNova’s philosophy. It is the core to who we are and everything we do," said Parikh. He added, “Many years back, we introduced a range of new digital plates and CTP systems. At that time, it succeeded very well. So in a way, this new Touch centre is a reincarnation of what we launched in 1996.”

The TechNova-HP alliance story dates back to 1993, when a similar alliance with Indigo for marketing its presses in India began. Soon thereafter, HP acquired the Indigo business, and aligned the capabilities of the press to suit customer needs. The objective of TechNova Touch Centre at the TTC Industrial Area in Turbhe MIDC, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai is "to offer the Indian print industry a platform for learning new skills, experiencing latest technologies and achieving operational excellence by adopting latest trends in the industry."

The TechNova Touch Centre is an extension of HP’s Excellence Centres in Singapore and Barcelona, and will provide services like demonstration of HP Indigo technology, new application development for print service providers (PSPs) and brands, and also an educational session for generation coming to the print business and for print-packaging students.

A Appadurai, country business manager for Indigo and inkjet business solutions at HP India,  said, “Our mission is to provide a level playing field for the start-ups and SMBs in producing world-class packaging. Today HP Indigo converters cater to about 10,000 such start-ups. With this centre, our target is to multiply that number by 10 times. We want to be the incubator of packaging for these start-ups. We believe the second generation of the print industry would love doing this knowing that they are making a big difference to the world.”

Group picture of guests at the launch with TechNova and HP teams

Giving an overview of the Indian economy, CG Ramakrishnan, executive director and CEO of TechNova, said, "India is a three-trillion economy and over the next seven years (2023 to 2030) it is expected to touch five-trillion. During this transition from a three-trillion to five-trillion economy, digital print plays a key role in everything – from building infrastructure to finding finances.”

Ramakrishnan added, “With this demo centre, we also want to present our systems live in action. Many packaging and label converters, as well as brand owners want to see the presses operated in action before they make their buying decisions. We hope this investment that TechNova-HP has made will have a positive impact on our business in the growing packaging sectors.”

In the meanwhile, TechNova has developed a special polyester-based non-tearable water-resistant films for production of photographs on Indigo presses, which Amit Khurana, COO – digital and offset print solutions at TechNova, said, has helped HP to convert the photo market from silver halide paper based photos to digital polyester based photos with multiple benefits such as non-tear, water-resistant, double-sided printing, among many others. “We have now deepened our partnership with HP to include the full range of Indigo label solutions and inkjet press for folding cartons and publishing.”

The HP Indigo 6K kit at the TTC Industrial Area in Turbhe MIDC, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai