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Paper industry voices concern as imports rise 34% in FY24

PrintWeek Team — Mon, 27 May 2024 11:10:00

As per the data released by DGCI&S, paper imports reached 19.3 lakh tonnes in FY24, a rise of 34% over 14.3 lakh tonnes imported in the previous year. The surge of 34% comes on top of a 25% jump in paper imports in FY23.

ASEAN has come to account for the largest chunk of the import pie in the country accounting for 27% share. Paper imports from ASEAN, which enter the country at zero import duty under the ASEAN-India free trade agreement, doubled to 5.1 lakh tonnes during the year from 2.7 lakh tonnes in FY23.

In value terms, paper imports have doubled in the last three years. From Rs 6,140-crore in FY21, the figure reached Rs 13,248-crore in FY24, the highest-ever level, with a three-year CAGR of 29%.

Despite India’s sufficient domestic capacity to produce nearly all grades of paper, the influx of indiscriminate imports is undermining the commercial viability of many paper mills across the country.

Government data reveals that out of over 900 paper mills in India, only 553 are currently operational, a clear indication of the adverse impact of these imports, said Pawan Agarwal, President, IPMA.

Imports of major paper grades, including uncoated writing and printing paper, coated paper, and paperboard, are rising at an alarming rate. This surge comes despite substantial investments by the domestic industry in recent years to upgrade technology, improve product quality, and enhance agro / farm forestry practices. These investments are now at risk due to the influx of duty-free imports.

IPMA has urged the government to increase the basic customs duty (BCD) on the import of paper and paperboard from 10 to 25% (WTO bound rate for India is 40%).

Rohit Pandit, IPMA secretary general, emphasised the need for issuing quality control orders (QCOs) for various paper grades to guarantee the supply of high-quality products to Indian consumers and to prevent the import of sub-standard paper.

He stressed the importance of imposing suitable safeguards, anti-dumping, and countervailing duties on imported paper grades, following the recommendations of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

Sona celebrates one year of JSP offering

Rahul Kumar — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 11:09:00

In the industry since 1988, JSP’s management concept is to provide valued products and service, to elevate creativity in the culture industry. It specialises in producing high-grade fine paper, and over the years, has become one of the top paper mills in the works. JSP’s range of papers are preferred by well-known brands to make paper bags for luxuries, packaging, catalogues, notebooks, greeting cards etc.

With the JSP paper range, Sona’s goal is to provide another range of fine paper at affordable price to the Indian fine paper market. Raju Suneja, director marketing and promoter of Sona Paper, said, JSP papers are a perfect choice for creative veterans to express their creative genius at a very competitive price and without compromising on quality.

The JSP range of papers comes in three variants — Chic Range, Nanodot Range, and Natural Art Silk White Range.

Suneja added, “Our aim is to provide an affordable range of fine paper for everyday paper printing needs. With the increasing cost of paper as raw material for the print industry, the gap remains small between art papers and fine papers. So, Sona found it an appropriate time to bring a product that can bridge the gap between art paper and fine papers and JSP would be the best choice for the Indian print market.”

Suneja said that the consumption in commercial printing has seen a dip compared to last year. “But the silver lining is that the acceptance of fine paper has increased in the packaging and converting segment. Brands are welcoming fine papers for premium packaging. This has really helped us in balancing the business,” he added.

Paper dominates conversation at PrintPack

Dibyajyoti Sarma — Sun, 29 May 2022 10:34:00

As per the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence & Statistics (DGCI&S) data, paper and paperboard exports from India have grown by 80% in FY 2021-22 to touch the highest ever figure of Rs 13,963-crore.

A statement from Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) said, the export growth is across different grades of paper. Pandit added that exports have seen a boost because of capacity expansion as well as technological upgradation which have been undertaken by the Indian paper mills. As per an industry estimate, the past five years has witnessed an investment of Rs 25,000-crore in new capacities and clean-green technologies by the paper majors.

In value terms, the exports of coated paper and paperboard have increased by 100%, uncoated writing and printing paper by 98%, tissue paper by 75% and kraft paper by 37%.

Presently, India is exporting papers to UAE, China, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

The IPMA statement said, “In volume terms, paper exports from India have gone up four times from 0.66-million tonnes in FY17 to 2.85-million tonnes in FY22. Similarly in value terms, the figures for corresponding years rose from Rs 3,041-crore to Rs 13,963-crore.

Meanwhile, Association of Pulp & Paper Technical Alumni (APPTA) which has sourced MOCI data said, "Paper exports have outperformed overall exports of India (that is, 65% against 45%). Paperboard continues to lead the growth this year. This is followed by uncoated graphics paper.

The biggest uptrend can be discerned in Kraft paper exports that showed the highest growth of 240% over last year. An industry veteran shared with PrintWeek that there is no surprise that recently added new capacities are either in kraft or paperboard.

As WhatPackaging? magazine reported last year, “The exports of kraft paper from India to China have surged as China has banned import on waste paper from 1 January 2021. As a result, there has been a surge of exports from India in the form of recycled kraft paper pulp rolls. This has created a huge shortage of raw material for the domestic corrugated industry.”

Meanwhile, a newsprint crisis has impacted an already beleaguered newspaper sector. which has opted for slim editions, high cover price, and cost-cutting of personnel. The data on the website of the Indian Newsprint Manufacturers Association (INMA) show that India’s demand for newsprint is 2.2-million tonnes per annum. Of which 68% demand (1.5-million tonnes per annum) is met by imports. Most of it is sourced from Canada and Russia.

PrintWeek’s paper special in 2021 highlighted the fact that paper mills in India were unable to optimise their newsprint capacity. This was primarily due to “lack of regular orders as well as scarce availability of raw material availability. Due to the low demand for domestic newsprint, plus irregular supply of waste paper, Indian paper majors have opted for manufacturing of packaging boards.

Meanwhile, IRPTA, which is the All India Waste Paper Dealer Association, is pointing to the 25% rates of recovered paper cut down in the packaging paper segment in the past month or so. Naresh Singhal, president of IRPTA said, there is a hope for the revival of domestic waste collection from April onwards, after which the market will get stable. He said, “After the availability of the imported waste by May or June, the prices for waste paper will reduce.”

During PrintPack, the market for waste paper was “a hot topic and matter of concern”. The main reason is: how the prices of waste paper have doubled. In the last five-six months, the price of corrugated waste doubled from Rs 17-18 to Rs 31-32. Similarly, writing and printing grade material has notched the Rs 51-52 range. The price for notebooks has reached Rs 42-43. This crisis began because the consumption of paper dipped due to the Covid pandemic. In 2020, the consumption of writing and printing paper was reduced by 56-60%. It was reduced by 35% in 2021. At the same time, newspaper consumption was reduced to 17-18% in 2020 and 28% in 2021.

Naresh Singhal said, “In the last two years, only packaging grade paper has performed well. Its consumption has been 55-60%, and almost 90% corrugation waste was recovered. This paper hardly goes for dumping and gets recovered at many conversation stages,” he said.

As a result, waste paper input has been poor in these two grades. As opposed to Europe which deploys virgin pulp, India relies on recycled paper. The European Union (EU) has withdrawn the ban on exports of waste paper to India, from April. Singhal shared with PrintWeek that things are looking up now.

A print business owner from Indore who visited PrintWeek’s stall at PrintPack told this scribe, “Whatever the industry leaders may utter during conferences and conclaves about the India growth story and the boom in the industry, the fact is, print businesses across the country are under a lot of pressure.”

He shared with PrintWeek how his firm has to buy paper in advance and “store pallets of paper for our mainline clients, so we can get a semi-hold on paper prices, at least for a couple of months. The price increases have been scary. And there is no light at the end of this dark tunnel.”

The author is associate editor, PrintWeek. If you want to share your insights or solutions (firms could purchase collectively to bring supply prices down) about the paper industry, you can write to Dibyajyoti Sarma dibyajyoti.sarma@haymarketsac.com

PulPaper 2022 to enable networking with paper manufacturers

Rahul Kumar — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 11:10:00

The theme of PulPaper 2022 is Building Tomorrow’s Bioeconomy. At the event, free of charge for professionals in the field, forest industry companies such as Stora Enso, Metsä Group, UPM, and Sappi will meet their customers and present their products.

“The events are very important for professionals within the trade. After a long break, we want to organise a meeting place where the visitors have the possibility to study the development within the branch, new products, and information,” Marcus Bergström, business manager from Messukeskus, said. “The event was postponed from March to June to make networking opportunities better. We are now looking forward to the upcoming event.”

The themes of the PulPaper Conference are IT and automation, environment and sustainability, safety and risk management, new textile products, efficiency, and packaging solutions. The conference will open with three keynote speeches. The first keynote will be presented by Hannu Kasurinen, executive vice-president, packaging materials division at Stora Enso. The topic of the second keynote is sustainability leading company strategy and will be presented by Riikka Joukio, director corporate responsibility and public relations at Kesko. Executive vice-president, head of management consulting Roland Lorenz from AFRY is the third keynote speaker on the topic of changes in consumer behaviour following the Covid pandemic. After the opening speeches, the conference will continue in two parallel sessions with three topical expert presentations on each of the six themes.

The Green Economy Business Summit on 8 June is targeted towards corporate management and stakeholders. The programme has been compiled in co-operation with the forest-based and chemical industries. The keynote circular bioeconomy – a sustainable source of growth will be presented by president of Sitra, Jyrki Katainen.

The startup competition on 8 June 2022 looks for the most promising and potential growth companies in the forest bioeconomy field. The PulPaper Award will be presented to a Finnish company that has developed an innovation that produces a positive image for the forest bioeconomy industry and from which an internationally significant product or service can be developed. At its best, the solution also opens up new perspectives in the forest bioeconomy sector. The winner receives a 5000 euros award funded by the Finnish Fair Foundation.

Sona to bring Arjowiggins’ Keaykolour range of specialty papers to India

Noel D'Cunha — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 11:31:00

New Delhi-based Sona Papers is one of the largest suppliers of luxury fine papers in India.

The uncoated virgin pulp papers and high rigidity boards are divided into nine harmonised families, to complement their refined, natural texture. Keaykolour will be available in 48 half tones colour paper range.

According to Raju Suneja, director, Sona Papers, colour has the power to influence, attract and engage. “When creative designers select paper, the colour of the substrate plays a key role in paper selection. Keaykolour paper collection from Arjowiggins Creative Papers is going to be a game changer for premium printing and luxury packaging.”

Keaykolour papers will be available in two grammages – 120gsm and 300gsm and will include five 100% recycled stocks and a range of natural and geometric embossed patterns.

xColor promises lightweight cloud-based colour management

PrintWeek India — Wed, 30 May 2018 15:02:00

xColor is a cloud-based color management tool designed for designers, freelancers, studios, agencies and the enterprise. xColor’s DeviceLink system colour converts small, large, and multiple page files in seconds. xColor is setting out to replace the complex hardware and software solutions traditionally needed to perform professional colour conversion and management.

“The xColor system was developed atop extensive client feedback. Clients wanted an affordable cloud-based colour management system, available across multiple locations without robust licensing constraints. xColor satisfies that customer demand and delivers simple, fast, accurate colour management for users worldwide,” said Simon Murray, CEO, xColor. “We’ve been working with clients in this space for years, so in many ways, we knew exactly what they were looking for.”

All xColor users are offered a 30-day free trial that includes queue and conversion management; unlimited colour conversion; conversions within a wide range of profiles; dropbox integration.

Specle, the developer of xColor, is the UK’s leading print advertising distributor. Specle offers colour conversion and campaign management, including DOOH management, to agencies such as McCann Worldgroup, VCCP, and Havas, and provides media owners such as Condé Nast, The Economist and Primesight with ad management and delivery.

To start the free trial and learn more about xColor, visit xcolor.io.

How a fine paper seller can add value to concept

PrintWeek India — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 11:33:00

Selling is not the same as peddling, though images of sales persons pushing products are universally unflattering. It is a fact that a sales person has the primary objective of selling. However, selling needs not be associated with peddling and a sales call needs not be seen as an intrusion.

When does a sales call move from being an intrusion to a welcome arrival?

I believe it happens when the presence of a sales person adds value to the meeting.

We are in the business of fine paper selling and the thing with branded fine paper is that once somebody has tested and used a product, they can be confident of getting the same product consistently. Papers Worldwide, the company I am associated with, has exclusive arrangements with mills like Neenah Paper Mills, USA and Moorim Papers, Korea. Now, Neenah and Moorim have quality standards. So, a sheet of Classic Crest purchased today will be consistent with a sheet of Classic Crest purchased earlier, just like a bottle of Johnny Walker irrespective of whenever you buy it.

The way a sommelier helps select wine or single malt, a seller of consistently produced fine paper can also add value. Of course, this value doesn’t equal better price, because when it comes to price, lower is always better. (The thing with lower prices, however, is that either the margins or the quality are squeezed, and in both cases, the relationship is not enduring.)

Understand the customer

Understand everything, the machinery being used, the post-press treatments being planned, the ultimate product being created and the customer for whom the product is created.

For example, while printing on HP Indigo digital press, ink adhesion on paper requires the paper to be surface treated. Here, if one knows that machines of series 7900 and 12000 come with an on-press primer, one can offer richly textured uncoated papers, rather than being restricted to the usual coated papers. Similarly, if one is planning on both embossing and foiling, it is important to select papers that have higher fibre content. On the same lines, if the ultimate product is stationery, it is important to know that coated substrates will not be suitable for fountain pens, and finally if your customer is looking at printing a report on sustainability, a paper that compliments the theme is only helping add another level of substance to the message.

The key is to understand the customer and offer solutions that compliment that need. According to Biswajit Bhattacharjee of Delhi-based Lustra Print Process, the opportunities for such collaboration are rare and therefore very fulfilling.

Bhattacharjee, whose list of successful collaboration includes work for CII, the prestigious coffee table book on tigers by Valmik Thappar and Encyclopaedia Britannica, spoke about the collaboration for the 2016 annual calendar for Encyclopaedia Britannica. The client, Bobby Jenna, wanted a paper that could withstand heavy UV effect to create a real life effect of paintings that depicted life in India. The budget was equally important and so in collaboration with the paper merchant and the client, Bhattacharjee narrowed down on Renoir Extra White, after a detailed assessment, breaking away from tradition to create a memorable printed product.

Know your product

Fine paper merchants represent several mills and all products have intrinsic qualities. The price difference between mills is the easiest to spot and also the highlights. For example, in the case of Papers Worldwide, products from Neenah Papers come at a premium when compared to products from Moorim Papers. This difference is enhanced because of the Free Trade Agreement between India and Korea. However, beyond the prices, the papers are fundamentally different.

Writwick Ganguly of Thomson Press said that to be considered world class, a press needs to focus on quality and verify the claims made by vendors. Thomson Press has an in-house lab in its main plant in Faridabad that extensively tests the quality of all material the press uses. Vendors are screened on a number of quality parameters.

In the case of paper, these include grammage, opacity, grain direction, burst factor and more, depending on the purpose for which a paper is being considered. According to Ganguly, marquee names like Thomson Press using a product give it that stamp of approval, something which is critical for success. For a vendor, it, therefore, becomes extremely critical to know one’s product. A wrong claim is equal to a closed door, possibly forever.

Recommend products based on use

Your customer wants to print a big book and asks for paper of a certain gram range. You are aware that your product range includes a product of a lower gram range with high opacity, and by using it your customer will not just save money but also lower his shipping rates. In such as case, do not be afraid to offer that alternative. Your customer will respect you.

Supporting this view, Abhishek Nangia of Bharat Print Shop, a leading digital printer in New Delhi, with machines like the Canon 10000, Konica Minolta 1100 and the Xerox 1000i, said young students from designing institutes like NIFT and Peal Academy are leading the trend of innovation and are seeking alternatives. They are looking for solutions which involve all aspects of print, including the substrate, the printing unit, the post-press treatment and more. At the turn of the century, the focus was on volumes, now it is on quality, individuality and speed. The Xerox 1000i, which was the first digital machine in Delhi-NCR to print gold and silver colours way back in 2015, was installed to cater to such demand, as has the decision to keep an extensive range of printing substrates, rather than just gloss and matt art paper — a norm a few years back.

Know the market and your competitors

For every product, there will be a competing one. Know about the products offered by your competitors. Not just their price and discount. Once you know about the products in your competitors range, you as a seller are better equipped to share your strengths and also assure the buyer. In addition to knowing what is offered by your competitor, it is also important to observe trends in the market. Information about that can add a lot of value to your conversations, making your sales visits an event that is welcomed.

Bring examples, samples on the table

No one believes the mileage claims made by an automobile manufacturer. One of the reasons being these conditions are not replicable in actual life. Something similar crosses the mind of a buyer when presented with swatch books and mill produced samples. It is, therefore, important to carry actual printed samples for your meetings. Whether the product you sell is well established or new, when you carry printed samples, you increase the confidence in its ability.

Sanjeev Sachdeva, a print veteran with 32 years of experience, cites marquee names like RK Swamy, Accentive and Passi Publications as customers. Sachdeva, a partner with Naraina-based Rolleract Press Services, a boutique printing unit with machines like Heidelberg SM 74, an MOV four-colour and a CTP thermal screen unit, said printers operate in a high risk environment where the margin for error is low. Therefore, better safe than sorry becomes the operating mantra, thereby reducing the opportunity for experimentation. “We try a new product only after we are convinced about its quality. Printed samples help us giving a new product a chance,” he says.

Your customer is a person, know him

It is said that Brijmohan Lall Munjal used to remember the names of each and every dealer, made it a point to attend important functions and kept a pocket diary where he recorded important information about the people he did business with. Do you know about your customers as people? Because if you do not, there is no way you will be able to develop a relationship with them.

Fortunately, online platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn help generate a lot of relevant information. An attitude to be genuinely interested in the people you do business with is, however, a precious characteristic.

Tail piece

On the other hand, printers and designers must see their fine paper seller as a partner or an ally. Share your product and design ideas with them, challenge them to find solutions.

Just as it is said that democracy is not just about voting and forgetting, selling too is not just about offering a price quote and then following up to ask for business. Just like in a democratic set up where the electorate is the final authority, in selling, the buyer is the final authority. It is, therefore, important that the buyer, namely the printer, designer, corporate manager, challenge their fine paper seller to get more on the table.n

How a fine paper seller can add value to concept

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Ballarpur’s no deal may have far-reaching consequences

Rahul Kumar — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 10:40:00

Whatever lies at the root of Ballarpur’s problems, the resulting fall-out has resulted in “paper shortage” that is unprecedented in the history of the Indian printing industry. Already tales of no delivery for small, low-value orders are rife.

The business was until recently India’s largest paper group. More than 50% of India's coated wood-free grades roll out of BILT’s plants. BILT holds an impressive 85% share of the bond paper market and nearly 45% share of the hi-bright Maplitho market in India.

And while its market share has dwindled at the same time as its problems were magnified, BILT still carried out a huge amount of trade. Informed sources said the firm was probably handling a fair share of paper supplies.

For Indian printers, the more immediate issue is “continuity of paper supply”. The good news is that paper merchants have for a long while now been making contingency plans since September 2015 for scenarios involving the failure at Ballarpur – even for such an extreme happening as sudden closures.

A major paper supplier told PrintWeek India, “All of us have to do our best in the coming weeks. We tried to plan for all eventualities. As paper traders, we are trying to maintain service levels, especially for loyal customers who’ve been with us for years.”

Another trader who visited the PrintWeek India office last week cautioned that “Printers may have to escalate payments if they want paper. Trading terms may tighten.” He added, “Many printers are stocking up. Some of our customers are having an early dialogue about their commercial and production position, and it’s wise to pay bills on time.”

Even though ‘Don’t panic’ is the message from paper merchants, there is a clear sign of a paper shortage. No one knows the accurate amount of paper stock that is tied up in the Indian supply chain at present. Ballarpur’s cash flow crisis had caused it to run stocks down, and there were reports of it offloading what paper stock it had.

Many printers that PrintWeek India spoke to are “appointing alternative channels”, and importing paper, directly.

For those of readers who have not been up-to-date on the action, the Ballarpur deal fell through as the buyer, Pandawa Sakti (Sabah) could not arrange for cash even after the extended deadline. Ballarpur has invoked performance guarantees of USD 50 million.

Last September, Ballarpur Industries had announced that its subsidiary Ballarpur Paper Holdings BV would sell entire 98.08 per cent stake in its Malaysian arm Sabah Forest Industries for USD 500 million (about Rs 3,307 crore). In 2007, BILT had acquired Malaysia’s largest paper company for USD 261 million.

The calling off of the deal comes after several extensions of the deadline. On 8 February 2016 BILT had said it had been extended to February 29 and then to March 31. Then on April 4, the company said it has extended it to May 16, 2016 on the buyer’s request.

This has had a serious impact on paper production at BILT factories in India.

Please nb: Repeated attempts by PrintWeek India to contact Ballarpur's registered and corporate offices were left unanswered.

Picture Gallery: Kala Ghoda in pictures

PrintWeek India — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 06:05:59

Fire tragedy in TNPL unit; kills three contract workers

Samir Lukka — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 13:06:07

Contract workers were busy at the coal crushing section when the fire broke out. The coal was meant to be used in the paper making process. Fire spread across a pile of coal in the chamber and soon engulfed three workers - Soundar (26) died on the spot, while Subramanian and Devaraj later succumbed to injuries.

District collector T P Rajesh visited the accident site and enquired with the officials about the reasons for the accident and held a meeting with them to find ways and means to increase the safety measures.

Terming it a “freak incident,” the collector told The Hindu that he had issued instructions to the TNPL officials to step up safety measures in the coal handling area.

The Chief Minister had earlier announced a solatium of three lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased persons.

The tragedy happened on the day that TNPL announced a standalone net profit rise of 24.35% in the December 2015 quarter.

Poddar Global's Mumbai facility

PrintWeek India — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 15:59:46

PrintWeek India visited the Mumbai warehouse which is spread on 80, 000 sq/ft area in Khopoli

Photographs and captions: Krishna Naidu]]>

NBT wins Sharjah Publisher Recognition award

Rahul Kumar — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 01:14:35

The award is given to a nominated publisher attending the fair, who is reputed for quality, observing publishing requirements, manuscript editing guidelines, and intellectual property regulations, authors' rights, as well as developing professional standards in the publishing industry. The criteria also takes into consideration that the titles published provide considerable scientific value and meet the requirements of important sectors of society.

NBT is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of HRD, which is tasked with producing affordable books for our readers, and to promote reading and book culture in the country. The organisation hosts book fairs in every part of the country, and takes books through mobile vans to places that would otherwise never see books.

India needs a lot more of education

Sriraam Selvam — Thu, 05 Nov 2015 17:14:58

At the moment, these three crore textbooks, are stocked in 34 depots. Centres like Jaipur have more than 27 lakh textbooks. These books were published on the basis of enrolment projections in private and public schools affiliated to the Rajasthan board of secondary examination.

According to a media report, the secretary of Rajasthan state textbook board (RSTB) said, "The new textbooks will replace the old ones". When and how, is unclear?

What transpired in the states of Kerala and Gujarat a few months ago does not inspire confidence in the RSTB utterance.

This sort of wastefulness is a matter of concern. Today, more and more states are drawing up a roadmap for higher education. In Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena government has set up a four-member committee led by educationist and economist, Narendra Jadhav. The committee will be drafting a policy that should set a direction for the future. It aims to expand the educational network in rural and adivasi areas, plus focus on skill development.

This policy will be a precursor for the Perspective Plan for Higher Education (PPHE). This is being watched with bated breath around India since other universities could emulate this plan.

Education levels are opaque. The census of India says we are a country with 74.04% literacy. On the other hand, the fact is, we are also a country where 60% of six- to 14-year-olds cannot read at the level of a child who has finished two years of schooling.

Kaushik Basu, who was an adviser to the Indian government in 2012, said, "India's rapidly rising literacy rate is being propelled by parents spending on private education to help their children get ahead. Ordinary people realised that, in a more globalised economy, they could gain quickly if they were better educated."

And this is where the private sector is stepping in; in an attempt to provide a good education.

Andhra Pradesh distributed vouchers for low-cost private schools to 6,000 pupils. There are institutions like Bridge International Academies, which runs 400 primary schools in Kenya and Uganda, and plans to open chains in Nigeria and India. This initiative is being backed by Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates and entails low-cost chains which use standard buildings made of

unfinished wooden beams, corrugated steel and iron mesh.

Interestingly enough, it has scripted lessons that teachers recite from hand-held computers linked to a central system. That saves on teacher training and monitoring. The grim news is: When officials visited schools in India, they found that a quarter of teachers were absent. This is not just schools in rural India but also among the urban poor in Delhi and Mumbai.

Education is a serious matter. And India cannot afford to have textbooks or a generation of children, scrapped.

Paper consumption in India has to grow, there’s no other way

PrintWeek India — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 06:30:48

According to recent data, globally, per capita paper consumption for Europe is 129 kg, Australia 116 kg, Asia 45 kg and in China it is 75 kg. In India, on the other hand, the per capita paper consumption hovers between nine and 11 kg.

Meanwhile, the Indian Paper Industry accounts for about 2.6% of the world’s production of paper, providing employment to more than 0.5 million people directly and 1.5 million people indirectly.

Due to growth in literacy, change in lifestyle and increasing consciousness for personal hygiene, per capita consumption of paper and tissue in India is increasing by the day. Even if this per capita consumption increases by one kilogram, it will lead an increase of paper production by one million tonnes.

It is clear that to meet the growing demand, the Indian paper industry requires more raw materials and advanced technology. To meet this technology demand, India has developed new technologies and latest machinery for paper industry. These innovations are quite economical as compared to the international market. Thus, Indian machinery manufacturers and technology supplier have also started catering the international market.

This clearly means the paper industry will contribute more in GDP, export and also increase more employment options in near future.

During a press conference ahead of Paperex 2015, held on 28 October in New Delhi, RC Johari, CEO, Trident Paper, said the per capita consumption of paper in India is abysmally low at 9.8 kg as compared to the global average of 58 kg. Thus, there is a strong growth potential. Johari said the consumption of paper is projected to grow to about 40 million tonnes in 2025 from about 14 million tonnes currently.

According to Pramod Agarwal, president, Indian Agro and Recycled Paper Mills Association, the Indian paper industry is amongst the world’s fastest growing markets and accounts for about 2.6% of the world’s production of paper, with an estimated turnover of Rs 50,000 crore and a contribution of around Rs 4,500 crore to the exchequer. Revenues are expected to reach USD 11.8 billion by 2017.

The India paper industry is preparing for the future ahead. In the last five years alone, the Indian paper sector has invested about Rs 20,000 crore on capacity enhancement, technology upgrade and acquisitions. The Indian Paper Manufacturer’s Association (IPMA) estimates that the industry will require further investments of about Rs 90,000 crore in the next decade to meet the projected demands for paper and packaging industry in the country.

In this context, according to Gagan Sahni, director, Paperex, the exhibition provides a great platform to capitalise on the opportunity at the right time.

Yet, the road ahead is fraught with hurdles. First is the capacity enhancement and quality product. Most of the equipment in most of the Indian paper mills are old and they need to be overhauled. This is a serious concern if the industry wants to increase its production numbers. If the country wants to produce 25 billion tonnes as opposed to 12.2 billion tonnes currently, to increase the per capita consumption to 19-20 kg, the industry will need an additional investment of USD 15 billion by 2025-26, said Johari.

With infrastructure and capital, there is also a need for raw material, which is a major concern for the industry. The paper mills are agro-based, waste-based and wood-based. In all three segments, procurement of raw material is a concern. There is a big gap to be filled in the production of pulp. While most of the paper mills have dedicated forests for wood pulp, it is not enough. There needs to be strong awareness about recycling of paper waste and segregation of waste generated among the general public so that these wastes can be used as raw material in paper production.

According to Johari, among the 813 big and small Indian paper mills, the majority of them are in the non-wood segment. He gave the example of Trident, which is the world’s largest paper plant to use straw as the main raw material for pulp.

The quality of paper produced in India is another concern. If the industry wants to discourage import of paper and if it wants to export its products, it needs to create a quality benchmarking for export. There is a need for real R&D in the field. Again, as the industry is set to grow, there are needs for the skill development programmes to attract more manpower to the industry.

There are also environment concerns, in chemical discharge and waste of water. The industry also has to fight the prejudice that it is depleting the green cover of the country to produce paper. This is a myth, as Johari said, paper mills, as a rule, plant six trees for each tree cut.

Journeying with children’s books

Vinutha Mallya — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 23:56:44

One of my all-time favourite books is A Visit to the City Market by Manjula Padmanabhan.

Published by the National Book Trust, India, the story is simple: Two siblings set off to the market with their mother. The beauty of the book is that we read it visually, because it has no text. Before we close the slim book, we finish a walk with the children and see what they’ve seen with their curious senses. It is easy to become an inquisitive child while reading this book.

We often relegate children’s books to a basket we call ‘learning’ – an imposition of school curriculum, or morals, traditions, religion, etc. Very few adults think of them as windows that open up the imagination of the mind.

Because our focus has been on improving literacy, since Independence, the link between school-based learning and reading has been strong. Efforts in publishing children’s books are largely focused on school-related books. But a good number of books for leisure and pleasure-reading are based on religion (mythology), culture, traditions and moral values, and aiming to control the shaping of the child's mind even before they are able to grasp the complexity of these concepts. There are also those books that are mere imitations of what is produced in the West. But a small number of book publishers have moved away from this and have created a language for books that focuses on, cognitive development and exploration of creativity.

The children’s book segment, which is not textbooks, is one of the fastest growing segments in the publishing industry. While statistics from India are hard to find, growth in the more developed markets is between 12–15%. The rate is more likely to be higher in India because of the growth in literacy and better purchasing power among people. But, publishers in India have been producing children’s books since long, before it emerged as a lucrative segment.

The old guard

The Children’s Book Trust was one of the first to produce illustrated and picture books for children. It was set up in 1957 by the cartoonist Shankar in New Delhi. CBT commissioned well-known artists and illustrators to create visually rich books in different languages. It also set up the Indraprastha Press in Delhi, and its books were distributed across the country. Drawing inspiration from CBT’s work, the National Book Trust, India started publishing illustrated and picture books for children, just a few years after it was founded in 1957. Just like CBT, NBT also took on well-known writers and illustrators of the time. Many of the books produced by CBT and NBT remain in print and are available across India.

Through its multilingual publishing programme and because of its mandate to produce and make available affordable books, subsidised by the government, the National Book Trust has played an important role in the reading habit. Through book fairs, mobile vans and by organising the New Delhi World Book Fair, the NBT ensures that affordable books for children reach the length and breadth of the country.

Even outside the capital, efforts to produce books, especially in the Indian languages, were strong in the states. The Shishu Sahitya Sansad began publishing books in Bangla in 1951. In Gujarat, the Navbharat Sahitya Mandir published many cult book series in Gujarati for children, like Chako Mako, Miya Fuski and the goat-detective Bakor Patel.

Readers would recall periodicals like Chadamama, Champak and Amar Chitra Katha, which were published simultaneously in various Indian languages. These, and magazines like Kishor (Marathi), Sandesh (Bangla), Chakmak (Hindi), Mouchaq (Asomiya) and Target (English), were instrumental in instilling a love for reading. Soviet books, then known for their quality of production and variety in subject matter, were once easily available in India. The efforts of groups like the erstwhile Makkala Sahitya Academy, in Karnataka, focused on encouraging children’s book writers, by conducting workshops, meetings and seminars. The public library system and book fairs gave wide access to books.

The young Turks

New publishing houses came up in the mid- and late 1990s, after the liberalisation of economy. Katha Books, the translations publisher in Delhi, which started publishing in around 1988, began publishing children’s books. The three Chennai-based houses – Tara Books, Tulika Books and Karadi Tales – were set-up in the mid-1990s. They helped launch a unique language for Indian books, which focused on Indian stories and storytellers, as well as on good production quality.

Each of the publishing houses carved a niche: Katha specialised in translations, Tara in fine bookmaking technique, Tulika in bilingual picture books, and Karadi in complementing books with audiobooks. Some books produced by Katha and Tulika are a part of the CBSE’s recommended reading list. The Bhopal-based NGO, Ekalavya, launched its children’s books programme in 1996, which produced books in Hindi and other languages, such as Mundari (a tribal language) recently. They launched with support from Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Ministry of Human Resources Development.

Puffin, Penguin’s children’s books imprint, created a selection of well-produced English books for children. The company’s distribution prowess helped the books gain greater visibility in bookshops in the cities. The American publisher, Scholastic, came with a strong list of titles and marketed them aggressively through schools. The company then began to also locally commission books.

Towards the mid-2000s, newer entrants came into the field. Young Zubaan, an imprint of the feminist publishing house, Zubaan, was launched to produce inclusive books for children. The not-for-profit Pratham Books started out with the vision to put a book in the hands of every child, and it has since produced books in different Indian languages. The organisation broke convention in many ways. It heavily used technology and social media to promote its activities, and it also introduced Creative Commons licensing in trade publishing. Pratham’s costs for developing its books are covered by philanthropic donations it receives while the distribution of books is funded from book sales.

The growth of children’s books and young adult segments worldwide has triggered the launch of several imprints in India in the last 3–5 years. Kerala’s largest publisher of books in Malayalam, DC Books, set up the Mango Books imprint in English. These books do well in the Gulf countries. Now, there is also Rupa’s Red Turtle, the children’s books imprints of Hachette and HarperCollins, and the independent Duckbill, which publishes books for young readers and young adults. New companies are mushrooming.

In the comics segment, Campfire has succeeded in creating a brand with a good export base. The old favourite, Amar Chitra Katha, is repackaged, repurposed and is available in animation.

Making books travel

Licensing of content remains the best way to make books travel to other territories. Among the Indian children’s books publishers, Tara Books has seen good success in licensing their work. Any publisher serious about making their books available outside India cannot miss the annual Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy. Other international book fairs, like in Frankfurt and London, are also important meeting places to find potential partners, to sell as well as procure licences. The Rights Table at the New Delhi World Book Fair is growing in participation from many countries.

Founded by the German Book Office in New Delhi, Jumpstart, the congress for children’s content, has helped invigorate thinking about content for children, at least in English. The canvas for creation and delivery of content has expanded due to new technology. At the same time, the revival of storytelling among the well-to-do segments of society in a city like Bengaluru shows that the tried-and-tested methods work.

For Indian books to truly travel, among readers in India as well as abroad, we must look at the substance of our content. The religious as tradition, the rural as folk, the kitsch or Western as modern, even the obsession with the back-to-roots phenomenon – these clichéd representations ought to go. Fresh ideas, rooted in our diverse and secular ethos, is what we must focus on.

More needs to be done to make books travel within India. Localised content creation is one way to generate books within communities. Children not living in the metros and larger cities must be able to dip into the stream of stories that surround them as well. A strong library movement, many points of access, and wider sharing of ideas, this is what children’s books need today.

During the Bengaluru leg of Jumpstart this year, the Australian writer Leoni Norrington reminded us: “A good story is never didactic, never preachy – the real story lies underneath all that.”

PrintWeek's Magazine shortlist says print is alive and kicking

PrintWeek India — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 00:21:11

Jury members who judged this category were: Harsha Bhatkal of Popular Prakashan, Kritika Dayal of Stuff India, Manik Salunke of Kokuyo Camlin, Naju Hirani of Marg Foundation and Rajnish Shirsat of R&S Enterprise. The jury members felt, "magazine printers have better reproduction and binding. Also, the entries prove that magazines are very much alive and kicking.”

The shortlisted firms for the Magazine Printer of the Year are

Amol Associates
Dhote Offset Technokrafts
Indigo Press (India)Jak Printers
Manipal Technologies
Print Plus
Silverpoint Press
Thomson Press (I)
Vishwakala Printers

The Award to the winner will be awarded on 7 October, 2015 at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. It will be an opportune time to understand how print magazines are changing; and how more and more Indian companies are publishing specialist titles and pushing boundaries with the materials and processes.

Lokmat eyes growth with innovation

Priya Raju — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 16:39:00

Founded on 15 December, 1971, Lokmat Media is a multi platform media company with interests in a diversified portfolio of publishing, broadcast, digital, entertainment, community and sports verticals. With Karan Darda, executive director, at the helm of affairs at Lokmat Media, Lokmat is currently the largest read regional language Marathi newspaper in Maharashtra and Goa states.

The PrintWeek India team visited the newspaper production plant of Lokmat, in Sinhgad, Pune. The plant structure stands tall with its signature brick-red colour exterior, and is spread across 1.5 lakh sq/ft area. The plant currently prints 26 crore pages every month and consumes 1200 tonnes of paper.

Lokmat’s production units are spread across Maharashtra with twelve print production plants. With circulation of 18 lakh copies in Maharashtra and Goa, they have a major chunk of the market share. Lokmat also caters to the Marathi speaking population outside Maharashtra. It has editions in Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Belgaum (Karnataka). On 21 April 2009, Lokmat launched its Goa edition (Marathi) primarily for the Marathi-speaking population of North and North-East Goa.

Lokmat is on a growth path, with all the up radation of its press unit as well as its pre-press with latest technologies. Despite tough competition from the existing Marathi dailies as well as new launches plus the digital media; the revenues of Lokmat have grown steadily.

Behind the scene

The career of Neeraj Mahajan, the vice president – technical, Lokmat Media, spans over 25 year in the newspaper industry. Mahajan oversees the operations of all the twelve production sites across Maharashtra.

A mechanical engineer entered the newspaper industry after graduating in 1988. Prior to moving to Lokmat Pune, Mahajan was based in North. Mahajan has used his vast experience in the industry and spearheaded the new concept of 2C units in their production plants. It is under his supervision that initiation of the new concept of 2C system was implemented in Lokmat’s plants.

Novel concept

As a part of the plant expansion plan, 2C printing unit which acts as an add-on in existing Hiline Y printing units for 4x4 printing was mounted on the existing Manugraph Y units. The idea behind introducing this concept was to save cost, since a new tower would mean an investment in crores. Mahajan says, “This technology was implemented for one-fifth of the cost of a new tower and also; the existing press could be utilised.”

“All the initial inhibitions and problems arising were taken care by Manugraph and their team,” says Mahajan. Lokmat plans to invest in another five 2C units. The units are being commissioned in three locations. “Later, we also plan to upgrade the remaining units.” says Mahajan.

One of the advantages of the 2C unit is that all the operations from pre-press to post-press remain the same. “The number of colour pages required in the newspapers is going up and with a 2C unit we are able to print 4x4 colour inline,” explains Mahajan. “The unit has helped in reduction of web breaks and faster webbing up when compared to a tower,” he adds.

Inspection need

Turnaround time for newspaper printing is short. Thus making job printed right, the first time and on-schedule delivery is an imperative. Things were working fine, but Lokmat faced one peculiar problem with the 2C units. At different speed and at the time of pasting a huge variation in registration was seen. The problem was more acute at the winding system. Mahajan says, “Due to all the problems, at one point of time we thought that the system would not work with our press.”

At this point of time Iware came in with a solution and helped in integration of the units. Iware engineered the Intelligent Color Register Control Solution (ICRS) system. Iware colour registration system is built with a high-speed colour camera and achieves automated colour registration in web offset presses both during start-up and throughout the print run.

Mahajan says, “A customised solution and flexibility in payments favoured our decision towards the Iware’s embedded hardware and software. Also, the hardware and software solution is fairly simple and can also be fixed locally if issues arise. The next step is the training,” informs Mahajan. These systems are currently mounted on the Manugraph machines which are installed at the facility.

Commenting on the decision to invest in the system, Mahajan explains, “The solutions provided by similar software developers were expensive and neither concrete, nor customised to our requirements. The Iware software provided us with cost-effective solution and resulted in the reduction of wastage from 300-400 pages in a single system at the time of splicing on the 2C unit to almost zero. More importantly, the start-up waste has been reduced by 50% on the press line.”

The Iware system has now been installed across Lokmat’s three sites among 12 print production plants spread across Maharashtra. Two units have been installed at Kolhapur, three systems at Nagpur and four systems at the Pune plant.

Standardisation and technology

Lokmat’s press is standardised to ISO-39 for a dot gain of 26 as recommended by IFRA. The densities that they follow meet the IFRA LAB values.

Additionally, Lokmat has invested in colour management software from GMG at all its centres. “The benefits offered by the software and ROI has been at par, says Mahajan. “We are able to get predictable results, now.” Mahajan says. “Also, we have not had any kind of complaints from our advertisers in the last one year and the ink mileage has improved from14,000 to about 18,500.”

The two CTP units at Pune from Agfa churn out 45 plates per hour on the 8-up system. Mahajan plans to upgrade the system in future.

The future map

Lokmat has decided to invest and upgrade its machine. Lokmat has commissioned a new Orient press at its Nasik plant. Currently, the Orients’ press has been installed at Nagpur, Nasik, Solapur, Akola and Nanded. The cut-off maintained currently is 546mm, but soon they plan to standardise the cut-off to 533mm.

This will result in minimising the wastage and will save 40mm of paper. “Since, in newspaper industry, 60% cost of production is paper, this will help us save cost up to Rs 20 lakh,” says Mahajan. Talking about the non-print space, Mahajan says, “It is still in a nascent stage and efforts are on to develop the digital medium.” Lokmat has managed to control the total group waste at 5%.

Lokmat also believes in green initiatives and is one of the newspaper plants which has equipped itself with solar power in two of its plant. The Nagpur and Aurangabad plant is equipped with 0.33 MW power panels and runs the day time production for its supplements on solar power.

Specifications

Total printing plants: 12

Total pages printed (Monthly): 130 crore pages

Paper used (Monthly at Pune): 1200 tonnes

Circulation base (Maharashtra and Goa): 18 lakh

ITC’s Papyra: Paper guru on your android device

PrintWeek India — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 15:16:27

S N Venkatraman, vice president - marketing at ITC's paperboards and specialty papers division (PSPD), said, “ITC’s Papyra app will be a constant companion, empowering the printers, converters and the brand owners to make the right choices, and breaking boundaries and communication barriers to get you in instant touch with ITC’s dedicated product support team.”

The Papyra app, which is also available in a web-based format on ITC’s portal (www.itcpspd.com/papyra), is a complete guide for paper and paperboard packaging.

As you launch the application, Papyra offers 16 different end-use applications in packaging, graphic and specialty paper category to select from. Once you select an option, (you are asked to sign-up/log-in to move further) Papyra lists appropriate paper grades from ITC’s portfolio.

At this stage, you can compare these grades based on their cross direction stiffness and calliper. A grammage slider function recommends a grammage for each grade based on the application and also accounts for some source reduction potential.

The app also calculates the tonnage for a chosen gsm and carton dimension between different grades with similar functional properties.

Besides this, there is a ‘Tech Guru’ section, which is a knowledge bank on paper and board properties and usage. Not only this, ITC has a dedicated customer experience manager, who will reply to any query raised regarding the app within 24 hours.

“Today, our products and pool of knowledge-based services are much sought-after by discerning customers, both in India and Globally, for sustaining and improving their competitiveness. The idea is to enable more informed decision-making whether it is selecting the type of paper/board or determining the required quantity,” added Venkatraman.

Destination Byculla: Jak, Indigo and Mazda

Priya Raju — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 22:21:50

Association of Paper Cup Manufacturers contest plastic cup usage

PrintWeek India — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 15:16:49

“The above notification has never been implemented in the whole of Andhra Pradesh except a few tourist places and municipalities,” said MRK Reddy, president of the Association of Paper Cup Manufacturers.

“Most of our industries face a stiff competition and are in huge losses,” added Reddy. The paper cup manufacturers continue with their production, with the hope that the current government imposes stricter laws for implementing the ban and help us serve a healthier tea.

The Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999, amended in 2003, prohibits the use of recycled plastic bags and containers for storing, carrying, dispensing, or packaging of food. Further, the ministry banned the manufacture, stocking, distribution or selling of carry bags and containers made of virgin or recycled plastics, which are below 8x12inches in size and 40-micron in thickness.