The overall printing market in India is growing and while the pattern of printing is changing, there is a big expectation that the printing industry will still continue to exist and grow.
In the printing market, digital printing is one segment that has shown strong growth numbers and has evolved over the years. Growth in digital printing is driven by improved levels of service to customers, providing new opportunities to customers and helping them grow significantly. Today, applications and solutions is an essential in this segment. A few of the emerging trends in this segment are personalization, versioning and targeted printing.
"Digital printing is a growing market for us and we have a very strong position in this market segment. We have developed a wide range of products and solutions portfolio for the entry to mid to the high-end segment and are one of the few companies which have such a vast breadth of offerings. If you see our digital presses, they are segmented in a way that customers can pick and choose basis their requirements and the machine can add value to their business rather than being a cost churner," says Balaji Rajagopalan, Executive Director, Technology, Channels & International Business - Xerox India.
[Balaji Rajagopalan, Executive Director, Technology, Channels & International Business - Xerox India in a chat with VARINDIA gives an idea of how the digital printing market in India is growing and Xerox is placed to leverage the growth prospects -]
Xerox has recently launched a slew of products like Color C60/C70 with energy saving capacities, Versant 80 and Versant 2100 with banner printing capabilities, ColorPress 1000i with gold and silver ink. The most recent addition are the iGen 5 press and Impika Inkjet which caters to the demands of the high end segment. All these products can fit in for specific customer requirements like banner printing, book publishing, photo printing etc. and can do wonders for the customers. "This shows our commitment to the market and in 2016, we will further strengthen our product portfolio and bring in innovative solutions to help our customers focus on what matters most - Real Business," states Balaji.
The launch of the iGen platform back in 2002 had completely changed the outlook of the high-end digital printing market, according to Balaji and now with the iGen 5 press’s outstanding capabilities will surely make a similar impact.
"The iGen family is a key differentiator for us. The machines from this family are feature rich, high on productivity, offer great color outputs and are one of the most productive digital presses available in the market today. Xerox has always been at the helm of innovation and we continue to understand customer demands and make products tailored to meet those demands; the launch of iGen 5 Press shows our commitment to our customers," he adds.
Opportunities galore... Xerox is very committed to the market place and multiple installations of its newly launched devices is proof enough of that. There is immense potential in the digital printing market led by rise in photo-printing, book publishing, short-run jobs and much more. For instance, the wedding photography industry today is about Rs 1,800 crore business with a demand for 7.5 million wedding photo albums every year in the country. Roughly 21% of the photo products have moved into digital printing, which is a Rs 700 crore market now.
“For photo-printing, our Versant family and iGen 5 are a great fit. They offer great quality of colors which is a clear differentiator in the market place today. The iGen 5 offers color palates beyond usual CMYK and this is a great feature for customers in this segment,” he explains.
Furthermore, Xerox has successfully concluded with Drupa 2016. “It was a great event and was a great platform to showcase our devices and solutions.We very recently also launched two new inkjet machines - the Xerox Brenva HD Production Inkjet Press and the Xerox Trivor 2400 Inkjet Press and showcased our portfolio of other devices and technology solutions via demos at the event. We expect these machines to be a definite game changer in India,” recalls Balaji.
In 2016, Xerox wants to maximize its business share as much as possible. “Last year was a good year with strong growth numbers and in 2016, we are looking to grow consideration, coverage and our revenue,” he says.
Xerox is present in all categories today and more than 50% of its customers are repeat customers. This is testament to Xerox being strong in customer service and helping customers grow their business. Some of its key customer segments are photo-printing, publishing, short run and long run jobs. “Our latest entrant in the Indian market is iGen 5 Press. This machine has the capability to revolutionize the high-end digital printing segment. The press is fully customizable to meet page volume, application type and color needs – all while delivering market-leading press uptime.”
Samrita Baruah samrita@varindia.com
