The Hindu Business Line : HP upbeat on print industry in India

INDIA is the fastest growing print industry after China, according to Mr Steve Donegal, Business Manager, Digital Press, HP Imaging and Printing Group, Asia Pacific and Japan.

Addressing the press at the opening of Hewlett-Packard's (HP) and Redington's first India Indigo Digital Press Demo Centre here today, he said the print market in India is projected at euro 12.81 billion (Rs 69,315 crore) by 2008, a growth of 47.5 per cent from 2003.

While the number itself may be a small portion of the entire Asia Pacific market - Japan's print industry, for instance, is targeted to be worth euro 78.33 billion by 2008 - it is the growth rate that makes it a market for the future.

He said that digital printing is the next step in the industry, and HP will be looking to market Indigo Digital Press as something that will complement offset printing rather than replace it.

He said that digital printing was cost effective, and also opened up new avenues with features such as variable data printing, which allows you to make large volumes of prints with significant differences in each printed item.

The Indigo press also allows for the production of printed products on a wider range of substrates. "You can print on pretty much anything," he said.

Mr Puneet Chadha, Country Manager Commercial Sales, Imaging and Printing Group, Hewlett-Packard India Sales, said that the product would be aimed at commercial and industrial sectors. He said that the low-end model, the HP Indigo press 1050 is set at a price of approximately Rs 1 crore after tax, and the high-end model, the HP Indigo Press 3050 is priced at Rs 1.52 crore. He said that the ten machines have been sold so far in India since February.