Since the last edition of the exhibition in Mumbai, the Indian sub-continent market has continued to show good internal growth and the region is still benefiting greatly from foreign investment and local manufacturing. The region is an important area for the print industry and we are pleased to be back with new ideas and innovative programmes.

The Ipex South Asia 2011 gameplan
The Indian print community has always embraced its trade shows, which is why we took the decision to launch Ipex South Asia in 2007 and provide an excellent event experience for both visitors and exhibitors. We have plenty of added value initiatives that visitors will be able to engage with at Ipex, such as the PrintWeek India Red Sofa sessions interviewing throughout the show key players from the sector, the Profit Zone which will each day be the home to a multitude of business related sessions to help inspire printers with case studies, new ideas, including experts providing their take on trends, what’s hot on the show floor each morning. We also have a UK pavilion and UPE8 (the used machinery section of the show). Ipex South Asia wants to play its part in all issues relating to the environment and fully supports all exhibitors’ that have been working hard to drive environmentally friendly aspects to their areas of technology.

This year’s event is some 50% larger than 2009 and supported by more exhibitors and pre-registrations to date is 35% higher than the last edition, so the event continues to drive huge interest. It is also complemented by the Ipex Profit Zone, the PrintWeek India Red Sofa interviews each day with leading senior figures from our industry. Visitors to the four-day exhibition, the third satellite edition of the globally renowned Ipex  in India, will be treated to demonstrations of advanced printing and publishing equipment and solutions as well as a free of charge seminars in the exhibition hall – so the question I pose is, if you want to drive profits and improve your business in today’s challenging environment why would you not want to invest a day to visit Ipex South Asia?

Bullish Indian print industry
The hunger for technical information that drives the print community throughout South Asia and specifically India has probably never been higher, as industry investment in printing devices and ancillary equipment continues to increase. Equally the vast majority of global manufacturers that have been engaged in the region for some time will reap the rewards. There clearly are challenges but with the amazing entrepreneurial spirit in this country, print will remain strong and I feel confident about its future growth.

Digital Ipex?
Major events such as Ipex South Asia can only reflect the major areas of interest in each edition, and true to say that most of the global digital brands will be present at the event showcasing a large range of launches more so than any of the previous two Ipex South Asia events. Major digital manufacturers are supporting Ipex South Asia to enable them to launch new devices and services. However, Ipex SA is truly reflective of every aspect of the print production workflow which is why there is a strong representation of the print production workflow covered from pre-press to print processes including offset litho, packaging, post-press systems and finishing equipment. So we have something for everyone engaged in today’s challenging print sector.

Impact of deteriorating global environment
The global markets did crash massively in 2008 / 2009 and although India probably didn’t enjoy double digit growth as it had previously during this period, but during these difficult times, the Indian print sector remained strong with single digit growth.

Therefore, whatever is around the economic corner, I feel sure that Indian printers remain strong, robust, open minded and able to grasp developing opportunities to continue to experience growth.
A lot has been written about the tremendous growth in digital printing equipment, which will naturally continue to both compete and complement other print processes such as offset litho. However, I suspect that finishing equipment will have greater demand over the coming 12 months. Often not the most fashionable element of the print production workflow, but with quality consistency a critical key to complement the quality of the printed product I believe a wide range of finishing devices will attract great interest in India.  

Ipex roadmap
Ipex South Asia is now in its third edition having launched in 2007 following extensive market research and industry consultation there was a real need for a quality event, marketed and organised to the standard of an Ipex event.  So here we are three events later and larger than ever before with more global brands engaged with the show, Ipex SA is on target we set ourselves.

We currently work with a number of associations and industry groups such as the Delhi Printers Association, the NIPA and the Screen Printers Association of India, but are working hard to extend our relationships and provide what we believe the Indian print community wants, which is one major event that reflects all aspects of the printing process and organised to the standards that Ipex represents.
We are in this for the long term and will grow from event to event. We have plenty of exciting development plans for 2013, but for now the focus is on 16-19th September.
So watch this space.