Visitors throng Print-n-Pack expo in Madurai on Saturday. | Photo Credit: G. Moorthy

For T. Madhav Kumar, a second generation printer from Aruppukottai who has been visiting ‘Print-n-Pack 2022’, an annual printing and packaging expo organised by Madurai District Tiny and Small-Scale Industries Association (MADITSSIA), said that he got to learn the new advancements in the field as always.

“The number of stalls is more when compared to previous years," he said.

He was one among the 22,000 people who had visited the expo since its inauguration on August 11, said L. Ramanathan, the expo chairman.

“The printing and packaging industry is the second fastest growing industry in the world. There have been huge leaps in technology that are showcased here, which will largely benefit small-scale manufacturers from pockets like Cumbum and Usilampatti,” he added.

The advancements had made aesthetic value accessible to local brands which could showcase their brands well, said Mr Ramanathan.

International brands, including Canon, Kodak, Heidelberg, Seigwerk, Epson, Avery Denison etc., which have displayed their machines and products, provide pre-press, press and post-press technology, software and solutions.

B. V. Kumaran, a local large format screen printer since 1992, said that the business had been dull post-lockdown. The expo “will help revive my customer base...” he hoped.

Sajid Shaik, business development manager of Riso, a Japanese company offering digital offset printing machines, said that the machines offered by them did not require much skilled labourers to handle. It was user friendly with the latest technology, he stated.

M. Srinivasan, a small-scale press owner of 30 years from Tiruchi, said that updating is key to success in his business. "The advancement in the last three years has been exponential and the expo feels like a workshop," he said. Other visitors said that going around the stalls here was a good learning experience.

Visitors went to the stall put up by Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation and were benefited from the free COVID-19 vaccination camp.

“Not many know there is a B.E/B.Tech in printing technology," said a student volunteer from Avinashilingam Institute of Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore, whose stall garnered enquiries on the course.

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Printable version | Aug 13, 2022 7:28:53 pm | https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/madurai/article65765327.ece