31

CHAPTER 3

STATUS OF INDIAN PRINTING INDUSTRY AND ITS

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

3.1 Introduction

Printing is one of the human races most far-reaching cultural

achievements and a medium that is ideally suited to our senses. As the first
means of mass communication, paper opened up a world of information and
education to huge swathes of the population. Because print, has been necessary
for businesses throughout history, the printing industry has been an integral part
of life. A large number of innovations have changed the operations of the
printing industry (Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (2004). Whereas printing
was originally handwork, controlled by the printer, the introduction of the
printing press made it an industrial process. (Kadam, S., R., (2005). Today,
printing and digital media complement one another and are spawning new
applications. Printed material is easy to handle; it can explain, entertain, provide
guidance, and appeal to feelings. And it is highly likely that some of the products
you hold in your hands every day have been printed on printing presses. This
chapter discuss about history, trends, challenges, with an overall analysis.
 32

3.2 History of Indian Print Industry

The saga of the growth of printing in India began with the arrival of
missionaries. The growth of printing in West Bengal, when Calcutta was the
capital of the British Empire, is attributable to meeting the growing needs of the
British Raj for its government and administration purposes. Several government-
owned printing presses came up all over India. The newspapers press, to start
with, was owned by the British, but with the growth of the nationalist movement
the Indian Press, particularly the vernacular, became active in the freedom
struggle, and was to become a major pillar of support in the realization of the
nations dreams for independence. The commercial printing centers came up in
Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai to meet the needs of the growing industry.
However, the printing industry in India only gained momentum after
independence.

3.2.1 16th Century (Goa)

The first modern printing press entered India (Anayath, R., (2007) by
sheer accident. In 1556, a Portuguese ship called at the port of Goa for supplies.
Aboard were 14 Jesuits bound for Abyssinia (todays Ethiopia) and a printing-
press. One Jesuit, Joao de Bustamente, a Spaniard, was a printer and
accompanying him was an assistant of Indian origin. The clergy in Goa felt their
need for a printing press was greater than Abyssinias, and so, requested the
Governor-General to make the press available to them. The press was taken out
and sent alongside Bustamente to the college of St. Paul.

3.2.2 18th Century, Tranquebar (TamilNadu)

Printing revived again in India but only in the early 18th century. Once
more a missionary played a key role. The Danes, had obtained, from the Rajah of
Tanjore the grant of a 25 square mile coastal territory Tranquebar, which became
a flourishing trade-centre. Here, in 1706, arrived a German-born Christian
missionary Bartholemeu Ziegenbalg, widely credited with printing the first book
 33

in Asia in the English language. Recently, the printers of Tranquebar, Salem

District, TamilNadu, marked the tri-centenary of Ziegenbalgs arrival with
celebrations, focusing attention on his unique contribution to the development of
not only modern printing but also the first printing material factories in India.
Within a few years Ziegenbalgs arrival, he had established himself as Tamil
scholar compiling a bibliography of 161 Tamil books, he had read called the
Biblithece Malabarke, describing each book. His request to the German Society
for promoting Christian Knowledge brought him, in 1712, a wooden hand screw-
type printing machine and some Tamil typefaces developed in Germany. To
overcome paper procurement difficulties, Ziegenbaig also set up at the nearby
Porayar Indias first small Paper mill and undertook manufacture of printing
ink. Ziegenbalgs press now had all that it needed locally. In 1716 it printed the
first book in Asia in the English language: A guide to the English tongue. Next
year, they produced a Portuguese ABC book. The press existed for the next
century. Not only did printing continue in Transquebar, but it also spread to
Madras.

3.2.3 19th Century, Serampur (Bengal)

In the history at printing in India. Serampore has pride of place. The

Danish Hall, Mission arrived in Serampore in January 10, 1800, bringing a
printing press with them. In the next 15 years, the Serampore press cut type in 40
different languages, including 33 Indian languages. In between 1801 to 1832 the
Serampore mission press published more than 2, 12,000 titles in forty different
languages. This would be regarded as a remarkable feat even today, if we
consider that for these languages types were designed and cut for the first time.

3.3 Present Status of Indian Print Industry

The Indian printing market is rapidly expanding sectors of the Indian

economy (Dutta,S., (2014), (Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, (2004), with a
vast number of printers spread all over India. Estimates of the number of printers
 34

in India vary from 225,000 to 250,000 and industry has experienced rapid
modernization over the past decade (Birkenshaw, J., (2002). There have been
large investments in prepress and press operations in every market segment. To
meet the challenge of the internet and to keep pace with peoples lifestyles, most
newspapers have become more colourful, shedding their staid and dull image.

The Indian printing market was valued at $11.5 billion in 2009 and is
reached $25 billion in 2012, at a CAGR of 12.2% for 200912 as stated in Table
3.1. It has consistently outpaced GDP growth. The printing industry in India
newspapers, books, catalogues, packaging products and other publications such
as coffee-table books has come up to international standards. Industry has a
workforce of 2 million, 18 printing engineering colleges, several diploma schools
and many training institutions.

The printing sector in India has developed into a growing multifaceted

business. Its leaders in graphic design, print quality and capability are nearly at
par with their global counterparts. Most of the large printers are located in big
cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Sivakasi, Hyderabad and
Chennai. Indias printing infrastructure has changed significantly over the past
decade. Many high-end machines have been installed and demand is growing
rapidly. Digital and hybrid machines have become popular and are receiving
more investment. Prepress is fast absorbing the latest technologies and CtP is
growing exponentially. Sophisticated post-press machines are now available in
India and printers are rapidly upgrading to stay ahead of the competition. Imports
and exports of printing and allied machines are significant and growing steadily.
Most of the leading global players have a presence in the Indian printing market.

The key factors that drive the print market are economic development,
demographic changes, social development and growth in advertising expenditure.
India has a large population and over 50% of its population is aged under 35, so
it offers tremendous opportunities for growth in the printing sector. Increase in
literacy rate and lifespan adds to this factor. In fact, older populations tends to
 35

increase the demand for newspapers and books, as older people tend to read
more. Packaging is making a significant contribution to the printing market.
Some social trends that are having a major impact on packaging are the trend
towards smaller households and the accompanying rise in demand for smaller
pack sizes; rising health awareness among consumers; and increasing consumer
demands for convenience. Besides the political and economic situations, there
are some other drives for development of the printing industry, viz (i) One-to-one
marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) techniques are
becoming widespread, generally with demand for transactional and personalised
print produced digitally. (ii) Print jobs have shortening lead times and an increase
in reprints creates a larger number of shorter runs. (iii) There is increased use of
colour in newspapers and packaging. (iv) Printing quality is higher, plus there is
more process colour and extra spot colours in general printing.

The Indian print market was valued at $12.39 billion in 2009 and
reached $ 27.18 billion in 2012, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of
12.2% for 200912 and is stated in Table 3.1. It has consistently outpaced Gross
Domestic Production (GDP) growth over the past 15 years (Anandrathi,(2013).
Printing has now reached international standard in end uses such as newspapers,
books, catalogues, packaging products and other publications. Including printing
equipment and consumables.

Table 3.1 Indias print and allied items: market value, 2009 - 12 ($ millions)

2009 2010 2011 2012 CAGR (%) 2009 - 12

Printing 11,580.9 12,609.7 14,118.7 25,084.6 12.2
Consumables 112.1 125.0 143.0 274.9 14.0
Ink 343.3 380.8 434.1 835.9 14.0
Machinery 358.4 402.4 465.3 992.3 16.4
Total 12,394.7 13,517.9 15,161.1 27,187.7 12.4

Over 75% of the printing houses in India are family-owned business.

In 2002 Govt. of India opened way for foreign investment in printing sector
 36

(LokSabha Secretariat (2013). Foreign investors are now permitted to have a

stake of up to 26% in daily newspapers (Khambhatta, P., (2013) and up to 100%
in scientific or other types of specialist publication, both subject to government
approval. The printing sector in India has gradually changed from a
manufacturing industry into a service industry.

Commercial printing, packaging, labels, newspapers and magazines,

book publishing are some of the leading end uses in India. Package printing has a
24% share (Waite, N.,(2005) and is closely followed by newspapers at 21%. The
other three leading sectors have about 10% each as in Table 3.2. Most packaging
printing is done using offset, flexographic and gravure processes are also used for
printing cartons. Publishing and commercial printing is predominantly offset.
Conventional letterpress continues to decline, although modern rotary letterpress
machines have made an appearance, especially for label printing. Digital printing
is growing in leaps and bounds, constrained only by the cost of the inks. Offset is
the most popular printing process in India and has 65% of the market, market
value is shown in Table 3.3. Sheet-fed offset is widely used by commercial
printers and has 36% of the total print market. Digital printing, including wide-
format inkjet, is forecast to grow exponentially at the expense of all other
processes.

The sheet-fed printing market was valued at $4.4 billion in 2009 and
reached $9.3 billion in 2012, with CAGR of 13.2% for 200912 (Waite, N.,
(2007). Sheet-fed machines are used in India for printing low to medium print
runs. The Indian printing sector produces about 2,000 small offset machines
every year, but it imports a significant percentage of printing machines from
other countries.

The total market for offset printing was estimated at $8 billion in 2009
with a CAGR of 11.6% for 20092012 (Table 3.3). Of this, sheet-fed printing
accounts for 54.7%, justifying its strong presence in the commercial sector.
 37

Table 3.2 Indias print market value by end use, 2009-12 ($ million)

2009 2010 2011 2012 CAGR(%) 2009-12

Newspaper 2,440.1 2,625.5 2,902.9 4,792.3 10.5
Magazines and 295.9 312.3 338.8 508.9 8.5
periodicals
Books (school books) 941.7 1,007.3 1,106.1 1,772.0 10.0
Directories 182.9 195.2 214.0 340.4 9.7
Printed advertising 840.0 939.5 1,079.7 2,164.7 14.9
Sales and mail-order 56.5 62.2 70.4 130.9 13.2
catalogues
Commercial and 996.9 1,122.0 1,297.6 2,683.9 15.6
promotional
Security printing 424.6 463.7 520.5 927.4 12.2

Stationery 1,181.1 1,242.8 1,343.9 1,986.3 8.1

Packaging 2850.3 3,138.0 3,552.8 6,682.0 13.5

Labels 420.1 472.2 547.6 1,149.0 16.0
Others 950.8 1,029.0 1,144.4 1,946.8 11.2

Total 11,580.9 12,609.7 14,118.7 25,084.6 12.2

Table 3.3 Offset Printing market value by process 2009-12 ($ million)

2009 2010 2011 2012 CAGR% 2009 - 12

Sheet fed 4,005.5 4,446.4 5,060.3 9,390.1 13.2
Heat set web 1,002.0 1,103.8 1246.8 2,222.3 12.3
Cold set web 2,428.9 2,577.9 2,805.4 4,161.2 8.2
Total 7,436.4 8,128.1 9,112.5 15,773.6 11.6

Offset printing in India is benefiting from improved technology in

prepress and process control. Offset machines now have Print Production Format
(PPF) compatibility and are moving towards Job Definition Format (JDF)
compatibility. PPF was created by the Heidelberg-inspired organisation CIP3
then developed into JDF. Around this time, CIP3 turned itself into CIP4. Printers
are interested in PPF because it has reduced start-up times to 1015min and cut
 38

wastage to 1015 sheets. The speed of sheet-fed machines has increased from
10,000 to 15,000 sheets per hour. The cost of plate preparation has dropped with
significant improvement in quality. Computer-to-plate (CtP) has raised the speed
of plate processing and several Indian printers have bought CtP machines in
recent years. Sheet fed offset is the most widely used printing process that can
print on large sheets. The machines vary from single-colour to 12-unit machines
with coating and varnishing facilities. Even the existing sheet-fed presses are
turning out to be more efficient when integrated with CtP. Other factors aiding
sheet-fed machines are ways to add value, such as more colours, UV coating,
Curing, and Varnishing.

India still depends on imports for high-end sheet-fed offset machines.

Most of the imports are from Europe, the US and Japan. During 2009 10 Indian
printers imported over 275 sheet-fed offset units. Of these, European
manufacturers like Heidelberg, MAN Roland and KBA together sold over 200
unis. Mitsubishi and Komori another market leaders, installed about 75 units.
Some large Indian players like Manugraph, is well established in India and in the
export market. Medium-sized printers in the domestic market frequently buy
second-hand or refurbished machines. Small sheet-fed offset presses and sheet-
fed mini offset printing (MOP) machines can print on paper sizes A4 (10in
15in), A3 (11in 17in) and B (15in 20in); they are gaining popularity in India,
especially among commercial printers as they are economical, offer easy
handling and have good service and support. They are used to print wedding
cards and invitations, greetings cards, and promotional materials such as leaflets
and flyers inserted into newspapers, and stationery. About 3,300 small sheet-fed
offset presses and MOPs are produced in India each year. This sector is expected
to grow at about 20% per year for the next 35 years. Autoprint, based in
Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, is the largest producer of MOP sheet-fed machines; it
makes 700800 machines per year. In fact, India is the third largest importer of
printing machines, after the US and Japan. The market for offset machines is
 39

estimated at $190.4 million in 2009 and reached $470.4 million in 2012, with a
CAGR of 14.3% for 200912 as in Table 3.4.

Table 3.4 Offset printing machinery, market value 2009 12 ($ million)

2009 2010 2011 2012 CAGR% 2009 - 12

Sheet fed 115.4 130.2 150.9 315.5 15.9
Heat set web 26.4 26.3 33.5 65.1 14.2
Cold set web 48.6 51.8 56.8 89.8 9.6
Total 190.4 211.3 241.2 470.4 14.3

The Indian market for printing equipment, including prepress

equipment, binding and finishing, was estimated at $340.1 million in 2009 and is
forecast to reach $947.2 million in 2012, at a CAGR of 16.5% for 2009-12 as in
Table 3.5. The value could be much higher by including second-hand machines..

Table 3.5 Indias print market value by Equip. & Consumables, 2009-12 ($ million)

2009 2010 2011 2012 CAGR(%) 2009-12

Machinery
Prepress 41.4 46.4 53.5 108.5 15.2
Press 276.1 310.2 359.1 777.3 16.7
Post-press 22.6 25.5 29.5 61.4 15.8
Machinery subtotal 340.1 382.1 442.1 947.2 16.5
Others
Printing ink 343.3 380.8 434.1 835.9 14.0
Printing consumables 112.1 125.0 143.0 274.9 14.0
Spares 18.3 20.3 23.2 45.1 14.2
Others subtotal 473.7 526.1 600.3 1,155.9 14.0
Total 813.8 908.2 1,042.4 2,103.1 15.1

3.4 India Print Market An Overview

The Indian printing market is rapidly expanding, with a vast number

of printers spread all over India (Dutta, et al, (2013). An estimate of 250,000
presses looks reasonable when you consider the incredible number of small
 40

digital shops that have surfaced over the past decade. With a small investment
requirement and low barriers to entry, this sector has historically attracted a large
number of small entrepreneurs, in virtually every city and town in India. Highly
fragmented, the printing business in India has largely offered low margins. High
investment, high-volume newspaper and magazine publishers have survived on
their advertising revenues. Package printers, on the other hand, have had to make
do with small margins, owing to severe competition. The large printers in India
are present primarily in the newspaper and magazine publishing segment. There
are just a handful of large printers in packaging, label and commercial printing.

3.4.1 Outsourcing

The printing sector is on the cusp of an outsourcing boom in India.

Companies around the world, especially in the US, the UK and Japan, are
looking to outsource printing jobs to India. India is uniquely positioned to be a
back-office support provider for the printing and publishing industry worldwide.
India has a large low-cost workforce that offers a good knowledge of English,
excellent design capabilities and considerable creative talent; Indias technology
and communications costs are falling rapidly and its time zone is ideal to serve
east and west. That is why many companies outsource prepress and editorial
work to India. The US graphic design market is estimated to generate revenue of
$15 billion in 2009, which offers a tremendous opportunity in content
outsourcing to the Indian printing and publishing sector.

India is rapidly emerging as a major back-office hub for outsourcing

and the business is estimated at $0.3 billion. Foreign book publishers are taking
advantage of the low-cost printing and prepress services in India. Digital
conversion, content management, typesetting, design and layout are all offered
alongside high-quality copy editing, proofreading, indexing and translation
services. Some of the leading Indian printers that do work outsourced from
global publishers: Manipal Digital Systems, SR Nova Techbooks, Thomson
Press and Cybermedia Services and some of the global publishers outsourcing
 41

printing jobs to India are Reed Elsevier, Blackwell, Pearson, Academic Press and
Taylor & Francis (Khambhatta, P., (2013).

3.4.2 Imports & Exports

Printed product exports are growing rapidly, especially in the

commercial sector. Average exports of commercial printing products could be
$16 million to $22 million per year. Major exporters are Manipal Technologies
Ltd., Manipal, Ajanta offset press, Faridabad, Thomson Press, Faridabad, Lovely
Offset, Sivakasi. India is one of the worlds major trading hubs for printed
products. Indian books, journals, jobbing printing, etc., are exported to over 120
countries around the world.

3.4.3 End Use Sectors

Commercial and promotional printing, printed advertising, packaging

and label printing are expected to show high growth rates in the future. In the
publishing sector, growth rates will be good but they do not match the average.
Magazines and stationery will lag behind. Including newspapers, magazines,
periodicals and books, publishing printing accounted for 32.8% of the total
printing market in 2009. Package and label printing had 28.6% and commercial
printing (including printed advertising, sales and mail-order catalogue and
promotional printing) had 16.8%.

3.4.4 Magazine market

The market for magazine printing was estimated at $ 295.9 million in

2009 and is forecast to reach $508.9 million in 2012, at a CAGR of 8.5% for
200912 and is shown in Table 3.2. According to the Registrar of Newspapers
for India, about 5,350 magazines (about 4,000 general and special-interest titles
and 1,000 b2b titles) were published in India during 200405, of which Hindi
magazines accounted for the major share. News and current affairs are the most
popular magazines.
 42

Table 3.6 Magazines circulation by category in 2012

Number of magazines Circulation (million)

News and current affairs 4,645 64.8
Literature and culture 60 2.8
Womens 21 1.5
Religion and philosophy 63 0.9
Medicine and health 37 0.5
Education 20 0.5
Childrens 10 0.3

3.4.5 Educational books market

India has about 16,000 publishers that publish books in over 30

languages. Every year about 77,000 books are published in India, of which 40%
are in English. India is the third largest publisher of English books in the world,
after the US and the UK. The book publishing market in India was estimated at
$941.7 million in 2009 and reach about $1,772 million in 2012, at a CAGR of
10% for 200712 and is stated in below Table 3.7.

The infrastructure of the Indian books industry is strong and vibrant,

and is supported by a full-fledged book promotion division in the Department of
Education. The future of the Indian book publishing market looks very
encouraging, with an increasingly literate population, a strong economy, an
expanding readership base, increasingly successful Indian authorship, continued
growth of English as a national medium of instruction and learning, and the
strong fundamentals of major Indian publishing companies.

Table 3.7 Books: Printing market value 2009-12 ($ million)

2009 2010 2011 2012 CAGR(%) 2009 - 12

School textbooks 801.7 858.9 944.6 1,524.0 10.0
General books 140.0 148.4 161.5 248.0 9.0
Total 941.7 1,007.3 1,106.1 1,772.0 10.0
 43

The educational and academic market in India is immense. About 1.2

million schools and colleges and 338 universities with an enrolment of about 224
million. The market is growing at about 10% per year, and there are high growth
rates in professional courses such as engineering, medicine, computers, finance
and accounting, management. Educational book publishing is a regional market,
and state governments control the state education boards. A large part of the
school books market is closed to private publishers, as the state governments
publish books for the state-board schools. Oxford University Press and Orient
Longman are the key players in school book publishing. Collectively they have
about 40% of the school books market and 60% of English-language book
publishing. Navneet Publications is the largest of the Indian publishers and caters
mainly to the state education markets in Maharashtra and Gujarat. American
publishers such as Pearson Education and McGraw-Hill are also trying to enter
the schools market. In the higher education market, books are printed largely in
English, and are currently dominated by Indian subsidiaries of publishers such as
Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Elsevier, and Springer. Several local publishers, as well
as some national publishers, are also present in the market, publishing text and
reference books to cater for the hundreds of universities and colleges.

General books include fiction, non-fiction, general management,

childrens interests, and general subjects such as cookery, gardening and health.
In recent years the market for general books has picked up with the opening of
retail book chains and the resurgence of Indian writing. Apart from fiction, there
is an increase in demand for self-help books and general subject books. The
childrens book market depended on imports until recently, but has also grown
significantly with initiatives from Indian writers and publishers over the past few
years. Penguin India and Rupa & Co. are some of the leading publishers of
general and trade books in India. Indian books worth $108.8 million were
exported in 2009 to over 80 countries. Leading Indian book publishers have
made successful forays into the Chinese market, capitalizing on the surge in
demand for books on information technology, medicine, yoga and other general
 44

subjects. Jaypee Brothers, popularly known for its medical books, published 15
books in 2005 jointly with Chinese publishers.

3.4.6 Commercial and promotional

Commercial and promotional printing includes segments such as

calendars, diaries, corporate reports, brochures, greetings cards, business cards,
novelties and product manuals. The market is fragmented and many small
players contribute to the sector. Commercial printing is extremely competitive in
India. The total value of commercial and promotional printing in India was
estimated at $1,122 million in 2009. Over the past two decades, the industry has
been growing at 15.6% per year, which is an excellent growth.

3.4.7 Security Printing

The Indian market for security printing was valued at $424.6 million
in 2009 and is has reached $927.4 million in 2012, at a CAGR of 12.2% for
200912 as in Table 3.8. Other security printing includes cheques, demand
drafts, telephone bills (landline and mobile), question papers in the education
sector, tickets in the travel segment, government documents, barcodes, etc.
Security printing can be divided into financial (banknotes, cheques, drafts) and
non-financial (stamps, passports, driving licenses, identity cards, personal
certificates, dividend warrants).

Table 3.8. Security Printing market value 2009-12 ($ million)

2009 2010 2011 2012 CAGR% 2009 - 12
Security printing 424.6 463.7 520.5 927.4 12.2
Currency 171.6 187.7 210.9 3773 12.3
Stamps 180.7 195.6 217.6 370.3 11.2
Others 72.3 80.4 92.0 179.8 14.3
Total 424.6 463.7 520.5 927.4 12.2

3.4.8 Packaging Industry

Printing for packaging in India was estimated to have a market value
of $2850.3 million in 2009 and reach $6,682 million in 2012, at a CAGR of
 45

13.5% for 200912 as shown Table 3.9. Of this total, paper and paperboard
accounted for 42% and flexible packaging for 40%. Printed folding cartons have
many end uses in India. Lined cartons are used for packaging tea, malted milk
food and a few other food products. In recent years there has been a shift from
varnish-coated cartons to lamination or matt lamination as well as a shift towards
UV-coated cartons. This change is more evident in Fast Moving Consumer
Goods (FMCG). There have been considerable improvements in board quality,
printing quality and finishing quality. There has recently been some emphasis on
the quality of corrugated packaging products; for example, top surface coated
boxes are more in demand for packaging garments, electronic goods, kitchen
appliances, processed foods, etc. Progressive corrugators are setting up automatic
box-making plants to increase production and enhance the quality of the boxes.
In-house printing on corrugated board is gaining importance in India.

Table 3.9. Packaging Printing market value 2009-12 ($ million)

2009 2010 2011 2012 CAGR% 2009 -12
Packaging 2,850.3 3,138.0 3,552.8 6,682.0 13.5
Paper and paperboard 1,194.9 1,317.6 1,492.9 2,788.0 13.3
Rigid packaging 126.9 136.6 151.2 250.5 10.6
Flexible plastics 1,117.7 1,259.7 1,458.8 3,039.0 15.8
Metal 410.8 424.1 449.9 604.5 6.1

3.4.9 India print market value in each print sector

Indias printing sector can be broadly classified as publishing printing

(newspapers, magazines, books, directories, etc.), commercial printing
(brochures, catalogues, etc.) and industrial printing (packaging and labels).
Table 3.10 show a large percentage of publishing printing is done on offset
machines; commercial printing is done on offset. Apart from letterpress
machines, demand for printing machines is steadily growing, and digital printers
are riding above all. The significant factor that will affect the Indian printing
sector between 2007 and 2012 is the widespread acceptance of digital technology
in communication, design and prepress, manufacturing and administration.
 46

Table 3. 10 Indias print market value by process, 2009 -12 ($ million)

2009 2010 2011 2012 CAGR(%) 2009 -12

Sheet fed 4,005.5 4,446.4 5,060.3 9,390.1 13.2
Heat set 1,002.0 1,103.8 1,246.8 2,222.3 12.3
Cold set 2,428.9 2,577.9 2,805.4 4,161.2 8.2
Offset Subtotal 7,436.4 8,128.1 9,112.5 15,773.6 11.6
Flexography 1,180.4 1,337.1 1,553.0 3,188.9 15.5
Gravure 763.1 816.2 895.0 1,380.2 9.0
Screen 486.5 511.2 550.7 774.6 7.1
Letter press 989.4 937.9 914.3 804.5 -2.5
Digital 495.0 606.2 761.2 2,305.8 24.8
Wide format 230.1 273.0 332.0 857.0 20.9
Total 11,580.9 12,609.7 14,118.7 25,084.6 12.2

The rise of the internet and e-commerce has somewhat altered

methods of doing business. There has also been a change in requirements for
volumes, quality, personalization, and so on. Here are some changes that are
worth noting: a larger overall printing market; pressure to reduce turnaround
times of print jobs; many more lower-value jobs; use of digital printing in many
commercial applications; increased demand for outsourcing jobs from overseas
markets; wider service offerings to customers; acceptance of electronic
communications for print jobs in the publishing and commercial sectors.

3.4.10 India print market value in each print sector (Region wise)

Northern region has 33% of Indias printing market, the largest share.
It is followed by the western and southern regions indicated in Table 3.11. The
eastern region is a smaller market, where Kolkata contributes the major share.
The printing market in northern India was valued at $ 3.8 billion in 2009 and is in
$8.6 billion in 2012, at a CAGR of 12.7 % for 2009 12 as shown in Table 3.12.
The southern and western print markets have CAGRs of about 12% and the
eastern region has a CAGR of about 10%.
 47

Northern India is the biggest market for printing newspapers,

magazines and books. Southern and western India show similar patterns of
newspaper and magazine printing. Western India is the biggest market for
package and label printing. These three regions have an equal share of
commercial printing and together contribute 90% of the market.

Table 3. 11 Print Market regional wise share

Region Share (%)

Northern 33
Western 28
Southern 27
Eastern 12
Total 100

Table 3.12 Printing market value by region 2009 -12 ( $ million)

2009 2010 2011 2012 CAGR% 2009 -12

Northern 3831.7 4192.8 4717.5 8584.2 12.7
Eastern 1417.5 1516.6 1668.5 2713.3 10.2
Western 3274.0 3560.5 3981.2 7021.8 12.0
Southern 3057.7 3339.8 3751.5 6765.3 12.5
Total 11580.9 12609.7 14,118.7 25084.6 12.2

Northern Indias total printing market was $3.8 billion in 2009;

newspapers had 30%, packaging and labels 22%, and commercial printing 35%,
where commercial printing includes other items such as security printing and
printed advertising. Northern India is the biggest market for newspapers and had
a circulation of 92.1 million in 2009. Uttar Pradesh maintained its top position in
2009 with 1,913 newspapers, followed by Delhi with 1,133 newspapers.

Eastern India has package printing and commercial printing of 62% of

the $1.4 billion total printing market in 2009. Some of the popular newspapers in
this region are the Statesman and the Telegraph. Stylo Graphic and Hooghly
Printing are the key commercial printers. ITC Ltd, one of the major package
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printers, is based in Kolkata and has manufacturing facilities in other parts of

India. Eastern India is home to Sheth Graphics, which makes printing machinery.

Western India is the biggest market for commercial printing including

security printing, printed advertising, etc., commercial printing had 41% of the
total printing market. Packaging and labels had 35%. Western India has the
second largest newspaper circulation (39.8 million in 2009). The Times of India,
the Economic Times and the Indian Express are the regions popular English
dailies and circulate throughout India. Most of the English magazines published
in western India circulate throughout India; some popular titles are Readers
Digest, Femina and Filmfare.

Southern Indias total printing market was estimated at $3.3 billion in

2009, with major contributions from commercial, package and label printing. The
newspaper printing markets have similar patterns in western and southern India,
but the market in southern India has a slightly higher value. Some of the popular
English-language newspapers in southern India are The Hindu, The Deccan
Chronicle, The Deccan Herald and The Indian Express; other popular
newspapers are Malayala Manorama (in Malayalam) and Eenadu (in Telugu).
Popular vernacular magazines printed in southern India are Anand Vikatan,
Kalki, Vanitha and Kumudam. Sportstar magazine.

3.5 Upcoming Technologies and the Future of Print Industry

We all know that technological concepts in and around the world are
changing rapidly. Today what we learn is insufficient or obsolete tomorrow. This
is not just the case of printing industry but applicable to most of the conventional
industries. As Printing Technology contributes major percentage of the media
industry, we also have to understand clearly these changes to be there in the
market. A successful entrepreneur should understand these reengineered areas
and go for the new technology adoption or absorption to fulfill the customer
requirements. The present technology demands not just experience but the ability
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to convert the requirements of the customer to workable specification

immediately.

In the early 90's we witnessed the economic boom in some of the

Asian countries. Specifically speaking Japan rose to the 2nd largest economic
power. But from 1995 - the recession started. There are three important factors
which will certainly help the Asian Graphic Arts Industry to boom in this
Millennium are (i) Growth of Educational level, (ii) Emergence of large
middle class, (iii) Population increase. The "Manthra" of success in this 21st
century is Learn, Unlearn and Relearn and Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and
Recover".

3.5.1 Digital Workflow in the Print Production Process

The ability to capture, store, process, manipulate, image transmission

and electronically display information is transforming and redefining the printing
industry (Chung, R et al., (2007). This modern technology improves the
efficiency and productivity of the printing process and also facilitates close
connection between customer, prepress, press and post press.

Even though we claim printing industry as the 3rd largest industry in

the world it is positioned only in the 26th place in productivity and turnover just
because it remains craft based with huge inefficiencies at the interfaces. This
digital revolution and work flow has substantially improved the industry and still
there is enough scope to develop. Some of the important developments are
briefed below.

3.5.2 Computer to Plate Technology

CtP was introduced in 1995, and now it has started taking momentum
in offset printing. CTP reduces; make ready time, saves labor, and material.
Throughout the world there are about 1, 85,000 installations (US 27%, Europe
48% and Asia 15%) Computer to Conventional Plate (CTCP) also has become
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very popular now a days and many organisations are moving towards this
technology.

3.5.3 Colour Management

Another field which reaps significant benefits is "Color Management

and Calibration". The present trend is towards standardized equipment and
software for proper, actual color reproduction. Various color models are quite
satisfactory to specify colours and to calibrate and reproduce. Prinect from
Heidelberg, Formulation Master from X Rite, EFI, Gretag Macbeth, GMG are
different modules for the colour calibration and management.

3.5.4 Digital Printing

Digital and variable printing is becoming more popular. Most of the

established companies use digital presses like Kodak Nexpress, Scitex. Variable
image Digital presses like Xeikon, Xerox and Indigo offer good quality output
near offset quality. None of these presses are cost effective when compared to
conventional presses. But for short run on demand jobs this is suitable and we
can hope in the future these presses may become cost effective also.

3.5.5 Printed Electronics

Printed electronics is the term for a relatively new technology that

defines the printing of electronics on common media such as paper, plastic, and
textile using standard printing processes. This printing preferably utilizes
common press equipment in the graphics arts industry, such as screen printing,
flexography, gravure, and offset lithography. Instead of printing graphic arts
inks, families of electrically functional electronic inks are used to print active
devices, such as thin film transistors. Printed electronics is expected to facilitate
widespread and very low-cost electronics useful for applications not typically
associated with conventional (i.e., silicon-based) electronics, such as flexible
displays, smart labels, animated posters, and active clothing.
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The term printed electronics is often used in association with organic

electronics or plastic electronics, where one or more functional inks are
composed of carbon-based compounds. While these other terms refer to the
material system, the process used to deposit them can be either solution-based,
vacuum-based, or some other method. Printed electronics, in contrast, specifies
the process, and can utilize any solution-based material, including organic
semiconductors, inorganic semiconductors, metallic conductors, nanoparticles,
nanotubes, etc.

3.6 Challenges to Indian Printers

The printing industry has been facing a number of challenges. The

shift to digital media platforms has siphoned advertising dollars away from print
operators toward digital media. This general trend, exacerbated by the recession,
caused revenue to decline over the past five years. As the global economy picks
up and emerging countries continue to grow rapidly, revenue will bounce back
slightly in the next five years. Rising capital investment in emerging markets in
China, Eastern Europe and India has outpaced capital investment in the United
States and European market, which has generally been declining over the past
five years due to overcapacity in the market (Rothenberg, S., (2004).

Smaller companies have been consolidated into larger conglomerates

covering broader geographical areas. Also, the number of employees in the
industry has been falling. Aging employees have left the workplace, and fewer
new students have been entering traditional printing programs in educational
institutions, instead preferring to enroll in computer and graphic design
programs. Increased mechanization of production equipment has meant fewer
jobs are available. Cost cutting has resulted in downsizing, often through plant
closures or outsourcing. Increased buyer power (partially resulting from the ease
of ordering and comparing prices through the Internet) has forced printers to be
competitive against other companies. Printing companies must purchase new
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equipment and retrain workers to keep up with the technological advancements

necessary to meet customers expectations. The amount of printed material
needed has also dropped, as customers increasingly make use of other media
options. Electronic files have replaced many items that were traditionally printed.
For printing companies to compete with electronic options, they must increase
the perceived value of print items, possibly through wider product choices. In the
latter part of the twentieth century, the widespread ownership of powerful
personal computers and the advent of desktop publishing allowed individuals to
self-produce products that were previously the work of printers. Computerization
has lowered the number of printed pages that are produced in many industries.
Customers ask printers to create a mock-up or draft of a finished product (such as
reports, advertisements, and posters), they increasingly use computer-generated
drafts and rely on printers only for the final product.

3.7 Environmental Issues in Indian Printing Industry

Industrial pollution has always been debated in the domestic printing

market. The Indian government is taking initiatives to maintain a chemical-free
atmosphere (Behrns. S., et al., (2005). Some rules and policies that are envisaged
are (i) Produce eco-friendly quality papers that adopt innovative technologies. (ii)
Provide a cleaner environment by sustained research and development and
continued process improvements. (iii) Comply with all relevant environmental
legislation and regulation. (iv) Conserve and optimize the use of power, water,
fossil fuels and raw materials. (v) Train people to be environmentally responsive.

Conventional lithographic inks use solvents made from volatile

organic compounds (VOCs). But VOCs are a major source of air pollution, so
ink manufacturers are producing water-based and oil-based inks that eliminate
VOCs. Some printing inks are based on castor oil. Similarly, water-washable ink
systems eliminate petroleum-based solvents and avoid VOC emissions during
printing and when the press is being cleaned. The All-India Printing Ink
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Manufacturers Association (AIPIMA) has asked Indian printing ink

manufacturers to focus on new segments and launch new products, especially in
the ultraviolet (UV) range, which is used for offset, flexography and screen
printing. Digital printing offers huge advantages but the toners it uses are
difficult to remove when the paper is recycled. This is something that needs
urgent attention.

Sheet-fed offset is the most widely used printing process as it is cost

effective and can deliver excellent output. Though, modern presses have many
advanced set-up and automation features that reduce pollutants that harm the
environment, many times we see that these are not met with. During production
of a printed product there are number of various types are generated as shown in
the Figure 3.1. The printer input paper, ink and energy to the machine to take out
a printed sheet. Unfortunately without knowledge there is generation of
Ammonia, VOC, noise, dust, heat are generated. This will have a negative impact
on the atmosphere increasing the CFP.

Figure 3.1 Environmental impact of a sheet fed offset printing machine

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3.7.1 Sustainability through pollution prevention

With the passage of time, and the limited success of add-on controls to
properly address multi-media chemical exposures, industry and governments
have embraced a new philosophy - Pollution Prevention. During the 1980s and
early 1990s, some imaginative and farseeing firms worked to embrace
alternatives to the petrochemical-based inks and solvents. Some did so because a
few countries promoted alternatives with a more holistic approach, rather than a
quick fix with an incinerator (Sukanchan. P., (2013). Today we are poised at the
end of one era and the beginning of a new one. Pollution prevention efforts can
help to make a difference. Small companies cannot afford the capital expenditure
or operating costs of add on controls. Press and material improvements can help
to improve quality and productivity, and reduce chemical pollution. Incentive to
plan ahead and pursue source reduction are available in some states in the form
of financial support for economic development. Reduced liability and good
citizenship are other less tangible forms of incentives. As new products are
designed, as new presses are purchased, new inks tried, the environment will
benefit.

3.7.2 Concepts and programmes for environment management

Over the last few decades, organizations have responded to increased

demands for environmental management by implementing a number of
programmes. The mid 1980s is generally regarded as a turning point, when
industry ceased resisting the environmental pressures and began embracing them
or not, at least considering them. This was a reaction to satisfy their more
environmentally customers aware customers and governments (Argument, et al.,
(1998). This turning point have made a description of different phases of
environmental management. Firstly, managers introduced end of pipe initiatives,
aimed at reducing emissions, waste energy use. At the end of 1980s, clean
technologies were introduced along with programmes for reducing the
environmental impacts of key steps in the production process. At the beginning
 55

of the 1990s enterprises changed their operating procedures and introduced eco
auditing frame works for modifying products and services. Currently
organizations are facing a fourth face in which environmentally cautious firms,
mainly large companies are developing environmental programmes aimed at
organizing their supply chains. As competitions has intensified and globalised
over the last decade, many companies increasingly rely on their supply network
to handle more complex technologies and higher customer expectations
(Vachon et al.,(2005).

3.7.3 Environment Management Systems

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is defined as the part

of an organizations management system used to develop and implement its
environmental policy and manage its environmental aspects. It is a set of inter
related elements used to establish policies and objectives and to achieve those
objectives. It includes organizational structure, planning activities,
responsibilities practices, procedures, processes and resources.

International Standard Organisation (ISO) 14001 and Eco

Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) 2001 can be seen as two systems with a
common basis, even so there are certain differences. According to EMAS the
greatest difference is that companies have to produce an official, assessed
environmental statement or report. EMAS make also more explicit demands with
regard to the preliminary environmental review.

ISO 14001 has newly been revised, with the intention of being more
comprehensible, more compatible with ISO 9001 and of meeting the needs of
small and medium sized enterprises. The revised standard puts more emphasis on
continual improvement of environment performance and management
commitments. Environmental performance of an organisation is defined as the
measurable results of an organizations management of its environmental
aspects. In turn, an environmental aspect has been defined as an element of an
 56

organizations activities or products or services that can interact with the

environment (Robert, K.H etal., 2002).

In EMS, the process of identification and assessment of environmental

aspects is crucial. An approach to a new reproducible method, based on LCA
methodology with example form 14 business units in Stora Enso, an integrated
forest company, has been developed by (Zobel et al. (2002). (Zobel and Burman
(2004) have contributed to knowledge in this area of research, by further
identifying general factors of importance for the process of identification and
assessment of environmental aspects in and EMS contest.

3.7.4 Environmental Impact Assessment

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in India was started in

1976-77, when the Planning Commission asked the then Department of Science
and Technology to examine the river valley projects from environmental angle.
This was subsequently extended to cover those projects, which required approval
of the Public Investment Board. These were administrative decisions, and lacked
the legislative support. The Government of India enacted the Environment
(Protection) Act on 23rd May 1986 (Appendix 2). To achieve the objectives of
the Act, one of the decisions that were taken is to make EIA statutory. After
following the legal procedure, a notification was issued on 27th January 1994 and
subsequently amended on 4th May 1994, 10th April 1997 and 27th January 2000
making EIA statutory for 30 activities. This is the principal piece of legislation
governing EIA. Besides this the Government of India under Environment
(Protection) Act 1986 issued a number of other notifications, which are related to
EIA (Ranshur, S.N. (2009).

3.8 Conclusion of Chapter

Printing industry is classified under Red Category, ie, industry is not

favoring the environment. The diversity of technologies and products in the
printing industry makes it difficult to characterize the processes and the
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environmental issues. These process differences can lead to distinct

environmental concerns and are critical when developing compliance assistance
programs. Any countrys environmental problems are related to the level of its
economic development, the availability of natural resources and the lifestyle of
its population, India is not an exception to it.