November 2020 Print Bulletin
FROM THE PRESIDENTS’ DESK
Dear members of the print industry,
We both are happy that the festive season has brought some positivity, cheer, and perhaps better revenues in our lives. We are starting on a positive note for a few reasons; not because we are any way closer to the end of our woes, but we are witnessing quite a few changes.
Firstly, just as the teams at your Associations changed from November 1, AIFMP too has a new team. Prof. Kamal Chopra is the new President of the Federation with a fresh team. We congratulate Prof. Chopra and members of the new committee. And, we promise you rejuvenated advocacy efforts by closely working with the team from the Federation. We have made a few suggestions at AIFMP. EPCG is definitely amongst one of our top priorities. Our colleague from Mumbai and MMS’ Past President Medha Virkar has tirelessly worked to collate the data and substantiate our representation to the government authorities.
The second reason for buoyancy is positive feedback from market during the festive season. We are no way closer to pre-COVID numbers; however, we shall all agree that the enquiries and the business picked up during the festive season. The packaging sector received business revenues beyond pharma and FMCG clients – especially for handmade, bespoke boxes, for example. On the commercial side too, printers have received queries and business for diaries, books, and magazines. They are certainly not in the ranges of five and ten thousand as they used to be.
Nonetheless, the replies from the clients are shifting from ‘we are not planning print this year’ to ‘let us print only a few hundred copies’. I am sure we can live with it for now and build upon it. We must closely watch the market and the economic trends in different industries to understand if the festive-positivity would continue until January 2021 and to find opportunities in new segments.
The third reason for excitement is all the discussion surrounding COVID-19 vaccine roll-out programme in India. Sooner than later, the vaccine will reach our doorstep. As more communities and populations get vaccinated, we shall be able to leave behind the fear, the stringent social distancing norms, and the uncertainty the health crisis has created.
We would like to reiterate once more that we are with you in these challenging times. Both your Associations are regularly conducting educational webinars; participate in them. BMPA has geared up its activity on social media platforms to reach out to more printers, not just members. Follow BMPA handle TheBMPA on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to stay connected.
Before we conclude, let us tell you as fellow printers and friends: hang in there. Winds are changing. Tide is turning. Little more endurance and we would have weathered the storm of global proportions. Hang in there to tell your share of proud stories to the next generation of braving this situation.