Business reverses should be handled patiently

January arrived in the UAE with two important events for the print industry in the ME region, the Sign and Graphics Imaging show and the Dubai International Print awards.

Though the economy is still in the grip of a contraction, evident from the fewer visitors and exhibitors at the SGI this year, 220 participants as against 255 last year and many publications shelving titles, events like these bring the industry together and provide a platform to network, share ideas and learn about new and cost

Shilpa Jasani, 01 February 2010

Who holds the trump card a new machine or apps?

It would be unrealistic to expect printers to continually invest in new machinery, long before the depreciated value of their old machines comes to naught, and that is why giant manufacturers will need to think out of the box to stay one step ahead of the crowd.

The route to adopt these days is, rather than new machinery launches, innovations in applications could pave the road ahead with growth and profits. A case in point is the 3-D effect for signages introduced by Digimatrix at Sign and

Shilpa Jasani, 01 February 2011

Allhail the duties and possibilties of New Year

As Edward Powell said, “The Old Year has gone. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months!”

It has been a tumultous year globally and for the UAE as well.  Leading regional and global names in the industry have been faced with reverses, mergers or closures.  However most printers are of the opinion (hope?) that the recession has bottomed out in the region.

Though the production output and

Shilpa Jasani, 01 January 2010

The see-saw ride that was 2010

Last year had its fair share of ups and downs.

IPEX, growth in ink-jet technology, packaging sectors' continued growth and increased environmental awareness were the high points of a year faced with trepidation; while closing printshops, machinery lying idle, squeezed margins and rising costs of consumables are but a few examples of distinct lows of the 12 months gone by.

Printers are entering into the new year with mixed feelings. While improvements in turnover and profit margins in the last

Shilpa Jasani, 01 January 2011

Recession brings with it takeovers and mergers

December 09 came with a bang and big news.

Loss of printing giant’s giant and prospective heir to the Heidelberg crown, Jurgen Rautert leaves behind a gaping hole too big to fill. Gossip of Rautert and chief executive Bernhard Schreier not seeing eye to eye, especially on the merger with Manorland seems to have triggered the decision.

This was preceded by news of Agfa’s takeover of most of the assets of Gandi Innovations and Canon’s bid for Oce.

The rapidly changing

Shilpa Jasani, 01 December 2009

Signing up to PAS 2020 will help DM to junk public's unfavourable perceptions

Transforming direct marketing (DM) into a sustainable industry is a challenging task. Coupled with the consumer's perceptions of 'junk mail' and wasted communication, the direct mail industry has a tough challenge on its hands.

The PAS 2020 environmental standard has been conceived to tackle exactly this problem. The standard is a set of guidelines and tasks that a campaign must pass for it to be accredited as a PAS 2020-certified communication piece. The certification came into effect in

Agfa Acento, 01 January 2011

Print may face challenges never redundancy…

From this month I take over as Editor of PrintWeekMEA.

As I write this article my mind echoes with voices of people I have interviewed.  The one concern at the back of everyone’s mind is how to contain the influx of online into the print industry.

While the benefits of internet are known to people like the back of their hands, print industry can never be made redundant.  As one consultant succinctly put it, “How many of us would prefer to be operated by a surgeon who

Shilpa Jasani, 01 November 2009

Exhibitions can give actionable ideas

Though the response for Signage, Imaging and Media Show (SIM) 2010 at Abu Dhabi was lukewarm at best, exhibitors were not complaining, either because they have paid peanuts for their booths or also because some manufacturers and distributors have showcased machinery and applications which could provide printers with food for thought, when they are ready to invest.

An example that could be cited here is ProTechnology, distributors of large format printers from Russian company, Sun Innovations.

Shilpa Jasani, 01 December 2010

Helping the planet means more than simply talking

The PrintWeek MEA team has paper on the brain this month.

With two of the biggest paper exhibitions in the region taking place in October, it’s easy to understand why. The Paper MiddleEast Exhibition took place from October 3 - 5 in Cairo, Egypt with PaperArabia following close behind from October 27 - 29 at the Dubai International Convention Centre in the UAE. Both exhibitions aim at attracting market leaders, manufacturers, converters, distributors and traders from all over the

Pratik Sardesai, 01 October 2009

Printers cannot afford to underate apps revolution

Rather than viewing anything related to the internet as a potential threat, printers should view the apps revolution and new devices as a means of running their business better.

Twenty-thirty years ago printers walked on the shop floor to check the status of their print jobs. With the advent of reporting systems like management information systems (MIS) actual reports could be accessed through mobile devices from anywhere in the world.

Fast forward 2010. Tablet machines particularly Apple's iPad

Shilpa Jasani, 01 November 2010

Ability to maintain quality service at reasonable price is our success

Khaled Abdulla Yousef Abdulla Aal Abdulla, chief executive officer of Majan Printing & Packaging, LLC in conversation with Venkat Raghavan

Born and raised in Ras Al Kaimah, United Arab Emirates, Khaled Abdulla Yousef Abdulla Aal Abdulla completed his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (major in computer information systems) from University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA. After completing his education, he was fascinated with the breakthrough in the printing industry and activities

Venkat Raghavan, 14 April 2019

Why not one major trade show in the Gulf like Ipex?

This sentiment was echoed by a lot of printers, general managers and participants at this edition of Paper Arabia.

The lukewarm response to the expo and reduced number of visitors prompted a lot of participants to express that there were too many trade shows in the region.

Senior management we interviewed said that it made more sense to have one major annual show for the entire Middle East, something on the lines of IPEX or DRUPA; which covered all segments of the industry, from offset

Shilpa Jasani, 01 October 2010

Staying ahead of the market requires quick adaptation to change

Kumail Ali Khalfan, CEO of Sign Works, in conversation with Venkat Raghavan, shares his knowledge about the signage and printing industry and explains where the industry is heading.

Born and raised in New York, Kumail Ali Khalfan completed all his education in the United States. After completing his education, he worked in the industry in New York before coming to UAE. He came to the UAE in 2010 to join Sign Works, which was then managed by his father, Safder Ahmed Khalfan.
Speaking about his

Venkat Raghavan, 25 March 2019

Greater scope for paper and paper converting

Another month and another exhibition round the corner. Paper Arabia, from 2010 will become an annual event instead of once every two years.

Though paper prices are rising every quarter, the demand does not seem to subside especially from the UAE, which produced $27 million worth of paper in 2009, a 25% increase over the previous year.

Chinese companies too have increased their presence at Paper Arabia this year in a bid to capture a larger share of GCC tissue and hygiene products market from a

Shilpa Jasani, 01 September 2010

Never compromise on quality for making some short term benefits

Babu Varghese, managing director of Al Bony Printing Press, Sharjah in conversation with Venkat Raghavan, shares his knowledge about the printing industry and explains where the industry will be heading.

Born and raised in Kottayam, Kerala, India, Babu Varghese completed his education from his home town. After completing his education, he opened a printing press in India. In late 1980s Varghese came to UAE with all his managerial experience and capabilities to explore the opportunities.
Speaking

Venkat Raghavan, 14 February 2019

Print is dead,long live print...

The above headline caught my eye and attention and set me thinking. It has been 20-25 years since Internet connected the globe, yet more and more newspapers and magazines are being published today. Global circulation of newspapers and magazines has risen and not fallen. Agreed stories of newspapers and magazines closing shop and decline in subscriptions abound, but such instances are disproportionately highlighted. When reports of tabloids like Emirates Business 24/7 going online or magazines

Shilpa Jasani, 01 August 2010

Honesty, quality and servicing will let you to do a successful business

Mazen Al Awamleh, managing director of Intaglio Security Printing and Royal Advertising, UAE in conversation with Venkat Raghavan, explains the market opportunities

Born and raised in Jordan, Mazen Al Awamleh completed his education in his home country.  While pursuing his education he had his own interest in business and ventured it. With the interest in security, he started his own security printing press in Jordan. Later in 1997, he came to Dubai and started his own company.
Speaking about his

Venkat Raghavan, 21 January 2019

Fespa lives up to its theme new wave of innovation

Printing industry is continuing its good run, with Fespa exuding an optimism similar to that observed at Ipex.

Visitors to the Munich show continued to patronise digital with 'two-thirds highlighting digital as their main focus as compared to half the visitors at Fespa 2007 in Berlin'. The theme of the show was Catch the New Wave of Innovation and it lived up to its name. Displayed at the expo were, for example, EFI's narrow web Jetrion label press that has been upgraded to take screen and pad

Shilpa Jasani, 01 July 2010

Interview with Andy Thomas-Emans, strategic director, Labelexpo Global Series

Where is the packaging and printing industry heading towards?
Technology trends include hybrid printing, combining digital and conventional print and finishing technologies. We are also seeing a trend towards shorter runs caused by brands moving to multiple SKUs, personalisation and customisation. These trends will continue. Both packaging and commercial printers are also becoming a one-stop shop for brands, and in response to this, we recently launched our new Brand Print portfolio of events

Staff Writer, 24 December 2018

This edition of Ipex ended on a optimistic note inspite of ash clouds and British Airways

This edition of Ipex ended on a optimistic note inspite of ash clouds and British Airways' strike causing hiccups on the way. The optimism was evident in exhibitors and visitors, prompting many echoes of 'industry is headed towards recovery'. Though the star of the show was digital, the future lies in the coalition of offset and digital technology. As an industry veteran with his finger firmly placed on the pulse of market movements said, "The traditional offset market will shrink, but not as

Shilpa Jasani, 01 June 2010

Relationship, quality and timing are the three core-values of every business

Sunny Thomas, general manager of Pen Printing Press, Ajman in conversation with Venkat Raghavan, shares his knowledge about the printing industry and explains where the industry will be heading in the coming years.

Born and raised in Kottayam, Kerala, India, Sunny Thomas completed his schooling in Kerala and bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from NSS College affiliated to Calicut University - Palakkadu, India. He opened a printing press in India in 2002. In the year 2011, Thomas came

Venkat Raghavan, 24 December 2018

Industry should not write epitaphs of offset just yet.

The buzz everywhere around me is how fast and rapidly digital is making inroads into the traditional offset zones. Stories abound of printers venturing into publishing daily newspapers and magazines on digital machines, with some even value adding to their products by personalising copies.

Traditional offset, however is not to be left behind, as is evident from the new machines to be launched at Ipex this year. Heidelberg will unveil its CX 102 capable of printing 16,500 sheets per hour, while

Shilpa Jasani, 01 May 2010

SGI Dubai 2019 is all set to welcome more than 400 exhibitors across the world

Sharif Rahman, CEO, IEC, gives an open talk to Venkat Raghavan, assistant editor of PrintWeek MEA.

Volumes have become shorter and shorter, publishers and advertisers are looking to attract dedicated groups of people, so in which way the event would be helpful for the visitors and exhibitors?

SGI Dubai has been a good partner for advertisers and publishers. While the market situation has caused some organisations to cut down on spends, it has also made many organisations invest strategically in

Venkat Raghavan, 12 November 2018

Going green can reap cost and productivity benefits

The Middle East region trails behind Europe where environment aspects are concerned. While the region is very keen and quick at investing in the latest technology, going an extra mile for the environment often takes a back seat.

Though it is becoming very commonplace to talk of 'corporate social responsibility and 'eco-friendly approaches, at media gatherings, the ground reality is that the printing fraternity is largely concerned with profit margins.

The need of the hour is mass

Shilpa Jasani, 01 March 2010