On 5 March, EFI organised its third India advisory council in Bengaluru, themed 'Applications of Technology in Digital Printing and Packaging World'.

The council transpired with presentations, panel discussions and a show-and-tell by the new board members Asha Sampath, ceramic consultant and former managing director of Endeka Ceramics India Himanshu Pandey, director, Avantika Printers and Sachindranath Udupa, operations director, Quenby Transfers India; each one a specialist in exploiting technology to their benefit. Jagdish Bajaj, managing director, PrintXpress was also present and a part of the deliberations.

"Technological advancements in digital printing have helped push the industry’s boundaries. The speeds have gone up as the market has diversified to serve more specific niches while advancements in the inkjet have made the industry a changed landscape from few short years ago. The trend is seeing a large shift in printing on non-paper and plastic materials, foil, ceramic, textile, wood, metal and glass. Non-document digital printing is expected to continue to spike sharply around packaging, corrugated boxes," said Samir Gulve, vice president and managing director of EFI India.
 
The day also saw Ramu Ramunathan, group editor, PrintWeek India and Campaign India, present a glimpse into the print-packaging industry; trends and growth, plus a rivetting discussion with Gautham Pai, managing director of Manipal Technologies.

Toby Weiss, senior vice president, Fiery business unit, EFI shared his optimism about the Indian print industry and the advancements in digital technology. "As excited as we can get about the print market today, our excitement is tenfold when we look at what the market will be like tomorrow. The opportunity is there for the taking, but it is not without challenges. It will take entrepreneurs who are willing to take risks. It will take technology and services companies to provide part of the solution and know how, and it will take many organisations to change the way that they are currently working."