“I am optimistic, the printing industry will bounce back sooner or later” – Anil Brahmbhatt, President, SGAI
17 November 2020: Covid-19 and the longest ever lockdown, have badly affected the entire printing industry, be it commercial, packaging, garment printing, digital printing, mainly owned by small, medium and family-managed firms. And, almost all the festivals hitherto passed off very quietly without any celebrations. There were no weddings, no birthdays, no parties, no events, no exhibitions, conferences all of which require some form of printing. The balance of fewer than two months can be now written off. On the commercial printing front, the Government of India has decided not to get printed the calendar and diaries, etc. And Indian corporates, in any case, are not going to print anything like this. On the garment industry front, fashion has taken a back seat world over owing to check on personal household expenditure.
Nevertheless, in his message of hope, Anil Brahmbhatt, President, SGAI, said “I am optimistic, the printing industry will bounce back sooner or later. Our Indian screen printers especially the one catering to packaging, garment industry and industrial sector are bouncing back; and some of them got orders to print mask, some got PPEs kit orders, and now printing firms catering to automobile and electronics/home appliances are bouncing back and I heard some of them dared to even invest in new machinery.”
He adds further: “COVID-19 taught us great life lessons at times of crisis; it made everybody stay alert and take care at home and work. Some players say that opportunities are coming up. The pandemic taught us to live healthy and clean, eat healthy food, sanitized environment, intelligent production with fewer people, etc. It taught us how to be innovative and creative and dare to seize opportunities coming ahead. Above all, work from home, a new normal has emerged out of the pandemic.”
He further added: “As per exhibitions in our printing industry is concerned, for the time being, we have to rely on virtual events; although we would miss each other personally. There are webinars, conferences, exhibitions online; get updated without physical visits.”
He concluded with a message “The latest alert: Corona is not yet over; Let’s stay alert and fight together. Meanwhile, with Happy New Year ahead and Season’s Greetings.”
