Industry fellows reunited in person at Media Expo New Delhi 2021 after a gap of two years

After a two-year hiatus, Messe Frankfurt India returned with its first ever in-person exhibition—Media Expo New Delhi 2021. The expo emerged as a crucial business avenue for the signage and advertising fraternity with the participation of 89 exhibitors. The three-day spree of sourcing and business networking expo was inaugurated by Sunil Jain, President, Delhi Printers Association (DPA); Kamal Chopra, President, World Printing Communication Forum (WPCF); Vinod Vittoba, Director, Association for PRINT Technologies (formerly NPES); Shailesh Mehta, Managing Director, Mehta Cad Cam Systems Pvt Ltd; Smarth Bansal, GM Product/Brand Management, ColorJet India; Vitesh K Sharma, Country Manager Large-format Business, India Market – HP Inc; Rajiv Kalra, Director, Satyam Acrylic Plastics Pvt Ltd; and Winston Pereira, General Manager, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd.

Commenting on the anticipated return of Media Expo after two-year gap, Vinod Vittoba said, “Attending a physical even after a gap of two years is like a breath of fresh air. Media Expo New Delhi 2021 brought back the most essential element of our lives, which is ‘human connect’. It has given the industry a fertile platform to talk, bond, discuss, strategize and feel reality once again, which was severely missed. More than anything, it gives hope that very soon exciting things are coming our way.”

Furthermore, Kamal Chopra spoke about the resilience of the print ad industry, “Times are changing and along with it the print technologies evolve. Even in the past, the printing industry has survived many drastic phases and it will definitely survive the current pandemic nphase and continue to grow along with digitisation.” On the restart of the face-to-face edition of Media Expo, Raj Manek, Executive Director and Board Member, Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings Ltd, remarked, “Extremely delighted to be a part of a physical exhibition after such a long time. The return of face-to-face exhibitions is quite a major event as it not only signifies the revival of the exhibition industry, but also plays a huge role in supply chain development of local businesses and contributes to the overall economic growth of India.

Raj continued to mention that through Media Expo New Delhi 2021, Messe Frankfurt India aimed to deliver strong value to the signage and advertising segment by providing a perfect avenue for product sourcing, networking and knowledge sharing.

Major crowd pullers

Some of the top leading manufacturers in the digital large-format printing market and OOH industry at Media Expo New Delhi 2021included Negi Sign Systems & Supplies Co, Colorjet India, AT Inks, JX Enterprises, Apsom Infotex, Mehta Cad Cam Systems, HP Inc, Benson Polymers, Colors Digital India (CDI), Sun Sign & Technologies, Unique Sign Innovations, Ajit Industries Pvt Ltd (AIPL), Lisco Systems, Kao Chemigraf, Arrow Digital, Mimaki, Monotech Systems, among others.

Negi Sign Systems & Supplies Co showcased the proven Japanese technologies comprising Mutoh XpertJet machines and a line of Brother GXT T-shirt printing systems. “It’s quite excited to be in touch with the industry people in such show after a long gap of more than two years,” said Shaurya Negi from Negi Sign Systems & Supplies Co. Mehta Cad Cam Systems showcased a range of highly cost-effective range of UV systems for those PSPs planning to venture into UV printing. Shailesh Mehta, Managing Director, Mehta Cad Cam Systems, said that they unleash a new UV revolution with the introduction of affordable range of printers.

Kao marked new innovations in inks at the expo, heralding the message on the future of inks. Namrata Sharma, Business Consultant India, Kao Chemigraf, mentioned that Kao inks have been approved and efficiently used by a number of machine manufacturers in India, such as Unique Sign Innovations and others. Kao demonstrated ATOMIC and CYCLONE series of LED-curable inks. Namrata Sharma, Business Consultant India, Seiko Instruments GmbH, also mentioned that Mehta Cad Cam Systems’ solvent printer Prince 3204 SK is equipped with Seiko 1024HG printhead.

For the first time, HP Inc demonstrated HP Latex 800 W printer, a fourth generation system to expand into ‘white’ in production of high value jobs. Vitesh Sharma, Country Manager, Large-Format Production Business, HP India, said Media Expo is the best platform to demonstrate the newly launched the fourth generation Latex printers, for the first time in India. He added that it’s really exciting to have the physical interaction with industry partners, after a long gap

With a line of crowd-pulling products at its colossal stand, Colorjet India spotlighted Vulcan Prime during the expo. Smarth Bansal, GM Product/Brand Management, Colorjet India, said the machine is designed to provide ultra-high quality printing up to 2400 dpi and its UV curing technology ensures immediate drying, saving up to 90 percent of production time. On the other side, a key showcase at the stand of JX Enterprises was its popular Gongzheng GZM 3202 SG. Varun S, Manager, JX Enterprise said the return of physical expo is a good vive for everyone.

Neerav Goswami, Director, A.T. Inks mentioned that it would be great to see the enthusiasm among the visitors who expressed their joy in participating a physical expo after a long break. Innovations that revealed at the company’s stand in the expo included the newly launched fluorescent inks and 3D effect films. Benson Polymers at the expo was among the exhibitors showing latest products. In this respect, Rohit Jain, Vice President, Benson Polymers Ltd, shared the fact that they have introduced Polyfix Combo Kit and Polyfix Non-Whitening Instant Glue, which are new and unconventional.

Sun Sign and Technologies showcased the latest range of green media comprising Senfa, Starflex and others. Deepak Gupta, Director, Sun Sign and Technologies, said that the return of the physical expo is a big move for everyone to take business to a new level—the physical shows must go on. Ajit Industries Pvt Ltd (AIPL) rolled out a line of new highly-advanced adhesive tapes and die cut solutions. Ruhit Arya, Dy Manager (Sales), AIPL, revealed the fact that the company’s new products are made in accordance to the finishing needs in the current signage market.

As always in every expo, Colors Digital India (CDI) demonstrated its line of economical printers as well as the chunk of machine spare parts. Tejinder Singh, CEO, Colors Digital India (CDI), thanked to the expo which eventually brought back the person-to-person contact with its customers and industry fellows. True Colors Solutions introduced i-Jet solvent printer with Japanese technology and intelligent print printhead control system.

TOSHIBA TEC at the expo marked a strong brand presence as a handful of OEMs in India use the company’s advanced CE4NW inkjet printhead in their machines, which were demonstrated at the expo and also become regional dealers of the groundbreaking printhead. Mohamed Zeeshan Ali, Manager–Technical Services, TOSHIBA Gulf FZE, said they are quite impressive to witness trade visitors thronging to the stands of Angel India Cad Cam, CDI and others at the expo to witness the machines with CE4NW printhead.

A crowd-pulling key product at the stand of Unique Sign Innovations was the Yaselan flatbed. Mohammed Ali, Managing Director, Unique Sign Innovations, said the UV machine they introduced at the expo is game changer in terms of its price and productivity. LED major Neenjas also announced some new products including the company’s new Slim Edge-Lit Series LED strips at the expo with the showcase of other existing products. Vineet Gupta, Director, Neenjas Technologies Pvt Ltd, said that the return of the in-person expo is like a new dawn for everyone.

Focusing on future technologies, innovation and step towards green printing, Monotech Systems demonstrated its newly launched 6-ft UV LED roll-to-roll Pixeljet miniRTR printer. Manoj Kumar Garg, General Manager – Sales (Signage), Monotech Systems Limited, explained that the advanced version of miniRTR is made PSPs to explore new possibilities in high-quality indoor and outdoor as well as interior décor applications.

City Advertising unpacked a whole new range of glow-sign solutions at the expo. Nitin Srivastava, Director, City Advertising, shared that the company’s NGLS (New Generation LED Signages) is to redefine the innovations in backlit and illuminated signage and display solutions. On other side, Arrow Digital showcased two new products—Canon Colorado powered by UVgel technology and EFI Pro 16h LED UV hybrid printer.

Opening gateway to innovations, Lisco revealed perfect UV solutions for signage and graphic arts players as the company showcased a line of roll-roll-roll UV printers, UV flatbed printers and UV hybrid printers. Yatinsinh Vaghela, Managing Director, Lisco Systems Pvt Ltd, appealed everyone to go for UV innovations to take business to another level.

Key products on showcase

Other key products on showcase, which primarily comprised printing materials of all kinds, were presented by some of the imminent exhibitors at the expo. The list consists of Q-Print Media (a division of Shiva Texyarn Limited), Orafol, Silicon Infotech, Timex Bond, Matrix International, Satyam Plastics, Sunlex, Nilkamal Limited, Dinesh Plasti Work, Indian Plastic Work, City Bond, Arvind, Durawall, Shree International, Htech, Maruti Flex, Timex, Vishwanath Enterprises, IDS, Vibgyor, PRK Sales and others.

Durawall is a digitally printable wall media introduced by Duracoat. It serves as an alternative for hand- painted bills on masonry walls. It is water activated and made from locally available raw materials. Another new launch was from Skycut—a line of high-quality Skycut cutting plotters, which are precise for cutting stickers, labels, vinyl, etc.

360 DPI, a new entity dealing in printheads, inks and consumables, was a crowd puller in the expo. Abhishek Verma, CEO/Co-Founder, 360 Digital Printing Innovations Pvt Ltd, said they supply RICOH printheads and others. Singh Signage & Advertising, a distributor of a line of premium media viz. Sun Fabric, Hi-Star and others including canvas, one-way vision, acrylic sheets, etc demonstrated complete signage materials.

A place for networking

Apart from the innovations on the buzzing show floors, Media Expo New Delhi 2021 has become a centre-place for business networking and invaluable exchanges with industry peers and professionals converging from all across the country for the first-time after the pandemic induced lockdown. Marking the return of the physical show, Messe Frankfurt India made the Media Expo New Delhi 2021 a safe and secure platform for product sourcing and B2B engagements.