The second stop of the six-city promotional tour of Pamex 2023 was Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The event held on 9 December 2022 took the message of ‘Convergence in print’ further to the grassroots of the printing fraternity.

The event, structured around a half-day conference and full-day table-top exhibition, was organized by the All India Federation of Master Printers and Ahmedabad Printing Press Association, in association with Print-Packaging.com. The local bodies of the Vadodara Master Printer’s Association, Maninagar Printing Press Owners Association, Printers Association Amdavad, and Mehsana Printers Association extended their support to the show.

The event was inaugurated by Raveendra Joshi, president, All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP); Anant Vishwanath Joshi, vice-president- West, AIFMP; Tushar Dhote, co-chairman, Pamex; Fallith Pandya, president, Ahmedabad Printing Press Association; Jignesh Shah, president, Vadodara Master Printers Association; Mukesh Padsala, president, Printers Association Ahmedabad; Hiren Parikh, president, Maninagar Printing Press Owners Association; Atul Pandit, president, Mehsana Printers Association and Anil Arora, President, Print-Packaging.com.

“Pamex, the flagship event of AIFMP, is organizing promotional road shows in six cities of India to reach the printers, converters, suppliers, and brand owners from these areas and invite them to Pamex 2023, which is being held from 27-30 March 2023 at BEC, Mumbai. The NAEP award ceremony, co-located with Pamex 2023 is another industry attraction,” said Raveendra Joshi, President, AIFMP – the organizers of Pamex. He shared details of the proposed AIFMP Bhavan, the Research & Training Centre for Graphic Communications, which is being planned at Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana.

The conference was attended by more than 100 delegates, who with other visitors, explored the table-top exhibition, creating a complete networking environment. The participating companies included Vinsak India, Omet India, Manroland Goss, Photokina Chemicals, Zhongke India, S Kumar Multi Products, Simplify, Gebr. Becker India Vacuum Pumps, LineOMatic Graphic Industries, Unison Machinery, Gujarat Printers Directory, and Print & Publishing.

The conference started with a panel discussion on ‘Convergence in Print – The Way Forward’, led and moderated by Ranesh Bajaj, Vinsak India. The panelists who spoke about the application and need for convergence included Manish Desai, Mudrika Labels, Hyuma Mahadevia, Yamir Packaging, Mudresh Purohit, Surya Offset and Sanat Gandhi, and Pelican Rotoflex.

Next was a presentation by Pawandeep Sahni of OMET India titled, ‘The Convergence Mindset- How to encash on the biggest opportunity in print.’ Sahni took the example of Apple and the launch of the first iPhone, which saw the coming together of a wide-screen iPod with touch controls; a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communication device in a single instrument to highlight how a convergence mindset can change a company’s fortune.

Ranesh Bajaj, Vinsak India, then took over the dais to talk about ‘Connected Packaging’. He introduced the word ‘phygital’ – the concept of using technology to bridge the digital world with the physical world with the purpose of providing a unique interactive experience for the user. “Digitizing the packaging of brands and products is important for authenticity, visibility, and interactivity- resulting in brand protection, consumer interaction, and efficiency,” he said. He spoke about the importance of track and trace, which prevents customers from purchasing counterfeit items and makes it extremely difficult for counterfeiters to mimic packaging.

In his concluding remarks Tushar Dhote, co-chairman, Pamex, asked the attendees to explore possibilities of applying convergence in their work areas and to share case studies.

The half-day conference was followed by a networking lunch and a visit to the tabletop exhibition.

The next stop of the Pamex promotional journey will be Pune where a conference and a table-top exhibition will be held on 23 December 2022 at Hotel President. The event will be organized by AIFMP and The Poona Press Owners Association Ltd., in association with Print-Packaaging.com and supported by Solapur Mudrak Sangh, Kolhapur Zilla Mudrak Sangh, Pune District Master Printers Association and Printers Association, Ichalkaranji.