The printing business in India has a long and varied history that reflects the nation's economic, educational, and cultural development. With the advent of offset lithography, gravure, and flexographic technologies in the 20th century, the printing industry rapidly industrialised and modernised after Portuguese missionaries brought printing to India in 1556. One of the biggest printing industries in the world, India has seen tremendous change in recent decades as a result of a growing focus on efficiency, quality, sustainability and global competitiveness.
Innovation, market diversity, and digital change have propelled the Indian printing industry's recent growth and evolution.
The printing industry in India is still robust and competitive, with significant potential for exports and ongoing expansion through innovation, workforce development, and technological advancements. Automation, technological advancements, and environmentally friendly practices are also being implemented more and more in the printing presses. Yet, the Indian printing sector now views standardisation as a strategic need rather than an option due to the growing demand for sustainable practices, digital transformation, and client-driven quality assurance. Few printing units are selected randomly, covering the various geographical regions and emphasis is given to the business units following printing standards in their presses; they are arranged in alphabetical order.
Print Factory-I (CDC Printers), Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Founded in 1998, CDC Printers has established itself as a leader in the printing industry, serving over 2400 customers, across 42 countries. Under the leadership of Mr. Manu Choudhury, Director, an expert in Colour Management, CDC Printers combines cutting-edge technology with a commitment to excellence, making them a trusted partner for businesses worldwide. In alignment with international best practices, they are following ISO 12647-2 standard, the globally recognised standard for process control in offset printing. As per Mr. Choudhury, “we print by numbers, not by visual judgment, which ensures objective, repeatable, and measurable print quality across all the jobs”.
Regular calibration of sheet fed offset printing presses is conducted to maintain dot gain curves, tone value increase (TVI), and gray balance as defined by the ISO 12647-2 document. Pre-press workflows are aligned with standardised colour profiles, ensuring fidelity from screen to print substrate. The press operators use densitometers and spectrophotometers to monitor and control ink densities and colour consistency during the print production runs. The adoption of ISO 12647-2 in the print workflow has delivered tangible improvements across quality, minimisation of wastages, enhancement of production efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
By shifting from subjective, visual judgment to a data-driven, standardised approach, they have established a high degree of control over every variable involved in the printing process; from plate making to ink application and colour consistency. This process-controlled environment significantly reducing the risk of print errors, minimises material wastage, and shortens make-ready times; and customers benefit directly from this consistency in print output. Repeat jobs maintain uniformity across batches, brand colours are reproduced faithfully, and fewer quality complaints translating to stronger trust in print services. The standardisation has also enabled smoother onboarding of new team members and operators, since procedures are defined, documented, and measurable contributing to overall operational resilience and scalability in CDC Printers.
Mr. Manu Choudhury, Director, CDC Printers, inspecting the press printed sheet.
Print Factory-II (Kumar Printers Pvt. Ltd.), Manesar, Haryana, India
The company, Kumar Printers Pvt. Ltd. (KPPL), was incorporated in the year 1976. Quality is the cornerstone of operations at KPPL and standardisation is the key to produce and improve on the quality related issues. They are following the ISO standard 12647-2 for prepress and press environment. The press facility has been approved by GMI in 2008 and they are the first printing company in India to be certified by GMI. This standardisation has helped the organisation deliver standardised quality product to the customer with greater consistency.
Over the years they have derived great benefit from ISO 12647-2 standard. Mr. Sandeep Bhargava, Managing Director, “The customers have benefited by getting a predictable and consistent result, not only in the same production run but in different production runs even while printing weeks apart. This has resulted in happier customer experience. We have benefited by following the ISO 12647-2 by having quick press set up times and less wastage of material, which means higher press productivity at a lower cost”.
KPPL is planning to get G7 certification in near future, which many American customers ask for the printing jobs. For colour measurement they are using standalone spectrophotometers, Intellitrax by X-Rite and Imagecontrol device by Heidelberg. All these devices are calibrated regularly, as per schedule, to maintain the measurement accuracy and consistency across devices. The prepress and press equipment are also checked and kept calibrated as per the planned schedule or as per requirement.
Mr. Sandeep Bhargava, M.D., Kumar Printers, with his team.
Mr. Sandeep Bhargava during Quality Control Checks (L).
Print Factory-III (Parksons Packaging Ltd.), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
It is one of India’s largest folding carton packaging solutions providers, with a diversified product portfolio catering to varied consumer sectors. With over 50 years of experience in printing and packaging industry, they combine technical expertise with market insights to deliver customised solutions that exceeds the current trend and giving print products with an edge in the market place. A professionally managed organisation with strong corporate governance practices operating with 13 plants in 10 strategic locations spread across India and now have established manufacturing in Tanzania, Africa.
Parksons Packaging has been operating as certified entity under various ISO standards; ISO 9001:2015 for Quality Management System, ISO 14001:2015 for Environmental Management System and ISO 45001:2018 for Occupational Health and Safety Management. There are multiple certifications and standards which have been implemented likes of BRCS and GMI based on specific needs to cater to certain clients and markets. They are also successfully using ISO 12647-2 standard in selected units and potentially planning to extend the same to other units, very soon. Parksons Packaging believes that the implementation of ISO 12647-2 standard has given them flexibility for effective utilisation of press facilities and at the same time they are able to deliver consistent printed products with low levels of material wastage coupled with enhanced press availability and reliability to match effectively with the various client requirements and expectations. The process checks at each stage, from digital proofing, plate imaging, and print-run to pre-despatch are now ensuring the higher press productivity with the introduction of ISO 12647-2 into their press environment.
Investments in various industry defined technology for being accessible to various standards have been successfully implemented to keep checks and balances to remain compliant to the specific standards. As per Mr. Siddharth Kejriwal, Managing Director, “We will continue to partner and engage with industry leaders and provide feedback for review and updating the various printing standards from time to time. The team at Parksons Packaging is committed to extend standardisation across the whole graphic supply chain and the final delivery of printed material communicating the brand value proposition – the brand pack on the shelf!”.
Print Experts in Parksons Packaging During Quality Checks.
Print Factory-IV (TCPL Packaging Ltd.), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
TCPL Packaging established in 1995, is one of India’s largest manufacturers of folding cartons, and India’s largest standalone converter of paperboard. TCPL is also an innovative player in the flexible packaging industry, with the capability to produce printed cork-tipping papers, laminates, sleeves and wrap-around labels. TCPL caters to leading brands in the consumer goods industry, across verticals such as FMCG, Food and Drinks, Electronics, Pharmaceuticals and other segments. TCPL exports products to countries spread across the globe and are able to offer great value to their customers, with the assurance of world-class quality and service. TCPL Packaging have a long history of adding value and innovation to all their products. In order to satisfy their goal of getting it right the first time, every time, they have a system of rigorous quality checks. All factories are equipped with state-of-the-art technology to support the same.
Print Technicians in TPCL Packaging.
TCPL has implemented standardisation across prepress, proofing, and printing processes at all plant locations. To achieve consistent print outcomes regardless of machine, operator, or location, standardisation is indispensable. ISO standards, specifically adoption of ISO 12647-2 has provided clear guidelines for maintaining high-quality printed outputs. As per, Mr. Saket Kanoria, Managing Director, “Key aspects of ISO 12647-2 standard document include identifying optimal printing densities, controlling dot gain at those densities, achieving accurate grey balance, and calibrating the colour space. These efforts are tailored to account for the specific status of machines, paper, and inks. Such meticulous calibration bridges variability in equipment and materials while maintaining uniformity in the final product”.
Print Factory-V (Thomson Press India Ltd.), Faridabad, Haryana, India
Established in 1967, Thomson Press is renowned in equal parts for its state-of-the-art infrastructure, highly skilled team, robust processes and adoption of the latest technological advances. They are specialised in printing, Magazines, Trade Books, Colour Books, Dictionaries, Bibles, STM Books, Diaries, Notebooks, Board Books, Sticker Books, etc. and most of printed jobs are exported to over 100 countries, primarily to U.S.A. and Europe. Press is equipped with high-end sheetfed & web printing machines along with soft case & Hard case binding facilities, having expertise in post binding operations, Gilding & four Colour Book Edge Printing.
Thomson Press is strictly following ISO 12647-2 printing standard quite a long time for producing high quality consistent print output besides ISO 9001: 2015, ISO 14001: 2015, ISO 45001: 2018, SA 8000, FSC, PEFC and SADEX certifications. This press is globally certified & known for best practices in manufacturing, quality, environment, ethics and contribution to society. ISO 12647-2 standard is being followed by the press to ensure accurate and stable colour reproduction across different print runs, equipment, and substrates and adding value to reduce errors, waste, and customer complaints. Adhering to this standard also demonstrates a commitment to quality and professionalism, potentially attracting more domestic & international customers. The press is equipped with IGT Printability Tester, paper and ink testing equipment to support quality assurance.
Print Technocrats during Quality Control Checks in Thomson Press.
About the Authors
Prof. (Dr.) Anjan Kumar Baral, has acquired in-depth knowledge and expertise in the areas of Print and Packaging education & research, besides extensive industrial exposure, signing numerous MoU’s with academia/corporate, establishment of state of art printing and packaging laboratories and organising various international and national level conferences/seminars. He has more than 30 years of active teaching and research experience in the field of printing and packaging technology. Based on his contributions to the global graphic arts education, training and research, ‘Printing Industries of America’ (PIA), USA conferred it’s most prestigious ‘Global Education Award of Excellence’, in Minneapolis in the year 2018, the first Asian personality to receive the honour in the history of PIA. He represents BIS, India as Chairman of “Graphic Arts Technology”, Sectional Committee.
Das Damodaran, Business Director Farb Technologies, Mumbai, India has acquired B. Tech. in printing technology. Since 2011 he is associated in the field of Color Management, Process Standardisation, measuring devices, pre-press software, automation of proof reading, ink kitchen & mixing. A thorough technician in all modes of print and packaging with hands on experience in implementation of color management and process control systems across India and a certified color expert from X-Rite and GMG. Now heads business development, sales and operations for Farb Technologies; the solution providers for almost all the domains of print Industry and representing GMG color Germany, X-Rite USA, Global Vision Canada, Hybrid softwares, IGT Netherlands in India as their official channel partners from last 15 years.
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar is working as Assistant Professor in the Department of Printing Technology at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar. His expertise is in the field of digital printing and allied field. He has 15 years of teaching and research experience. He is currently guiding 04 doctoral research scholars. He has published 23 publications in the journal of national and international repute. He is completed two research projects and published one patent.