HP and TechNova come together at Labelexpo India 2022

TechNova, pre-press anddigital printing technology, and material provider, has partnered with HP to introduce HP Indigo printing presses for the labels, folding carton and publication segments in the Indian market. The two companies participated together at Labelexpo India 2022.
TechNova first introduced Indigo technology to India in 1993, long before the company was acquired by HP and became HP Indigo.  

Amit Khurana, chief operating officer, digital and offset print solutions, TechNova, says that the Indian market was not ready for digital print technology back then. And the presses were also not ready to meet market expectations. The Indigo products were pulled out of the market. Indigo was then sold to HP.  

The market has changed since then.  

‘We are a 51-year-old company with 70 percent market share in the offset print segments,’ states Amit Khurana.’ We see some changes in the industry. The commercial print industry is going through its challenges. Packaging is one segment where we see lots of digital coming in and exploding in India at the moment. Especially post Covid, consumer behavior has changed. And we as a company wanted to give a complete bouquet of products to our customers.’ 

The company was looking for a digital partner and that is how the conversation with HP began.  

‘TechNova being a leader in the market, it was a natural decision for both of us to come together and collaborate. Digital is complementary to offset and flexo. With our reach in almost every town in India, we will be able to take Indigo deeper and faster,’ Khurana says. 

One of TechNova’s divisions is Digital Print Media. Its non-tearable digital photo media, NovaLife is among its largest-selling products. 

Deepak Chawla, senior GM, marketing and corporate communication, TechNova, adds: ‘Our collaboration with HP goes back a long way. We have been working with HP in the photo market with our photo media range.  So although we have not been selling HP photo devices, the collaboration is not really new to us in that sense.’ 

One-stop-shop 

After Indigo was acquired by HP, the machine was recalibrated to suit market needs. At the same time print service providers were looking to set up a one-stop-shop, and printers started adding digital to their conventional print capabilities to diversify into new segments.  

‘If you look at our portfolio, we have been offering digital production presses, post production and print embellishment solutions for quite some time,’ Chawla explains. ‘Labels, packaging and publishing are the fastest growing segments. We are keen to serve customers in these segments by offering best-in-class digital solutions. Who can be a better partner HP to help us in our mission? That’s what made us talk to HP. It was a natural fit and a synergistic relationship.’  

It has been over a year since TechNova and HP partnered.  
‘In any business or collaboration, the first year is the most difficult,’ Khurana adds. ‘When you work with business partners, it is an integration of two cultures. HP and TechNova have been very supportive of each other. In terms of equipment, we started transactions just six months back and we are looking at double-digit sales in a year or so.’ 

TechNova has committed a team of energetic digital enthusiasts for HP Indigo and will very soon build a service team for the presses it sells in India.  

TechNova TOUCH Center 

TechNova will soon be launching the TechNova TOUCH Center in Navi Mumbai, equipped with HP Indigo 6K digital press. It will provide an opportunity for Indian customers to experience the HP Indigo technology and performance, develop new applications, get proofing services and training for matching offset print quality and create mock-ups with short-runs for test marketing new products. It will be an extension of HP’s Centers of Excellence in Singapore and Barcelona.   

Khurana adds that TechNova has always been at forefront of educating customers. ‘We used to have our TOUCH Center -  which stands for TechNova Open University for Change - at our corporate office in Mahalaxmi, Mumbai and was used for demonstrations and product trainings for our customers, channel partners and internal teams. Now TOUCH has been de-centralized with each of our manufacturing facilities having their own TOUCH centers or application labs.’

Labelexpo India 2022 

‘It was an exciting show. We saw a lot of energy and the right people. Our experience with other shows is that we find a lot of crowds but here we see the right people and discussions. Visitors spent time on our stand. The packaging industry in India is growing and customers want to adapt to new technology. Everyone is very positive about the packaging industry,’ Khurana says.  

‘Earlier, Labelexpo India was not a very critical show for TechNova since we did not have a large or significant portfolio for the label industry’, Chawla says. ‘We would always make it a point to visit the show but not participate in a big way. However, now with HP Indigo 6K – the best device for Label printing, in our portfolio, we are having our first big presence at Labelexpo India 2022. We would like to compliment the organizers for executing an event of truly international standards, right from the venue to all other arrangements and especially the marketing and promotions. We look forward to participating in many more Labelexpo events to come. 

‘We have had very good inquiries and closed some lighthouse deals at the show. Additionally, the kind of funnel we have built from the show will go a long way in achieving our targets.’ concludes Khurana.