The 15th PrintPack India is set for its delayed biennial in-person celebration of the print and packaging industry. It takes place after more than two years of lockdowns in the mid-summer heat with the infection rates in steep decline and a historically successful vaccination drive that is now reaching all age groups. The celebration over the five days till 30 May heralds the deep desire of the industry to come back to its rhythm of expansion, innovation, and investment in new technology. 

On our visit the day before the event, we saw the stands still rising, being dolled up, with the machines under installation getting ready to be powered up. Running machines and live demos are the heart and soul of print industry marketing. After the rational and antiseptic information exchange and trade of the pandemic years, the industry is very keen to shed all traumas and engage, network, and meet in person. The emotional component of a business is reinforced by seeing and meeting one’s peers and suppliers showing you something new, and trying to tell you how it will lead to the success of your industry.  

The event has brought out the collective optimism of the Indian and overseas manufacturers who remain optimistic about the Indian hunger for print and the society and economy’s need for packaging. As a total of 426 Indian and foreign exhibitors participate the organizers ran out of space in the last many days ago. All fears of another wave of the pandemic and the heatwave in the Delhi NCR seem to have evaporated by the low number of infections and deaths (zero yesterday for the first time in months) and the cloudbursts and storms of the weekend which have brought a breath of cool air and hope even if the cool weather cannot be guaranteed to continue. 

The exhibition takes place in ten halls – from 1, 3, 5, 7, 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 14, and 15. Hall 5 and 7 are both dedicated to the label industry, while halls 14 & 15 are for corrugation and other halls are for mixed segments. Fewer exhibitors compared to the PrintPack 2019 perhaps because of less international participation and because the organizer, IPAMA, had to make the event safe for the exhibitors and visitors. However, it is a test for an industry that talks more than ever about local manufacturing and self-sufficiency – a test in which it is likely to succeed because of the huge number of visitors who are likely to come and who are anxious to revive their businesses and to contribute to the overall prosperity of the economy of which they are a key part. 

Several conferences and celebrations are a part of the show. Do come by and visit us in our stand in Hall 3 Stand B10 and share your news and views. We are of course publishing the Printpack Show Daily in print and with daily digital eZines on all the days of the show.