COMMERCIAL PRINTING
‘ Without technological advancement , the business will not grow ’
Interview Harshit Varshney , Lovely Offset Printer , Aligarh
Harshit Varshney ’ s father , Subhash Chandra Varshney , laid the foundation of Lovely Offset Printer 55 years ago in Aligarh ( Uttar Pradesh ), 130 km away from Delhi . On finishing college , Varshney took up the business and has seen its ups and downs before and after the Covid-19 pandemic . With the pandemic shut down on 23 March 2020 , most print businesses except those in essential supply chains such as food and pharma packaging fell . Commercial printers were hit especially hard with schools , travel , entertainment , and hospitality closed but Lovely Offset is one of the small commercial printers that has survived the pandemic . Varshney speaks about the multiple factors contributing to keeping his ship afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic . In October 2021 , IPP Correspondent Girish Anshul visited Aligarh to meet and interview Harshit Varshney , a commercial printer in the middle of the city at Achal Tal , a locality known for its large Shiv Temple Achleshwar .
Indian Printer and Publisher – Covid- 19 engulfed the small commercial printers , but you survived . Please share your overall experience and the challenges you faced ?
Harshit Varshney – Covid-19 changed the business world . Every business shut for a few months and the tips and tricks everybody uses in business and the market changed in just a few days . There was a call by all the printers to carry on their business as both the behemoths and the tiny enterprises were all short of money . Everybody just got stuck in one place . After four months of Covid-19 in July 2020 , with the first un-lockdown , business gradually started . There was a wishy-washy condition in the market , and because of no demand , none had orders to fulfil . The workers and labor were not there . The worst situations for business are why many of the small businesses are shut down .
Packaging for Unity designer Mortice Lock Set . photo IPP
Indian Printer and Publisher - What are the business tactics that have changed after the Covid-19 ?
Harshit Varshney - The way of doing business has taken a leaf turn . Before Covid-19 , there was an ease of doing business . We bought all the raw materials on credit , and we paid the dealer in two to three months . After Covid-19 , despite the lack of cash flow and shortage of money in the market , the total purchase amount had to be paid immediately . At the same time , the demand in the market is not high , so the production level is going down .
Indian Printer and Publisher – Which type of machines do you use in your plant ?
Harshit Varshney - In Lovely Offset , we have a manual as well as automatic machines . We have a 4- color 20 x 30-inches offset press , that we bought from Khushi Graphics in Faridabad . Then we have automatic die-cutting and lamination machines also purchased from Faridabad . A single color offset press is also there , and a 42-inch modern paper cutter . In packaging , we have local glueing and stitching machines .
In the pandemic situation , precautions such as on-site workers wearing PP kits , maintaining social distancing , sanitizing their hands ,
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Indian Printer & Publisher | 1 November 2021