“Our objective is to help new entrepreneurs to set up their own production printing shops and grow further. Next, to set up production printing shop also needs lots of secondary equipment that costs. Most banks refuse to support the new entrepreneurs, because they could not show minimum amount of cash needed, that could be up to Rs 10 lakhs, before the banks could finance. So, now we started providing finance from our side to the budding entrepreneurs. We do not take any collateral from the entrepreneurs—but we assess his trustworthiness and project report through our own checks and measures—we do not finance everyone. As per our experience, over 90% of those whom we financed came up to our expectations and are successful. Say, even if there is a guy who got just Rs five lakhs, we will help him to set up a printing press which could cost over Rs 50 lakhs. Then, as he performs well, we will help him to move up the value chain as we want him to grow further. Our experience has been very encouraging,” Puneet Datta shares.
Canon takes pride in not only on bringing quality products to the market; but also in contributing towards minimizing the environmental burden, through the effective application of green technologies. Canon focuses on the development of resource conserving products that are smaller, lighter and easier to recycle. Today, Canon India is ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 27001 and ISO 22301 certified. The company was awarded the title of ‘strong commitment to excel at the CII-EXIM Business Excellence Award, in 2006 and 2010, respectively.
Puneet Datta added, “Canon machines are considered as Ferrari or high-cost and high-value products, not cheap but the features and applications we package with our machines offset the high cost. The customer or entrepreneur gets more value than the money he spends to purchase our machines. On the other hand, we are also bringing affordable or less expensive range of printers for B2B users. Earlier we had no sub Rs 30 lakh machines, but now we have machines costing around Rs 20 lakhs particularly suitable for entrepreneurs. Water bills, electricity bills, telephone bills, book printing, credit card statements, insurance policies all these involve digital dynamic printing which cannot be printed on traditional printers: these prints need digital production printers and that is where our digital printing machines come to help. Our DreamLabo is the best solution for entrepreneurs. Each of our machines can print about 100 meter/min or 2400 A4 sheets a minute—that is how fast they are. We have inkjet white format printers for architects, CAD / CAM applications, design, professional photo printing, etc and we also have printers which for printing on canvass, posters, and for printing technical documents. We have both toner-based also inkjet based printers. We have different printing systems for high and low speed jobs which are highly suitable for architects, manufacturers, engineers, construction companies, consultants, etc. You can also customize printing on rigid media as you need such as printing on rigid surfaces like doors, tables, automobile doors, refrigerator doors, etc. Also in schools, they want to print customized diaries, progress reports, time-tables with student’s photo, name and details. On our machines, these tasks can be achieved easily and with better precision and finish. For, instance, our imagePRESS C10000 VP machine can reproduce colors in a way that is comparable to offset printing.”
Over the last 20 years, Canon India’s comprehensive range of the latest digital imaging products, supported by a well-trained sales force across the country, has emerged as the key differentiator boosting the company’s growth.
Regarding the present market conditions and their future plans, Puneet Datta said, “Taking into account the fact that India is a young country with a large proportion of youth and people still prefer printed books and printed documents, the country offers a great scope for at least one more decade for digital printing. Even if we assume that 20% users will shift to using only soft copies, still there will be lot of future scope for the printing business in India. Particularly in non-metros printing will continue to grow. Our B2B machines are very useful for SMEs and to those interested in setting up small printing presses. We are not into outdoor signage. But our machines can print on canvass, posters, flex, that are used in in-shop signage and also in airports. Retail branding is expected to grow so retail printing too will grow. Our DreamLabo systems offer exceptional quality; they are rightly priced and rightly positioned. With new innovations coming up every year, cost of machines will come down and print cost per copy will also come down. On laser printer side, prices are not expected to come down as the apex is reached, but inkjet will take another five years to mature. So inkjet is future, though the present is laser.”
At present, Canon has 500 primary channel partners, 14 National Retail Chain partners, and over 6000 secondary retail points. Canon’s service reach extends to over 5000 towns with 18 Canon camera service centers and 37 printer Canon Care Centers in India. Canon India also has 141 authorized service centers for printers and 195 camera collection points.
Regarding their merits and future plans, Puneet Datta concludes, “In terms page volumes, we have 60% market share. We are very good in bubble-jet printing and in terms of laser engines that are in the worldwide market, we are No. 1. In India, we are no 1 in office domain in terms of number of units. We see great future for package printing and 3D printing. Now, we are aligning our energies, R&D, resources, etc to get into the package printing and 3D printing domains. Though it takes a few more years before we go full-scale into these domains, it is our vision for future. On the consumer side, we are always ahead of the competition. In B2B domain, though we take a little more time than others, we always come up with best features and applications. Before launching a new solution or model in B2B, a lot of factors should be considered before taking a decision, and more judgment is needed on the trends and needs of the users. In 2017, we will revamp our printer series and will come up with models that will be much faster and have more applications. In whichever segment we are present, we are No.1 or No. 2, we will maintain that standard and reputation.”
