Ram Prasad,
Deputy General Manager – Consumer Product,
Epson India
What are the latest trends that are taking shape in the printing industry?
How is Epson gearing up to keep pace with it?
There will be exciting product developments and rapid new technology adoption, but consumers always expect a greater value proposition, and brands that grasp this will emerge winners at the end of the day. As a result, in the printer segment the focus will be on economy and methods to effectively bring to the consumer the lowest possible cost per print. All this without compromising on print quality. The drive for more economical printing will be across both consumer and business segments.
Last year was a momentous year that saw Epson setting a whole new benchmark for cost effective printing with the launch of our L Series range targeted at home users (L100/ L200) and small time photo labs (L800). There was also a further consolidation of trends such as Wi-Fi Printing/E-printing/ Cloud Printing etc., but these were restricted to niche segments. In fact, the mass segments were more or less looking into cost effective print solutions which only Epson has succeeded in addressing.
Has the global business environment, vis-a-vis the rupee devaluation in any way impacted your sales?
We have seen the dollar appreciating almost 18 to 20 percent in recent times over the rupee. That has been a huge burden on our costs as we import all our products. Therefore, we managed to ensure the impact was minimum on our customers by increasing prices by only about 3 to 4 percent in the recent times. However, any further spike will have a deeper impact, forcing us into another round of price increase. In a way, it makes good sense for consumers to buy Epson products during Photofair’12.
What can the visitors to the Epson stall look forward to witnessing this year at Photofair?
There are numerous exciting products for the consumers to look forward to at the Epson stall this year. This includes some unbelievable innovative technology. We will be showcasing the best range of Professional Photographic Printers which redefines the business model for photo labs and studios. This year will also see the world’s No.1 Epson projectors, including show stoppers like the recently launched 3D projector. To sum it up we are going to have on display digital imaging products spanning across various customer categories, to suit varied consumer needs and the pockets as well.
Mathew Thottungal
