India has just become a member of ISO/ TC 130. Tarun Chopra was the first person from India to represent the industry on this Global forum of standardization.
Since India is being looked as a huge potential market globally, with TC 130 it has got an opportunity to adhere and prepare to meet the international standards.
Not only the print 
providers but also the print customers will enormously benefit should the quality of printed material in domestic market come at par with international levels. Besides, the market penetration of India would be huge with the adoption of these standards. “It is capable of bringing big bucks to Indian printers as we have the necessary equipment but we need to work on knowledge and skill development,” believes Tarun Chopra.
Why Standards?
Standards define the target values and the tolerances for any industry. They become basis for transacting business in terms of expectation and delivery parameters of any product. “Standards are basically formed on the basis of practical process limitations and scientific understanding. The targets and the tolerances also help align expectations between the seller and the buyer,” says Tarun.
Standards help industry to grow and expand beyond local reach as all international buyers are looking for suppliers capable of printing to international standards. “International buyers cannot afford good printing based on local or individual preference. Just imagine what damage can non-standardized printing do to a globally recognized brand colour,” says Tarun.
“Standards help in effective utilisation of equipment and resources i.e. the press is not forced to print what the buyer thinks is correct but it actually prints what is correct,” he adds.
Global representative countries help ensure that all the standards are practical and usable at a global level with reasonably well balanced processes for everyone to follow.
BIS to ensure industry growth with individual participation
Apart from focusing on targets and tolerances standards also focus on safety and now environmental impact of processes involved. The need for and importance of individual contribution in the development of standards can’t be underestimated. These standards are formed after lot of deliberations and discussions. Individual experience and understanding are shared to help make them effective and practical. “Standard formation needs a lot of ground level testing and feedback, contributing individuals are heard and their experience and understanding can help a lot during development stages of formation of standards. It’s an important contribution which every individual should consider,” advises Tarun.
The national body of India, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the representative and has all the standards including the ISO. India has attained the participatory membership of TC 130 through BIS. BIS has to ensure that the standards formed are conducive to Indian print environment keeping the industry growth prospective in vision. All interaction with TC 130 is routed through BIS. “Since India has just started the journey in the active formation of standards individual and industry bodies are welcome to interact with BIS and take things forward,” says Tarun
Standards for finding ‘an edge’ in global print market
With India’s active participation, the country’s industry will be part of this global huge knowledge exposure & pool. Though the large part of Indian Graphic Arts Industry is non-standardized localized production market. However, in today’s environment any industry has to operate at a global level and have to think beyond regional requirements and quality expectations to succeed and survive. Global standards are a norm for international print buying and soon domestic print buying market will adapt to the changing scenario as they would also want their products to be comparable in quality when placed alongside global products on the same shelf. “By actively participating during development stages Indian industry can be part of early adopters of technology which will certainly give them an edge on that stage,” avers Tarun.
The initial costs of any new technological development are usually huge. To counter the cost vs. benefits imbalance, one has to first fully understand the new technology and recognize the individual areas that need upgrade. Once the decision on adoption is proper knowledge based, the profits – both short-term as well as long-term – can be huge.
“Contradictory to common understanding, a process controlled environment is more economical to run and maintain. They are more efficient and profitable organisations,” declares Tarun.
Education will certainly play a key role while generally adopting standardization in the industry. Our industry has a huge potential and scope. “My experience of interaction with individuals across the globe is that everyone feels that India is place to be in today. Not to evolve is not an option for any industry; though standardization has not been a focus for a lot of printers in the past. As one of the oldest organisations actively working in this field in India, we know that everyone needs the knowledge and the expertise to remain profitable. As always our emphasis has always been knowledge; once you know what is correct then it’s the choice anyone can exercise whenever the need arises,” concludes Tarun.
