Date:30/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/30/stories/2006113005250500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Printing technology park to be ready in six months

Staff Reporter

New building of the Karnataka State Printers' Association inaugurated

BANGALORE: Work on the printing technology park to be established in Harohalli in Kanakapura taluk has begun on the 60-acre plot earmarked for the purpose, and it is expected to be ready within the next six months, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department K.N. Shivakumar has said.

Speaking after the inauguration of the new building of the Karnataka State Printers' Association with Print Testing and Training Centre here, Mr. Shivakumar appreciated the contribution of the association in promoting the ties between the private and public sectors as the way forward towards development.

Referring to the recently launched Suvarna Kayaka Udyoga Shikshana Yojane to create one lakh jobs jointly with the private sector, Mr. Shivakumar said youths receiving training in the printing sector would receive a monthly stipend of Rs. 750.

Andrew Horne, Managing Director, Xerox India Ltd, said the company's products in digital printing machinery and technology were in great demand in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and the global business was to the tune of $ 11 billion.

The KSPA was formed in 1941 and was then known as Mysore Printers' Association. Later, the Mysore State Printers Cooperative Society was established. The print testing and training centre inaugurated on Wednesday will cater to the underprivileged community with minimum education, and offer training in the pre-press, press, post-press and digital printing. This is the first institution of its kind , association president Ashok Kumar said.

Future plans include setting up a Printech Park with a mall that will offer printers all their requirements at competitive rates.