From the one in which you were in your nappies, to the first one with your sweetheart, a photograph can bring back memories like nothing else. It’s an instant of life, captured for eternity. And what really gives life to a photograph, other than the photographer of course, is the paper in which it is printed. This means the demand for photographic paper is huge and importing them is a lucrative business

Neha Dewan | June 2015 Issue | The Dollar Business

Chartered Accountant Surjeet Khanna wanted to make his first wedding anniversary a memorable affair. While browsing through the pictures of the last one year, an old school idea struck him. He decided to gift his wife a collage of photos with all the special memories. Khanna was overwhelmed when he saw the first few printed images. “I knew that this was one idea, which will have an instant connect,” he tells The Dollar Business. Of the several brands of paper available in the market, Khanna made sure he used the best. “Several cheaper versions were available too. But for better picture quality and longevity, I ensured I do thorough research on the brand of photographic paper I wanted,” he adds.

Blast from the past

Khanna might have known the significance of the quality of paper required for a better photo print and the kind of paper that would enhance his images, but most of us are unaware about what difference a paper can make. Simply put, photographic paper is essentially a paper that is coated with light sensitive chemicals like silver halide and is used for photographic prints.

Long before digital photography came to light, photographic papers were widely used to develop images. However, the advent of digital photography and an ever increasing number of smartphone users in the market, has made the functionality of such paper more need-based than mandatory. Yet, India is the world’s second biggest importer of photographic paper, mainly from countries like Netherlands, US and UK. Why?

Ranjan Sharma, an architectural photographer for the past 28 years, has the answer to this question. “Photo labs have now migrated to digital printing, in order to suit the needs of the changing times. Moreover, the number of photographers has also skyrocketed with a lot of amateur photographers using photographic paper for prints. In addition, the gift industry has also put the product to good use,” he tells The Dollar Business. Sharma highlighted that the numbers only add up, since a lot of printing orders, especially for wedding albums, from US are outsourced to India to benefit from cheaper labour costs in the country.

An increasing interest among people to preserve the memories of special occasions also keep the labs busy and the demand for photographic paper high. Validating this, Sandeep Ahluwalia, Director, Sandeep International, a solution provider for indoor and outdoor digital media, says, “Photographic paper demand is increasing by 10% y-o-y. This is largely due to the fact that people like to print and display the journey of life via images in their houses. These days, framed images are turning out to be the best showpieces.”

For lasting images

Photographic papers, typically, come with a variety of characteristics, an understanding of which can help in choosing the right kind of paper. There are at least four or five main aspects that can help assess quality levels of a photographic paper. For instance, the thickness of the paper can make a difference. Similarly, its texture, which would determine the way a paper appears on the surface and its overall touch and feel, is also a differentiating factor. Then there’s the surface sheen of the paper – ranging from matte to high gloss and other variations – that also needs to be studied carefully, while opting for photographic paper to capture those special moments of life.

Another characteristic that also makes a big difference to a photograph is base tint, which can make or mar a its appeal. Optical brightening agents are also some important ingredients of photographic papers. These special dyes can be used to brighten up the white areas of a picture, though their flip side is that they can wear off far more easily than regular dyes, thereby making the picture look dull or fade out earlier than you would have liked.

Given so many differentiating factors in photographic paper, consumer knowledge is rather limited, or at least several retailers, The Dollar Business spoke to, claimed. “People just ask for photographic paper, if they want to print their images, especially for the purpose of gifting. Usually, we help them out in making a better choice, but the general awareness regarding this aspect of imaging and printing is quite low,” Kartik Agarwal at Tonerline Ltd., a solution provider for printers, laser ink and cartridges in the New Delhi’s Nehru Place market, tells The Dollar Business.

Manish Bhalla, the proprietor of another retail outlet, Gift Plaza, also feels the same. “Most customers have very little technical knowledge about the paper or the printer. We deal in top brands like Desmat and Epson and suggest them,” Bhalla tells The Dollar Business.

Ever changing

Being very niche and highly technology dependent, the imaging industry had always been restricted to a handful of countries – mostly US and Japan. And even within these countries, only a handful of companies like Kodak, Konica and Fuji had almost always ruled the roost. But with the advent of digital photography, the industry saw a tectonic shift. While many erstwhile champions had to bite dust, some adopted, evolved and survived. Thanks to this, even the sources of India’s photographic paper imports have changed dramatically.

While 15 years back, in FY1999, Japan was the source of 64.1% of India’s photographic paper imports, in FY2014, it accounted for just 0.2%! The reason for this is simple – most Japanese imaging companies have either pulled down their shutters, exited the photographic paper business, or shifted base elsewhere.

If one thought the big changes in the imaging industry were a thing of the past and one can now expect some kind of steadiness, one couldn’t have been more wrong. For, it’s an industry, which, unlike the photographs it helps produce, is anything but static. For instance, Gopal Krishnan, CEO, Basis Systems, a company dealing in printers, equipment, software and photographic paper, feels silver halide paper – the staple of the industry for decades, is on its way out. “The demand for silver halide paper is on its way down and it is being increasingly replaced by digital or inkjet paper. We will see a steady decline in silver halide consumption in the coming years, until it is eventually phased out,” Krishnan tells The Dollar Business.

Distorting images

A very unfortunate aspect of the Indian photographic paper industry is the fact that despite being imported only from market-driven developed economies like Netherlands, the US and the UK, it’s subjected to countervailing duty. Ahluwalia thinks imposing countervailing duty on photographic paper is not at all justified, particularly since there is hardly any manufacturing of it in the country. “If CVD is done away with, photographic paper import volumes will get a boost,” says Ahluwalia.

To say cheese

There’s neither any meaningful production capacity for photographic paper, nor is anything expected anytime soon, in India. This means not only will the country keep depending on imports, but given that it’s sought only to capture those special memories, import margins will continue to remain high.

As for Khanna, his first anniversary celebration ended up with some brownie points for him. His wife’s teary-eyed happiness said it all. “The hard work paid off,” chuckled Khanna, giving the collage a hearty kiss. [Glad we were there!]