The story
Printing in Sivakasi began to supply labels for the town's match and fireworks boxes. Offset printing arrived in 1947, and the town's printers soon took on calendars, diaries and commercial work for all of India. Peak season runs from July to November when calendars and diaries for the new year are printed. Many units have since moved into packaging and cartons.
In numbers
The Sivakasi print hub employed about 50,000 people in 750 units, with annual revenue of about ₹1,500 crore (2013).
The Rs 1,500 cr Sivakasi print market bounces back — PrintWeek India · 2013In 1947 Kaliappa Nadar introduced offset printing to Sivakasi.
Four print CEOs hold up a mirror to Sivakasi — PrintWeek IndiaA Printing Cluster, Sivakasi common facility centre is listed as completed under MSE-CDP.
Completed Common Facility Centres under MSE-CDP (as on 22 Mar 2024), Office of DC-MSME · 2024
Ways in for a newcomer
- Packaging and mono-carton printing for FMCG and pharma
- Print-finishing job-work: lamination, die-cutting, binding
- Custom corporate diaries and calendars sold online
- Pre-press and design services
Problems the cluster faces
- Falling demand for printed calendars and diaries
- Paper price swings
- Power costs and seasonal labour
- Competition from digital printing in cities
Businesses to start here
Offset Printing Unit →Notebook Making Unit →Printing Ink →Rotogravure Printing on Flexible Packaging →Computer Stationery (Continuous Paper) →