Prof. Kamal Chopra
| Prof. Kamal Chopra | |
|---|---|
 Kamal Chopra.jpg | |
| Born | 1948/10/22 Jalandhar |
| 🏡 Residence | Ludhiana |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Indian |
| 🏳️ Citizenship | India |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Suman Chopra |
| 👶 Children | 3 sons: Sudhir Chopra, Dalip Chopra and Munish Chopra |
Prof. Kamal Mohan Chopra
Prof. Kamal Mohan Chopra (Hindi: चोपड़ा) (born 22 October 1948, Ludhiana) is the Owner of the Foil Printers[1] organisation. He is involved in social welfare work and development of printing technology and has received a President of India award. Prof. Kamal Mohan Chopra, an internationally influential and renowned printer, has been associated with many universities for teaching printing for over 10 years. “He has also actively promoted and propelled the bilateral development in the printing industry. In view of the above, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication (BIGC), China felicitated him with the title of Honorary Professor of BIGC.
A qualified printer and a gold medalist in printing technology, Chopra has many laurels to his credit, including the award from the President of India and the Global Print Leadership Award at Chicago, USA by NPES. One of his works, 'Unique 13-page Calendar' offering a complete history of printing that goes back to over 100,000 years, found a place in the Printing History Museum in Beijing, China. He was also felicitated at Birmingham (UK) by the BUMPSA for his achievements in the printing industry 1.
A Punjabi Munda from Fazilka, Punjab, sauntered into the graphic arts industry simply because he did not score well in his High School examination. This meant he was not able to get admission into any reputed college. Chopra saw an advertisement by the Northern Regional Institute of Printing Technology (NRIPT) in a daily newspaper, and he applied. He says, “At the time of admission, in NRIPT Allahabad, they had asked me to opt for either letterpress or lithography. Letterpress sounded easier, so I opted for it, since I was not aware of either technology.”
An alumnus of NRIPT, Allahabad, Chopra recalls those heady days, in the sixties, “I got admission, but it was not easy for me since the medium of instruction was English and I was poor in it. One of our hostel wardens, Mr Saqlani, helped me a lot to overcome that problem, and I topped many examinations in the institute and even got a scholarship.”
“I was appointed the production in-charge of the institute’s in-house magazine, Mudran Deep, in the second year of my course. Earlier, it was led by a student of the final year. My appointment was the first time that a junior student was given the honour.” Chopra passed out from NRIPT as a gold medallist in 1968. He continued his education and notched up other degrees from Punjab University. “I found the industry interesting and immersed myself in it with full gusto,” adds Chopra.
“Mudran Deep was the perfect place to gain a basic understanding of printing, supplemented with practical experiments. I learned how to get work done from my team. I believe you can do what you want to do, but getting it done from others is difficult. Basically, it was management. It was not as easy as it is today because offset was not invented. This meant you had to rely a lot on your hand skills,” he says.
The initiator of Print Yatra, Print Chetna, and the Proud to be a printer campaign, Kamal Chopra, owner of Foil Printers, and general secretary of Offset Printers Association (OPA), shares his experiences about his professional, personal, and social life with Rahul Kumar.
He continues, “We had to leave Fazilka because of the Indo-Pak war in 1965. We shifted to Ludhiana. I was offered a job by Oberoison Printers, the best printing press in the city at that time. In this way, I started my professional career as a serviceman. Later I joined Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and served for more than two decades.” Chopra worked for 25 years, from 1970 to 1995. These proved to be his formative years, and they chiseled him into shape.
He adds affably, “I had no plausible reason to start a printing press. But things changed with a book. This book was gifted by Heidelberg in 1966. When I read a chapter about how to do foil stamping on a Heidelberg printing press, it opened my mind. On cue, I manufactured a machine which was as capable as the Heidelberg press. But the advantage was the cost of this machine was in thousands. On the other hand, the cost of a Heidelberg kit was more than Rs three lakh.
“I purchased a second-hand treadle machine for Rs. 1,800 and developed a stamping machine. We were overloaded at that moment and had to run the machine around the clock.” And in this way Foil Printers was born in 1971.
Foil Printers – established in 1971
Chopra, an innovative mind with josh and junoon, shares, “I won an award from the Government of India for a double embossing effect in print. This award was presented by the President of India, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, in Vigyan Bhawan. This effect is called ‘3D’ nowadays. The point is, when you get this kind of appreciation, you can’t stop working.”
The family-owned printing firm,[2] Foil Printers, is owned and run by Kamal Chopra and his two sons – Sudhir and Dalip. The siblings are responsible for finance and marketing, and production, respectively. In 2006, Chopra handed over operations to his sons. Now he monitors the long-term strategy of the company in these severe times. “I do not involve myself in day-to-day operations. I am trying to set, and achieve, growth targets for the company. We have to give responsibility and freedom to the young generation. Involvement of your workers is also necessary because anyone can incept the idea and use others’ minds,” Chopra adds.
Living life to the fullest
Chopra, a vociferous advocate of knowledge sharing, adds, “Education and knowledge are the two things in the world which grow by sharing. That’s why I believe in sharing with as many people as possible. If you share, then someone will share with you. It’s a two-way process.”
In 2010, he started a connectivity programme and named it Print Yatra. “We are communicating to people from associations in their cities. More recently, we helped in the forming of the Lucknow Printers’ Association. We believe that you need localised representation; otherwise, regional and individual issues will not be discussed. Whenever we approach a problem collectively, we find solutions. The problems are different in different parts of the country; things like wages for labour, fluctuation of raw material prices, and complex taxation, etc.”[3]
About the Print Chetna campaign, which he spearheads, Chopra says, “The print industry has been badly affected by the lack of skilled and semi-skilled labour. We started to visit schools in villages and started interacting with students. We realised most students wanted to be a policeman, nurse, or teacher. Hardly anyone said he wanted to become a printer. Since the dropout rates are very high, very few students could pass their matriculation exams.”
Chopra explains the strategy: “We started this project in 2012 and visited more than 61 schools in Punjab. Now we carry a small screen-printing unit with us to demonstrate to the students. This gives them the confidence that they can start on their own. That they can work in a printing facility.” Today Kamal Chopra is associated with educational institutions like Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar, and Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism, Bhopal. He is also a member of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
“OPA is the only association in India, which is taking advantage of the government policies. But unfortunately, even today, there is no government department for the print industry in India.”
“I realised that whatever we are, we are because of the printing industry, but we are not proud to be labelled as a printer. We are proud to be a serviceman, engineer, doctor, artist, and many other professions, but not about being in printing. The notion came to my mind, that we have to be proud to be a printer, and I had started a campaign ‘Proud to be a Printer’. Until and unless you are proud of your profession, how will others come and join the industry?”
Chopra emphasizes the importance and commitment of the printing industry to society. He shares lines from his favourite English author, Charles Dickens: “Can you realise the zeal of a printer? Every morning there is a newspaper at your table, covering news of the globe. The city sleeps while printers are at work. Can you realise the zeal of the person behind it?”
He adds, “We used to get the daily newspaper on time; even in those days, when a single character used to be assembled and pages created. I appreciate today’s technological advancements, but we must bear in mind that newspapers were timely in those days too.”
He highlights printers’ problems (big and small) and says, “OPA (Offset Printers Association) is the only association in India which is taking advantage of the government policies. But unfortunately, even today, there is no government department for more than 2,50,000 printers. This is because we are not united and do not value ourselves.”
When asked about the OPA, he adds, “We are keen to establish a print cluster, supported by the government. I have seen such kinds of print clusters in the southern part of the country, and most of them are successful. In the present scenario, medium players’ futures are not bright; only very big and small and niche players will survive. I think our industry will survive if we establish it as a top brand.”
“Whatever and whoever I am, I am because of this industry,” signs off Chopra.
Family
Chopra is a member of the Khatri clan of Punjabi origin and a follower of the Hindu religion (or Sanatan Dharma). He is the eldest child of Shri Madan Lal Chopra and Aagya Rani Chopra.
Education
In 1969, Chopra graduated from Colongang College in Allahabad. In 1969, Chopra trained in the field of printing technology in Allahabad, India.
Career
Owner: * Foil Printers, Ludhiana (www.foilprintersludhiana.com)
Chairman: * World Print & Communication Forum (WPCF) https://www.worldprintforum.org/
President: * All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP) 2020-2021
Nominee of Governor *Court of Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science & Technology, Murthal, India
Hon. Professor: * Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, Beijing (China)
Adjunct Prof.: * Dr Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad
Chairman: * PAMEX, All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP)
Member: * Govt. of India Dev Council for Pulp, Paper & Allied Industries
* Publication & Graphic Tech. Committee BIS, Govt. of India
* Board of Studies at G J University of Science & Technology, Hisar (India)
Life Member: * Asian Society of Film & Televisions
General Secy.: * Offset Printers Association, Ludhiana
· NIPA Educational Trust, Ludhiana
· Printing & Packaging Cluster Development Company, Ludhiana
Editor-in-Chief: * Punjab Print- Bi-Monthly devoted to the Printing Industry
Past Performances
Press Manager: * Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
President: * All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP) 2016-17
Associate Editor * PrintIndia, Chennai
News
[4]https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/ludhiana/-print-yatra-to-connect-with-printers/597771.html
[5]https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/ludhiana/community/kamal-chopra-elected-vice-president-north/139248.html
[6]https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/ludhiana/education/18-to-fly-beijing-for-3d-printing-course/386837.html
[7]https://www.cityairnews.com/content/spl-general-body-meeting-opa-held-felicitate-kamal-chopra
[8]https://www.cityairnews.com/content/kamal-chopra-invited-special-invitee-bos-meeting-mcn-university-journalism-and-communication
[9]https://www.cityairnews.com/content/felicitation-kamal-chopra-reed-china
[10]https://www.cityairnews.com/content/kamal-chopra-elected-vice-president-aifmp https://www.printweek.in/news/kamal-chopra-nominated-member-at-the-court-of-dcrust-43278
References
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal. "Foil Printers".
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal. "Foil Printers".
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal. "'Print Yatra' to connect with printers".
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal. "'Print Yatra' to connect with printers".
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal Mohan. "Kamal Chopra elected vice-president (north)". The Tribune.
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal Mohan (April 4, 2017). "18 to fly Beijing for 3D printing course". The Tribune.
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal Mohan (October 18, 2015). "Spl general body meeting opa held felicitate Kamal Chopra". City Air News.
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal Chopra (6 April 2013). "Kamal Chopra Invited special invitee BOS meeting MCN University Journalism and Communication". City Air News.
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal Mohan (22 November 2015). "Felicitation Kamal Chopra Reed China". City Air News.
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal Mohan (September 28, 2015). "Kamal Chopra elected Vice President AIFMP". City Air News.
Books
[1]Book: Recreating History of Printing https://www.amazon.in/Recreating-History-Printing-Prof-Chopra/dp/8193155807/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1559973960&refinements=p_27%3AProf.+Kamal+Chopra&s=books&sr=1-1
[2]Book: The New Print Industry Trends & Opportunities https://www.amazon.in/New-Print-Industry-Trends-Opportunities/dp/8193155831/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1559973168&refinements=p_27%3AKamal+Chopra&s=books&sr=1-1
Technical Papers
https://bigc.academia.edu/ProfKamalChopra
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal Mohan (2016). History of Printing. Foil Printers, 2051, Gobind Nagar, Civil Lines, Ludhiana: Foil Printers. ISBN 9788193155806. Search this book on
- ↑ Chopra, Kamal Mohan (2016). The New Print Industry Trends & Opportunities. Foil Printers, 2051 Gobind Nagar, Civil Lines, Ludhiana: Foil Printers; First edition (2016). p. 224. ISBN 978-8193155837. Search this book on
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