Presses racing against time printing election posters

The printing houses are having their hands full making campaign posters as the countdown to the 11th parliamentary election has begun, industry insiders have said.

They are receiving increased work orders for publishing campaign materials including posters at the time of a year, when they usually remain busy publishing objects like books, calendars and diaries.

With only 16 days left for the election, campaigners are crowding into the printing units for making posters, leaflets, handbills, and stickers to draw voters' attention.

As per the schedule declared by the Election Commission (EC), the polling will be held on December 30 and candidacies of the poll runners got finalised on December 09 accordingly.

Since then, the printing houses are getting increased number of work orders.

Printing Industries Association of Bangladesh (PIAB) Chairman Shahid Serneabat told the FE that the election this year is likely to create business of Tk 1.05 billion.

"Unlike 2014, the election this year is a participatory one, which has created an opportunity for the printers, as the candidates are spending more for publicity to win the race to Jatiya Sangsad," he said.

In his estimation, candidates of all 300 constituencies will print around 360 million posters.

"They will also print leaflets and sample ballot papers in large volumes," added Mr Serneabat.

Approximately 20 tonnes of paper are required for each constituency, he said.

"We expect to make business of Tk 3.5 million in each seat for printing purposes," he said, adding that adverse weather like dense fog and rainfall could create opportunities for more businesses.

However, he said printing of campaign materials is a substantial segment of the printing sector's total turnover.

The market size of the domestic printing business is estimated at Tk 30 billion annually, said the PIAB chairman, adding: "If you consider export-oriented printing, the market size would be above Tk 50 billion".

The BPIA has 800 members and the total number of printing houses will be over 7000 cross the country.

While visiting the country's printing hubs- covering Fakirapool, Arambag, Nilkhet, Banglabazar and Zindabahar areas in the city- the FE correspondent found the printing houses passing busy time making campaign materials.

Most of them took necessary preparations to complete the work orders.

They said dependency on the city-based printing units has lessened significantly compared to previous years, as many of such businesses now operate at the district level.

Even a small printing house can print posters, as one-colour posters and other materials are basically low-cost items, Md Babul Islam, proprietor of a printing house in the city's Zindabahar, told the FE.

"A printing house provides all required services including design, compose printing and lamination while publishing posters," he said.

According to his assessment, printing of per piece of poster costs Tk 2.0-3.0.

"The higher number of posters you print, the lesser will be the price for printing the item," said Mr Islam who owns Abir Printers.

Another businessman in Nilkhet area, Md Biplob Hossain Khan, said the cost for laminating per piece poster reaches Tk5 or more.

"Considering the fog spreading this winter, many campaigners opt for poster lamination for protecting those from fog or rain," he said, adding that campaigners are supposed to hang those on ropes instead of sticking them on walls in a bid to comply with the electoral code.

He also said the materials used for making election campaign items, including paper, are mostly home grown.

Sources said a poster is usually printed with a 60GSM 18 inches x 23 inches paper.

Some of the businessmen said they are reluctant to print campaign materials since they did not receive payments in time in earlier instances.

In response to a query regarding irregularities in payment by the candidates, the PIAB chairman said he has not heard of such instances.

"I think no candidate keeps payment outstanding, as it could tarnish their images. I received no objections so far," he said

Sometimes candidates may delay in completing payment, added Mr Serneabat.

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