i-manager Publications, Nagercoil upgrades with an Autoprint Dion 450+

Tamil Nadu-based i-manager Publications has recently installed an Autoprint Dion 450+ four colour press. The company is already a user of Autoprint Dion 250. “The print quality of this machine has helped us to get traction in the local market. Moreover, our customers too have benefitted by faster and timely delivery and better printing quality,” says Renisha Winston, director, i-manager Publications. “With the Dion 450+, we now plan to enter into new printing segments, and also serve the needs of the South Kerala markets,” she adds.

i-manager Publications specialises in publishing scientific, technology, education and management journals. The year 2004 saw the launch of their first journal i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, which was accepted by the academia at large. Over the past 12 years, they have launched new journals year after year and at present i-manager Publications bring out 28 classic journals, in diverse streams of engineering, education, management and nursing. i-manager Printing Press, the printing unit, supports the printing requirements and has been a major factor in the turnaround success over the years.

i-manager Printing Press had been successfully running their Autoprint Dion 250 but when business grew, they decided to upgrade to a 4-colour machine. “We had a choice between imported make and Autoprint,” says Renisha Winston, director, i-manager Publications. “Our experience with Autoprint has been great. We had a satisfactory customer service from Autoprint for the earlier machine; the improved features of Dion 450+; the compactness of the machine; and the attractive pricing altogether made us decide in favour of Autoprint Dion 450+,” she adds.

i-manager is into publishing of academic journals in diverse streams, for which Dion 450+ perfectly complements their business. “Right from the size of paper, we feel that this was a better choice, as cost of production is minimised in all aspects, ROI, space, labour, power, etc. It is a general misconception that only larger machines could leverage production. When we compare the cost factor, this works out better,” explains Renisha.

It has been an investment of around Rs 50 lakh constituting the Dion 450+ installation along with the production unit for the printing press for i-manager which, apart from this, also houses a binding machine. Besides publishing academic journals, i-manager also carries out commercial printing for academic institutions, corporate and other type of printing jobs for the local market. “The product offering in the commercial printing segment include – brochures, catalogues, flyers, pamphlets, calendars, visiting cards etc. We also do a sizeable amount of wedding cards, invitation cards etc,” says Renisha.

After the recent Autoprint Dion 450+ installation, i-manager is having enhanced experience. “The quality of printing has improved considerably after the Autoprint Dion 450+ installation. We are getting repeat customers and referral customers as customer satisfaction has been met. The overall experience with Autoprint – the Dion 450+ and the earlier Dion 250 – has been good,” reveals Renisha.

The present turnover of i-manager group is around Rs 1.5 crore which, but with their new installation, they plan to touch Rs two crore next year. The plans to add a single colour machine and a perfect cutting machine will be materialised soon, according to Renisha. She doesn’t feel the need to enter the digital printing segment soon, since they will be using their Dion 450+ for answering short-run demands as well. She expects an ROI of three years for their Dion 450+. Renisha Winston sums up their investment in the Autoprint Dion 450+ as, “A good investment at the right time!” Leaving aside a few teething problems that a new installation generally has, she is a proud Autoprint Dion 450+ owner. “We are proud of our latest Autoprint. The machine met all our needs and came out above our expectations,” she concludes.