Innovations galore at Chennai digital commercial printers

Perhaps there is no such mantra Chennai commercial printers keep in secret to create innovative works. They just ‘invest’ in the latest technologies—that makes them innovative, always. Quite often, commercial printers in the south Indian city are in the news for their constant adoption of unconventional machines for stupendous printing and finishing jobs. Through a string of freewheel interactions, Print & Publishing talks to ten of them around the city, finding out what all new machines they have recently adopted and what they are planning ahead. Here, Jyaneswar Laishram compiles a brief report on the background, work and achievement of the host of commercial printers.

PM Digital Products Print solution provider

P ChellappanWhen it comes to defining the job profile of PM Digital Products (PMDP), P Chellappan, managing partner of the company, says they don’t want to call themselves merely a printing company; infact they are more of a print solution provider for the fact that they rather involve into exclusive print enhancement jobs. Elegant print enhancement, of course, is what PMDP is known for. PMDP is the first Indian firm that has adopted Scodix S74, a B2 digital enhancement press, which enhances final prints, turning usual graphics into amazing piece of art. Also, the press is capable to produce embossed elements and even Braille textures.

Recalling their roots, P Chellappan mentions that Palaniappa Bros was their first establishment dating back to the 1940s—as a book publisher and printer. In the year 2004, the company adopted HP Indigo 1000 and MGI Meteor DP30, testing the water of special print finishing market. “We were successful in the venture; thus we upgraded our infrastructure with the adoption of an HP Indigo 5600 (6-colour),” he says. Finally, PMDP has set a historic milestone in the Indian printing market with the introduction of first Scodix press (from Monotech Systems). With the press, PMDP now caters finest print finishes to a number of printing firms, apart from end users.

PMDP runs its multi-task production facility in an area of 13,000 sq ft, employing around 200 professionals. To mention a few of the company’s major clients, the list includes Citibank, L&T, Ashok Leyland, among others. As long as the diverse structure of the company is concerned, PMDP has other divisions, namely, Asian Printers, Pals Construction, Karthikeyan & Co and Pauls Auto Service, engaging in various other activities. The book publishing division is equipped with a line of Welbound post-press equipments. Moreover, PMDP has developed colour registration software in-house, ensuring accuracy in colour control.

Rajams Photo book expert

GN VisvakumarOne may find an uncountable number of commercial printshops dotted around Chennai city, offering photo printing. However, every one of them can’t match Rajams. Established in 2008, Rajams is one of the leading print firms in the city whose work is predominantly involved into photo-book printing, using a line of high-end presses. As of now, the production facility of the company is equipped with KOMORI Lithrone 426, HP Indigo 3550 Digital Press, Xerox 4112, Epson and Heidelberg Suprasetter CtP. “Our HP Indigo press can deliver multicolour jobs in real offset quality with coated and uncoated substrates of 80 gsm at the production speed of 2,000 cph with variable data,” mentions GN Visvakumar, founder, Rajams.

XEROX 4112 press, according to GN Visvakumar, is designed to churn black & white documents, satisfactorily meeting the increasing print-on demands jobs. “Besides, in the post-press division, we have precision-programmed cutting machine, thermal laminator, wire stitching creasing and perforator,” says GN Visvakumar. Behind the vigour of quality and competency at Rajams is its team of around 32 highly trained professionals.

Products that Rajams generally delivers to its clients from different industrial clusters include annual reports, business cards, letterheads, envelopes, ID cards, brochures, flyers, export tags, desktop calendars, premium wedding cards, menu cards, school and college diaries, etc. “Apart from all these, we attentively focus on photo book printing for which we use high-end varnish and other print finishing technology,” says GN Visvakumar, adding that they still look forward to investing in upgraded technologies that can enhance their final prints.

Devamani Digital Studio & Lab Quality photo printer

R Rajendar and V Mahesh KumarRoots of Devamani Digital Studio & Lab can be traced down to a period dating back to more than four decades in the Chennai graphics art market, when the company was established in the city as a simple painting shop in the early 1970s. Changes in times and tradition of printing have instilled the firm to transform themselves into a new avatar, a photo printing shop, in the year 1996 with the purchase of a Phototech sublimation printer. “After a series of photo printing machines of different sizes and configurations, we gave a big turn to our infrastructure last year, with the investment in Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C-1060 press,” says R Rajendar, founder, Devamani Digital Studio & Lab.

“Adoption of Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C-1060 has increased our overall quality and volume of production in photo printing,” narrates Rajendar, adding that they had been to a recent print expo in the city, paying a thorough visit to the Konica Minolta stall to check the latest relevant technologies. The Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C-1060 is a high-speed system capable to run at 60 ppm in colour and B&W modes, with fast scanning for streamlined production workflow, at 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution with 8-bit processing for smoother, more realistic images.

With a production team of half a dozen professionals, services of Devamani Digital Studio & Lab is best availed by predominantly professional photographers and digital photo labs based in and around Chennai city. “Our customers are primarily photo professionals, including some amateurs, who rush to us from various cross border parts of south Indian regions, including Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka,” explains Rajendar, mentioning that they are planning to upgrade their machine portfolio, probably with advanced Konica Minolta system.

Dina Color Lab Print enhancement specialist

KV JayavelHeadquartered in Chennai, Dina Color Lab is a widely networked photo-album printing firm, with multiple branches dotted all around Tamil Nadu. A total of the company’s nine photo labs are located in the cities of Velachery, Puducherry, Trichy, Madurai, Salem and others, covering the state in an exclusive manner. “Our vast network helps us serve our customers locally to the utmost satisfactory level,” says KV Jayavel, adding that it took 25 years for the company to develop such expansion across the region.

Dina Color Lab has printing unit in each of its lab located in other cities, far off beyond Chennai. Collectively the portfolio of the main machines installed in the production facilities of the company’s labs include: HP Indigo Digital Press, Oce Arizona, NexPress, Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C71HC, among others. “In the portfolio, which we have in the Chennai unit, MGI Jet Varnish 3DS has recently been added,” mentions KV Jayavel, adding that the addition of the high-end ‘spot varnishing’ system makes them specialist in print enhancement.

“Today one can print photo at any cost as lot of high-end machines have been installed at printing firms in the city. But, the difference is felt when you go for unconventional machines like MGI,” explains KV Jayavel, adding that involvement into innovative work and machines is the key to success. Dina Color Lab demonstrated stunning range of samples of its MGI UV varnishing applications at a recent expo in Chennai, at Konica Minolta’s stall, pulling huge crowd. The company has more than hundreds of professionals in its lab units, in and out of Chennai, producing wedding photographs and others for professionals engaged in different photography jobs.

SVD Color Prints Newly arrived player

Raja SekaranA big U-turn took place with SVD Color Prints over the last three years. The big turn was an upshot from Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C6000, which the company recently adopted, to penetrate into expanded commercial printing activities with deeper engagement into high-quality graphic printing. “Compared to other well-established commercial printers in Chennai, we are just an infant, learning to crawl,” says Raja Sekaran, founder, SVD Colour Prints. The company is headquartered in Villupuram with its clients predominantly based in Chennai city and many other parts of Tamil Nadu.

“Adoption of Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C6000 has changed our perception of production printing; we had never expected we would be able to scale a new height with the adoption of the KM press,” remarks Raja, highlighting the versatile media handling, professional finishing and simplified workflow integration of the system. The press is a cost effective solution well suited to a wide variety of printing operations that demand the best commercial printing in 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution.

Products that SVD Color Prints caters to its customers include photo-albums, brochures, visiting cards, pamphlets, among others. As of now, the company has only four staffers, engaged in every aspect, right from machine operation to designing, printing and delivery. When asked what they plan ahead for expansion, Raja says ‘manpower’ is the propriety with the machine portfolio. He says that Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS 1060 is yet another KM machine they are planning to adopt for superior image quality.

Subam Printers Newly arrived player

M PalaniIncepted in the year 1993 as a screen and offset printing firm in Chennai city, Subam Printers has gained a new ground in their digital printing business following the adoption of a Xerox DocuColor-12 production machine in 2000. “Digital presses have changed the entire landscape of printing today; things get easier and versatility increased,” explains M Palani, founder, Subam Printers. He recalls how they managed everything earlier with an Autoprint offset press with minimal possibilities to deliver what their customers demanded, whether it was photo prints or any commercial graphics.

Subam Printers, known for combining both digital and offset technologies today, has expanded its presence in different parts of Tamil Nadu. “Beyond Chennai, we are now present in different parts of the state; we have a branch in Puducherry and three others in smaller towns across the region,” mentions Palani, adding that they still look ahead to expanding further in some other geographies throughout the country. The company is known to various corporate customers, which include French company like Precia Moller, for whom they deliver everything from A-Z of commercial printing.

On the machine portfolio, Palani mentions that Xerox is their choice of brand when it comes to addition of new systems to their existing line-up. In addition to the first Xerox DocuColor-12, which they have in their Chennai setup, Subam Printers in its other facilities boast of four more machines viz. Xerox C75 (two), Xerox 5000 and Xerox 5252. According to Palani, they are now planning to upgrade the portfolio soon with the adoption of the latest, upgraded Xerox system.

Hitech Print Systems Security printing major

Nava Kumar RWith its branches in major Indian cities all across the country, Hitech Print Systems is a big name in security printing, which ties up with some of the leading schools, colleges, institutes and some government departments for years. Started in the year 1988, Hitech Print Systems is a partnered firm with its main office in Chennai and branches in Bengaluru, New Delhi, Vizag, Bhopal, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Nava Kumar R, sr branch manager, Hitech Print Systems Limited, says that they work in a corporate manner on a common platform, integrating every regional branch in a mutual way.

The production facility of Hitech Print Systems is equipped only with Muller Martini machines, which consist of Muller Martini Web Offset, HM Web, Rotatek, among others. “It’s not that we merely adopt a set of Muller Martini machines and start working; our staff members were trained proficiently about the technical know-how of the machines, sending them directly to Germany for weeks,” explains Nava Kumar, adding that such training exercises help the professionals not only understand the machines but also the way it should be used at optimum level.

More than 125 people are deputed at its branches across the country and major jobs at Hitech Print Systems include security printing, cheque books, mark sheets/question papers (for schools, colleges and many other educational institutes) and confidential documents of any kind. According to Nava Kumar, security printing is quite challenging, unlike the usual printing jobs. Talking about the new printing technology they are looking ahead, he says there will be just another Muller Martini system for any upgrade they wish to make in the company’s existing infrastructure.

Rotovision Imaging Multidivisional printer

J Muthamil SelvamA prolific commercial printer with multitude of activities, Rotovision Imaging engages in production of prints for a whole gamut of applications—be it packaging, pamphlets, short-run books, magazines, among many others. For these activities, the company has different divisions for different jobs. The divisions are Roto Print, Pettagam Print Packaging and Speck Imaging. “Though we segregate our activities under separate divisions, we do come under a common entity and we scrutinise everything under a common supervision,” narrates J Muthamil Selvam, managing director, Rotovision Imaging Pvt Ltd.

A sole user of RICOH machines, the production facilities of Rotovision Imaging are equipped with a series of RICOH systems—RICOH Pro 9100, RICOH 651 Ex and RICOH 907. “Of course, the RICOH Pro 9100 is the latest addition to the family, which has strengthened the company’s machine portfolio, amplifying the production volume and quality,” mentions Muthamil Selvam. He adds that they have had a visit to a recent expo in Chennai, observing the new technologies RICOH presented there, with a plan to upgrade their existing line-up.

Rotovision Imaging, collectively for all its divisions, has 12 well-trained printing professionals. The team is always in absolute support to the sheer needs and requirements of their customers. When enquired about next step, Muthamil Selvam says they are looking at ‘inkjet’ expansion, which is said to be a technology ever expanding its applications in all segments these days.

Netways Prints Book printing and more

R BabuShort-run book printing is one of the segments that has opened up, broader than ever, after the advent of digital printing. “When we started our business in 2000 there were little that we knew about what digital printing could do in the market. Today, we have a feeling that what else digital presses couldn’t do,” remarks R Babu, founder, Netways Prints. All these possibilities that digital presses brought to Netways Prints was through RICOH. “Of course, RICOH machines have opened up every possible aspect we have garnered in our business till date,” says R Babu.

Though Netways Prints started their business with mere adoptions of a couple of entry-level Xerox and Konica Minolta machines, things got changed into a new direction when the company eventually decided to go for a set of RICOH machines for years. Today, the production facility of the company is fully equipped with four high-end RICOH production machines, namely, RICOH 907, RICOH 651, RICOH 8100 and RICOH 5100. “We have been working for a number of different clients in varied industrial and market segments; but our main forte in this is the book publishers, for them we provide short-run productions,” mentions R Babu.

Netways Prints has a set of old clients, such as SRS Hospital and Ramachandran Hospital, for which everything right from brochures, leaflets, packaging materials, etc are provided in high quality prints and textures. The vigour behind the quality that the company maintains at the upmost level is the well-experienced production team of 70 qualified professionals, among which eight of them are engaged in graphic designing. The next machine, according to R Babu, in their RICOH-dominated infrastructure will be just another RICOH production system they are planning to adopt sooner than later.

Success Software Switching to 3D

M Muthu RamanWith its branch in Madurai, Chennai-based Success Software is now gearing up for something innovative beyond any normal commercial printer ever thought of. That’s the adoption of a 3D printer, probably from Monotech Systems. M Muthu Raman from Success Software, summing up the company’s establishment and journey so far in the industry, mentions that their inception in the year 1994 was marked with mere engagement in commercial printing for some walk-in local customers. Over the years, the company keeps upgrading its portfolio to new standard.

Adoption of a set of Canon machines, which included 7085 model, had eventually boosted the production capability of the company. “Ever since we have adopted a host of Canon presses, a number of corporate customers and mid agencies do swarm around our reception lobby,” says Muthu. But he, however, feels there is the need for innovative outputs in their jobs to beat the ways conventional printers do in the market. A team of 60 professionals is the backbone of success in the company’s overall activities.

“We just visited to a printing expo in Chennai where we stumbled upon a 3D printer, which Monotech Systems had put on display. Perhaps the machine was what we have been looking for; we are planning to adopt it to do something innovative that we have ever been planning for years,” mentions Muthu, adding that the metal printing capability of the machine was what impressed him in the first place.