“One-Stop solution with one-point contact”

-USPs of Noida-based Tara Art Printers Pvt Ltd, who are recognized for their quality jobs and timely delivery. A sneak peek by Varsha Verma into this well-organised publication printing house.

Amit Tara with Heidelberg CD102Customer satisfaction is our prime motive. We have a flat organization structure to make it easier for the customers to interact with us – they get a one-stop solution and a one-point contact for all their needs and queries. We have realized that having a tall organizational structure sometimes creates problems. And I can proudly say that none of my customers had any problems working with us. Only two of my customers left us for a large printing press, only to return back in no time,” proudly asserts the young and dynamic Amit Tara, director – marketing of Tara Art Printers Pvt Ltd.

Professionally qualified, Amit is a graduate in publishing, followed by DPL (Tech) from London and GDM, MBA (International) from Sydney. Australia. “Print has always fascinated me. Even though my father Late SN Tara, was hesitant of my joining the family business, but I was always sure that this is exactly what I want to adopt,” he recalled.

On magazine printing…

Interestingly, Tara Art Printers specialises in magazine printing… handling as many as 50 different magazines at their sheet-fed equipped press at their facility in Noida. The topics range from Ayurveda to CA, real estate, hair salon, fashion, beauty, IT, interiors, communications, defence, TV, golf, medical, apparel, wellness, lifestyles, banquets and convention centres, finance, jewellery…to name a few.

On asking about the diminishing print runs of the magazines, Amit replied that yes the print runs have come down. “For example, the magazines which earlier used to get 12,000 copies printed have now cut down the print runs to 9,000 copies. Not only this, the number of pages have also started decreasing. Perhaps this is because the advertisers’ spending has gone down forcing them to curb their budgets,” he replied.

So, has the shrinking print runs affected the turnover at Tara Art Printers Pvt Ltd? “No! There is lot of scope in the industry. In fact, we have experienced a 16 percent growth year on year. Our USP is our quality – especially in the magazine segment where colour matching of advertisements is of prime importance,” came a quick reply from Amit.

The legacy…

Briefing the history of the organization, Amit informed that after India’s independence in 1947, his grandfather had started a stationery shop in Nai Sarak. “There, he used to get a lot of queries for printing of visiting cards, etc. My father Late SN Tara, who used to frequent the shop after his school, found it an opportunity worth exploring. He took a few orders and started getting these printed in one or the other printing press. Thereafter, he started servicing few of the embassies for their printing requirements and was successful in procuring orders. In 1967, he started his own press in a 300 sq ft space in New Delhi with a platen press, followed by another unit in Nehru Place to cater to public sector companies. After 13 odd years, he installed an offset press in Noida. The impetus came from good-quality second-hand machines. At that time, he was catering to government clients like CBSE and NCERT for almost two decades. Infact, it gave a strong foundation as the volumes were high and there were no bad debts.”

“In 1998, I completed my MBA and wanted to join the family business. But, my father asked me to try something more profitable. I started exporting Christmas decorations and made good profits but the printing bug remained. In 2003, my father handed over the baton of Tara Art Printers to me. Seeing the demand for good quality printing, we purchased a large format Super Variant from US in 2004. Since it was a double-size machine, the capacity of our press increased two-folds. In 2007, we installed a Heidelberg PM74 4-colour machine, followed by Kodak CtP, 3-knife trimmer and 6-clamp perfect binding machine. Two years earlier in 2011, we installed a brand new Heidelberg CD102, Stahl folding machine, Aster sewing machine and Muller Martini saddle stitcher,” he continued.

Technology-prime concern

The thirst for technology does not end here; Amit has again planned another technological upgradation. “I have planned a major investment in another printing machine and three finishing solutions to go with it,” he told. On asking about his plans to go for a digital machine, Amit replied that technology compels you, it does not give a choice. So, digital would be an option for very short-run jobs and proofing purposes but he is still trying to understand the ROI on the same.

The statistics…

Kodak CtPOn asking about the capacity utilisation of their machines, Amit replied that at present they are utilizing it to the tune of 65 percent but in the next three months, they hope to increase it to 80 percent. “I believe that more the work pressure, better the utilization of the machines,” he added. Besides magazines, Amit Art Printers also caters to the publishing segments, calendars, collaterals & brochures, catalogues, posters, etc.

With a team of around 200 people combined at their facility in Noida and Delhi, Tara Art Printers is churning out good quality printing jobs and keeping their customers equally happy.

On industry…

Talking about the status of the Indian printing industry, Amit said that the next generation in the industry makes a lot of difference and technical education really helps. He also stressed that press owners should carefully look at the non value-added activities and try to minimize them. “One should look at a micro level and device solutions accordingly as this will go a long way in reducing the input costs, thereby making business more profitable in the long run,” he added.

Also in the back drop of government consulting on whether to increase Foreign Direct Investment) (FDI) caps in India, Amit is optimistic about the same and hopes that it will give a big boost to the industry.

Last but not the least, Amit attributes his success to his dad. “It is the trust and confidence that my father had in me, which has helped me to take Tara Art Printers to this level. I try to do whatever he would have wanted me to do when he was here,” he concluded.