Bangalore is the third richest city in the country, the third-largest hub for high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) after Mumbai and Delhi. Home to Bangalore is the third richest city in the country, the third-largest hub for high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) after Mumbai and Delhi. Home to over 10,000 individual dollar millionaires and around 60,000 super-rich people with investable surpluses of Rs 4.5 crore (US$ 1.1 million) and Rs 50 lakhs (US$ 125,000) respectively. According to American Express, there are 83,000 HNIs and 711,000 super-rich people in India with the figure expected to cross a million by 2009.

Unsurprisingly, the economic boom in the country is also reflected in the print businesses of this high technology city, home to the aviation, biotechnology and software industries.

• 19 brand-new CtP installs - three more are imminent
• Shorter print runs have become the norm with innumerable printers opting for print jobs between 500 to 1000.
• More than 25 printers with ISO 9000 Certification; greater thrust in exports and installations of Mitsubishi, Ryobi, Komoris, Heidelbergs and Man Roland multicolour presses
• Nearby small towns --  seven 4-colour presses and a CtP in Mysore and multicolour presses in Mangalore, Shimoga, Tumkur, Mercera. In addition Dharwar, Belgaum and Hubli have eight 4-colours between them with at least one new press installed

Rajhans
The five units of Rajhans Enterprises, located in close proximity to each other, with 120,000 square feet with 120 employees, are equipped to print up to 6 colours with coating in a single pass on Mitsubishi presses in formats up to 28.5 x 40 inches (724 mm x 1016 mm). There is also a battery of web offset machines like an Orient and a 4-colour Newsline as well as a Komori 38s commercial heatset web with a 546 mm cut off.

A leading contract printer, Rajhans prints for the Times of India, Indian Express, Deccan Herald, Asian Age, Economic Times, Rajasthan Patrika, Femina and other local publications. Rajhans publishes its own Priyanka, a highly popular Kannada family magazine and Surya, a political magazine as well. A specially designed notebook printing machine produces a superior range that is part of the company's range of stationery products.

Elegant Works
The Komori Lithrone S29, is ideal for Elegant Works because of the press' stress on quick make-readies and changeover speeds. The press swears by its Komoris in operation over 4 to 6 years and still able, according to S Manoj, one of the partners, to turn jobs around in under twenty minutes. The 29-inch Komori fulfils the press's mantra of ‘faster and better.'

Elegant employs 50 persons and produces more than 25 jobs a day. This includes brochures, book wrappers and commercial jobs. Most of these jobs are one-off jobs and at times the customer stands near the press. Run lengths vary greatly from day to day, from a one off job of 500 copies to runs of over 2000 sheets.

Manoj comments, “None of us know what the future of the industry holds, except that demand for faster turnaround and improved quality will only increase. Customers expect quality at digital speed while keeping costs low and this is the reason we chose the Komori Lithrone S29 coupled with CtP.”

95 per cent of Elegant's jobs are printed on CtP plates. The press consumes 2500-2700 plates per month. No imagesetters, no making of films, and no hassles about paste-ups. Manoj adds, “In this day and age, it is the survival of the fittest. We have to print a wide variety of quality work with very quick make-ready times and running speeds.”

Sobana
On 13th December 1991, the Kaveri River dispute was its peak. Karnataka was thus forced to accept the interim award and widespread demonstrations and violence broke out in parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In the violence that ensued around 20 people were killed and dozens injured. This instance of rioting remains the worst case of violence in Karnataka's history and the losses were estimated at around Rs 19 crore. Sobana Offset was one of the victims of mob violence; and incurred losses of Rs 1.5 crore.

Thanks to the intervention of the then chief minister Bangarappa, Sobana was able to bounce back. Right now, they are in the news because of the installation of a brand new Komori Spica 29. As well as the new press, the company has also upgraded its prepress department and invested in a Screen CtP system. It also runs a Xerox digital press.

SP Suresh Kumar says, “Our unit is in a busy part of the city. Most of our work is job work. Almost all our customers follow the ‘cash and carry' system of printing their jobs. They have heard of our unit through word of mouth.” Even as he speaks, one can see four or five clients in the busy lobby.

“We know from experience that you can't stand still; and so, we have ambitious plans for the company. We hope to achieve a 30 to 40 per cent increase in production with the Spica and we plan to use this opportunity to enter new markets.” Presently, the company produces notebooks, agarbattis, and invitation cards.

Suresh Kumar continues, “The Spica is the ideal press for us with its ease of use and thanks to CtP the quality it produces is superb. We can print at twice the speed, the other presses are achieving.” The timesaving features on the press really make a difference on short runs and we can run the automatic blanket wash ups at the same time as loading paper. At the moment, Sobana is using 10 sets of plates in a day; and it aims to increase its production to 40 sets a day.

The company, whose sister company has its origins in Sivakasi is very buoyant about its year on year growth. Kumar says, “this is possible because Bangalore is the newest and best destination for print; plus its rates are cheaper than the rest of India.” And that apparently includes Sivakasi.

Vishwakala - steady growth
H C Vishwanath Babu, Managing Partner, Vishwakala Printers is a self-made man. He worked as an apprentice in Gitanjali Press in Bangalore; and then charted his own path in a quiet and determined manner, investing in a Speedmaster 74, two years ago, since he felt, “4-colour is a basic requirement in today's competitive marketplace.”

In 2006, he invested in CtP going for a top of the line Agfa platesetter along with a Sherpa proofer. Today, his press has two units in the city and produces promotional catalogues, brochures, and tags. His success can be attributed to the fact that 50 per cent are repeat orders. These are jobs from 500 to 100,000 and from coated paper to coated board.

His 4-colour unit targets 12 to 15 top quality jobs of 2000 to 3000 sheets a day. The day we visited was somewhat unique with only one 7-colour job being printed because it required two passes of each sheet. Babu, a doctor's son says, “India is the fastest growing wealth base in Asia Pacific and here too, Bangalore is growing faster than the industry at an average of 35 per cent.” Which is why, even as he is listening to his favourite Carnatic music, he rattles out growth trends in the cellphone industry, construction, and pharma that have led to a concurrent demand in print production. The full-service print shop with a staff of 20 targets commercial jobs with coating for advertising agencies, industry, and direct clients.

Vishwanath Babu obviously enjoys talking about printing; and showing print and paper samples. He discusses the possibilities of the latest print technology. Stochastic, UV coating, tints. He plans to print 250-line screen work, “In this day and age of high pedigree photo reproduction, the thought of using a 130-line screen is unexciting. For one, you instantly notice the halftones in most 4-colour printing, and designers hate it. I think it is because of their photography background, they see a coarse screen and they feel it is ‘cheap, low quality.'“ A difference from printers who say that people can barely see the difference between 150 and 250-line screens.

“To make a high line screen is a hard sell, but if you want the best quality then it is inevitable. However, if a customer has the luxury of selecting a high quality printer for a brochure about villas or garments, then you have to go to printer who provides a high-line screen, and proofing systems. This is the USP at Vishwakala.”

Paxar India
A leading label and tag printer of Bangalore, Paxar India installed a new Speedmaster SM 74 5-colour press with an inline coater. Catering to world leading garment brands, Paxar occupies a niche market segment and is uncompromising in its quality standards.
A year ago, Paxar Corp. of White Plains bought the other half of its Bangalore, India-based joint venture and formed a new company, Paxar India Pvt Ltd. The company manufactures woven, printed and bar code labels for clothes and merchandising tags for retailers in India. Its India-based facilities generate about US$ 10 million (INR 41 crore).

At the time of the acquisition, Rob van der Merwe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Paxar, stated, “We believe the growth opportunities in India are substantial. Completing this acquisition strengthens Paxar's position as a leading provider of identification solutions in one of the world's fastest growing apparel markets.
Paxar is a global leader in providing innovative merchandising systems to retailers and apparel customers. Paxar's leadership in products and technology, global manufacturing operations, worldwide distribution network and brand recognition are enabling the company to expand its competitive advantage and market share.”