Sri Laxmi Ganapathi Images installs first Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 four-colour press and Suprasetter A 106 CtP in Andhra Pradesh as Onyx Printers, Bangalore installs the first Heidelberg Speedmaster SX-74 in India.
Bangalore installation
Pradeep and Channabasappa with the brand new Heidelberg Speedmaster SX 74 four-colour press.Onyx Printers is the first company in India to install Heidelberg Speedmaster SX-74 – the new benchmark for presses in the 50 x 70 format. The hybrid press, a drupa 2012 model, is a winning combination of the cutting-edge technology of the Speedmaster XL class with the tried-and-tested platform of the Speedmaster SM series.
“Of course, we were off to a bumpy start like any other fledgling business, but the journey has been and continues to be incredible. All the hard work is paying off now. We print with passion and enjoy the pressure,” smiles Pradeep Herur, who along with his brother Channabasappa (Channu) runs the show at Onyx Printers in Bangalore. The print-shop is engaged in packaging and commercial printing.
They visited Coimbatore for a special demo on SM 74, a press in a similar format and class, to observe its production capacity in the home environment. He called the press a “game-changer,” for its splendid performance in a local environment operated by a local operator on local raw material. The presentation strengthened their resolve to go for the Speedmaster SX-74, which is designed for ergonomic operation, shorter make-ready and a speed of 15,000 sheets per hour. The SX 74 press comes with auto plate loading, proven alcolor dampening system for brilliant print results. Highly efficient, Speedmaster SX-74 can handle substrates from 0.03 mm paper to 0.60 mm board with a maximum print format of 20.87” × 29.13.”
“One of the most alluring features is the flexibility in configuration,” he adds more thoughtfully. Onyx Printers has a prestigious clientele that includes Ad agencies and some big names in the corporate sector. About 60 percent of the work at Onyx involves packaging printing and the rest commercial printing. “Our clients are even happier with this latest addition to our family,” Pradeep concludes, adding “This is reflected in the flurry of new orders, ever since the Speedmaster SX-74 was installed.”
Andhra Pradesh installation
Veerabhadra Rao and Nagabhushana Rao with the Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74.Established in Kovvur, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Laxmi Ganapathi Images, has recently installed Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 four-colour press and Suprasetter A 106 CtP equipment at a new branch of the company in Rajahmundry recently. With the latest investment, the four-decade old company is now equipped with contemporary technology in-house to cover the entire process chain from prepress through post-press.
The credit goes to the present owners MV Nagabhushana Rao and MV Veerbhadra Rao, who assumed control of the press in 1978 from their father and founder MV Satyanarayana. Under the leadership of this dynamic duo, the firm is constantly expanding its horizons to meet the new challenges in this highly competitive and fragmented business.
The company is engaged in printing Hindu literature, academic text books, workbooks, brochures, posters, magazines and wedding cards. Bhadra Rao visited Heidelberg’s Wiesloch production facility in Germany to get a personal handle on the company and the equipment he planned to buy.
But, once he set his eyes on the press and the ensuing demo, his perspective underwent a 180-degree transformation. At that point, the decision to buy the Speedmaster SM 74 became a no-brainer. “It was love at first sight,” he recalls with a chuckle. “We were looking to improve print quality and speed, while reducing paper wastage,” he adds. The Speedmaster SM 74 four-color press matched his requirements to a tee.
The Prinect Press Center of the Speedmaster SM 74, with its innovative intellistart process-oriented operator guidance system, enables straightforward and precise machine control, while the speed-compensated Alcolor dampening system produces brilliant print results. The Speedmaster SM 74 can process a wide range of printing substrates, ranging in thickness from 0.03 mm (0.0012 inches) to 0.6 mm (0.024 inches).
The Print-shop has also installed the state-of-the-art, Heidelberg Suprasetter A106 CtP high performance pre-press equipment, which process 18 plates per hour with plate formats from 370 × 323 mm to 930 × 1,060 mm. Equipped with unique thermal laser technology developed by Heidelberg.
The Heidelberg experience has turned both the Raos into hardcore Heidelberg loyalists. “The investment is already beginning to pay off,” says the excited Nagabhushana Rao. “Ever since the equipments were installed, printing orders are pouring in,” he adds happily. Looking ahead, the Raos’ are already considering further investment in Heidelberg equipments in the next few years. This time their choice would run on the lines of a Heidelberg CD 102 press in the 70 x 100 format and a Polar cutter. “Progress is about the choices we make. Heidelberg has turned out to be one of our best business decisions,” concludes Veerbhadra Rao.
