Offset Printing
New KBA sheetfed offset technology at Rakesh Press and Gopsons Papers
Wednesday 07. May 2008 - Open house events in New Delhi
At the beginning of March, two of India’s leading print companies, Rakesh Press and Gopsons Papers (both of New Delhi), joined KBA and its Indian sheetfed offset sales partner Indo-Polygraph Machinery to present the latest Rapida presses at specially organised open house events.
KBA sales director Dietmar Heyduck thanked the host companies for their many years of successful cooperation. Together with sales partner Indo-Polygraph Machinery, he said, KBA had established a nationwide service and consulting presence on the Indian market. And never before had print companies from India imported as many presses from Germany as in 2007. A doubling in numbers compared to the previous year is an impressive illustration of the ongoing economic growth on the Indian sub-continent. KBA has played a significant role in this development. Aditya Surana, managing director of Indo-Polygraph was able to confirm in his address that “KBA is one of the major suppliers of printing technology to India.”
The new five-colour Rapida 105 at Rakesh Press is already the third sheetfed offset press from KBA. Founded in 1950, the company is Delhi’s leading magazine printer and also handles a wide range of commercial products for important multinational groups. Over the past 20 years, Rakesh Press has specialised particularly on the printing of greetings cards, and today exports a large proportion of its production to customers as far afield as Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and even South America. In 2006, Rakesh Press received a silver medal in the category “Own promotion” at the SAPPI Printers of the Year Awards.
Gopsons Papers was also founded in 1950. Today, the family-run company is managed by Satish, Sunil and Anil Goel, the sons of its original founder, and has developed into one of the leading book printers in the country, with further significant activities in security printing and stationery products. The four-colour Rapida 105 universal which recently went into operation at Gopsons Papers was already the eighth KBA sheetfed offset press installed by the company. Over just the past six years, Gopsons has taken delivery of a five-colour Rapida 74, two further four-colour Rapida 105s and a Rapida 105 in a five-colour configuration. All are equipped with UV dryers and are networked to the prepress department via CIP3. Building upon its success with medium and half-format presses, Gopsons Papers is now planning to move up into large-format sheetfed offset. The investment in a Rapida 130 is expected to give a significant boost to productivity in book production.
The two events were each attended by around 60 guests from among India’s leading printers. Presentations of new technologies, print demonstrations, factory tours and an evening get-together provided an ideal setting for the print professionals to talk shop. And further press deliveries to India were naturally also a frequent topic of conversation. KBA sales director Dietmar Heyduck is looking forward to a new round of success in this important growth market in 2008.