Production heads learn Indigo 10000’s B2-size apps

The highlights of the event were: demonstration of Indigo 10000 and B2-size for commercial applications and photo books and a Q&A session with Mazda’s Phiroze Havaldar and PrintWeek India’s Ramu Ramanathan.

The 10 lessons from this Q&A session were:

1.    The traditional photo print firm Mazda Imaging, which produced photo prints with silver halide technology for amateur as well as high-end professional photographers, introduced the concept of photo book in India in 2006 with the installation of Indigo 3050.

2.    The company installed B2-size (20x29-inch) Indigo 10000 earlier this year and gained an edge over its counterparts because of the advantage of bigger size. “What we could not do with A3, can all be done with B2,” said Havaldar. One B2-size sheet can accommodate six 9.5x9.5-inch size pages. Hence a square sized brochure or book is an exciting and economical proposition for the marketers.

3.    B2 format HP Indigo 10000 at Mazda is the first device in India which caters to the general commercial print.

4.    This press caters to a vast array of new applications, thanks to the larger sheet size. Such applications include pocket folders, six page brochures, posters, large covers, landscape books and oversize lay-flat photobooks, but the possibilities extend beyond commercial jobs into the photo-specialty and publishing.

5.    The 10000 workhorse can print 4000 sheets in an hour and can print 30-40,000 prints per day. “The capacity is ample. But we are not filling it as we are taking our time to find customers who appreciate quality and where we can add value,” added Havaldar.

6.    Mazda has historically been a niche and quality player and as Havaldar said, we want to stay that way. He claims that: “Our photo book is most expensive in the market.”

7.    Havaldar showcased fattest book that they printed on 10000. It was a 1100 page section-sewn book. Mazda printed three such orders of the same job each with a print run of only 10 copies.

8.    The Indigo can handle fair number of textured papers, however, printing on heavily textured paper is a challenge. Mazda is looking for a pre-coating machine, which will enable it to use any kind of textured paper.

9.    There was a question from audience about the problem of white edging while creasing or folding paper with solid prints. Havaldar said: The edging problem has to do with paper and creaser. You need an extremely precise creasing machine. Mazda has Morgana auto creaser which allows it to produce big seamless wedding books without cracking on folds.

10. Mazda Imaging has built an all India presence with a distributor network spread across the country. It operates out of 18 self-owned locations in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune. With Indigo 10000 and Indigo 5500 in Mumbai and Indigo 3050 in Ahmedabad, it is able to supply photo books in one to two days.