The big news post-Drupa is, the Malayalam daily will be the first newspaper house in India to have the new generation of Muller Martini Primera MC. This means, it shall benefit from the manufacturer’s ‘Finishing 4.0’ automation and connectivity technology. The fully automated Primera MC, a next generation saddle stitcher with new features, will boost the Kozhikode (Calicut) factory’s magazine production in terms of being flexible and scalable.

Interestingly enough, during Drupa 2016, Muller Martini launched the PrimeraMC (Motion Control), which is a development of the Primera saddle stitcher with a speed 14,000 copies per hour. With the Motion Control technology, all the stations - feeder, stitching machine, gathering chain, three-knife trimmer feature separate servo drives, interconnected via the central control system.

M V Shreyams Kumar, director and P T Bhasi, general manager of Mathrubhumi were so impressed with the demonstration of the PrimeraMC at the recent Drupa that they signed for two identical lines of PrimeraMC saddle stitchers with maximum speed 14,000 copies per hour equipped with stream feeders and stackers to get the highest efficiency. These will be installed in their upcoming, new state-of-art printing plant in Kozhikode.

P R Lakshminarayanan of Muller Martini said, "The Mathrubhumi team have been re-inventing themselves and becoming more and more innovative and efficient."

Lakshminarayanan said, "With the high literacy rate, the demand for Malayalam newspapers and magazines is increasing. This means the number of print titles consumed in Kerala has increased."

Surveys indicate that newspaper readership in rural and urban markets in Kerala is growing including the penetration in smaller towns because of the literacy rate and increase in per capita earning.

Lakshminarayanan said, "This has meant a greater emphasis on high speeded post-press equipment to ensure faster turnaround for magazines and newspapers by media groups like Mathrubhumi."