A day in the life of Multivista's Karthik

When you read your early morning newspaper, besides half tones and colour reproduction you look for...
I look for sports news.

When and how do you begin your day?
I begin my day at 6:30 am and jog for about 45 minutes.

Do you plan your day, meticulously? Or is it ad hoc? Or is there a blueprint for the day?
Some days are planned, while some are ad hoc

One person with whom you like to share your daily drive to office. Why?
It would be with my father. He never talks business while we drive, and I get to listen to some good music, as it is a long drive from home to office.

What’s the first thing you do on entering the office?
Attend the daily morning production meeting.

How frequently do you interact with print production supervisors? What do you discuss, commonly?
My interaction with print supervisor is very rare. I interact mainly with department in-charge. I try to emphasise a lot on reducing idle hours of the machine.

With the fierce competition, high cost of entry and above all - the increasing threat from other media, do you find that traditional ink-on-paper is facing a serious threat to its survival?
Competition has always been fierce for the last five years, especially for us, since a lot of new print service providers have entered the market. I don’t think ink-on-paper will be affected in the Indian market for the next 5-7 years. I hope not.

Which press does the best printing in India? And why?
I have always been a big fan of Pragati Offset for the quality jobs they produce.

How do you rate your press as compared to leading printers the worldover?
I can say that we are improving every year in the way we are doing business. But it is a continuous improvement effort, and there are some areas where I would like to see our press concentrate and improve. This is our main goal this year.

If you won Rs 10 crore through Playwin which printing equipment would you invest in?
I would personally go in for a web-offset multi-colour machine. I have always been fascinated by the speed of the machine and folding which can be done online. It would drastically help in reducing our turnaround time which is vital for our industry.

The best breakthrough in print technology in the past hundred years?
I am a big fan of CTP technology.

Which is your car? Cell phone?
I drive Honda Civic and use Blackberry cellphone.

How do you motivate your sales & marketing team? Any new promotion strategy?
Thankfully our team is self-motivated to a large extent. But sometime listening to their issues, and trying to solve them motivates the team. Once they get direction and clarity in thoughts, they are motivated to achieve their target.

The most frequently used mantra in your organisation! Your corporate philosophy.
At Multivista our vision is driven by our passion to exceed the expectations of our most valued assets - our customers, our employees and our business partners. Also, being a professionally managed profitable organisation with core values and ethics.

Your favorite excuse to your family when you’re late?
“I was stuck in traffic.”

Has the domination of the printing industry reached a plateau with the arrival of new competitors?
I do not think so. It has made some printers work in much leaner way than before, and change their business strategy.

Please comment of the technology and machines (press / pre-press / post-press / others) that you have invested in, in the past few years?
We are quite happy with our machines, and its efficiency. We have invested in a KM 473 (Kolbus), with an in-line feature for gathering/perfect binding/three-knife trimming, with the goal to reduce our turnaround time in book finishing segment.

How do you stay in touch with technological developments? In this sense, please comment on your official view on CTP technology and digital printing.
Through various print related websites, and participating in print technology forums and discussions.

One person with whom you would like to have a FACE TO FACE.
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi - Argentine footballer.