Heidelberg's PMA India completes its fourth Operator Development Program

Heidelberg's Print Media Academy (PMA), which was set up two years ago with an objective of training the operators of print-shops, recently completed its fourth Operator Development Program (ODP).

10 Nov 2012 | By PrintWeek India

The program is a customised one-month long training exclusively designed for operators and is conducted at PMA in Chennai. The training program is fully sponsored by Heidelberg India, including the lodging arrangements of the participants.

The participants are trained and exposed via elaborate sessions on various printing subjects including fundamentals of colour and reproduction techniques, press standardization as per ISO 12647-2 norms, material standardization, print finishing & conversion, and IT application and so on. The participants also undergo hands-on training on Heidelberg Suprasetter CtP, Speedmaster SM 74 press, Polar 115 X cutter and Stahlfolder KHC 78 folding equipment.
 
Operators from various locations including Kolkata, Bangalore, Mumbai, Goa and Meerut participated in ODP.
 
Prof Rajendra Kumar Anayath, head of PMA India, said, "The fourth (ODP) was a grand success with excellent support from our fellow printers. We designed the program in such a way that the operators could grasp the technology behind each vital division of the print production chain which include prepress, press and postpress, in detail. Just like previous ODP's, we were successful in striking the right balance between practical and theoretical sessions”.
 
Mahendran from Shree Maruthi Printers, Coimbatore - one of the participants of the fourth ODP, said, “Even though I have worked in the shop-floor as a press operator for more than a decade, this training program was an eye-opener for me. We have been provided excellent knowledge across prepress, press and postpress. Right from job planning to finishing, we have gained excellent information”.
 
Prof Anayath added, "We trained fourteen operators this year and besides regular subjects, we included a special course on print colour management which gives in-depth understanding of colour separation, prepress techniques, preflight checking and proofing methods.”
 
“We have acquired practical knowledge of different subjects such as Ink-water balance, colour management, press maintenance, safety procedures, Ink application for commercial and packaging printing and so on. Training on ‘print color management’, in particular, was very useful. We gained knowledge on how to enhance the data in prepress stage itself, which saves time during printing”, said Shashidhara from Mangala Art Printers, Bangalore, a participant at  ODP.
 
The participants also had a chance to visit some local commercial and packaging industries in and around Chennai and enjoyed the local sight-seeing trips which were arranged during the weekends.
Dr Rajendrakumar Anayath, head of PMA (sitting fourth from the right) along with the participants and faculty of the fourth Operator Development Program