He added, “We are a pre-press bureau, that too for thermal CTP. Due to the cost of raw material, we were always in a cost war with CTCP. Plus, customer turnaround time has shortened. Any error on our part will result in the loss of customers and we cannot lose customers in such times. So, we bring a solution, to become a partner in a printer’s pre-press/ digital needs. We have a dedicated team of people completely focused on customer needs. With this offer, customers do not have to invest on anything. We feel this could be the future. Every print-er needs a pre-press team who can take care of the digital side.”

Established in 2011, Alpha Plus is one of the few thermal CTP bureaus in Mum-bai, based in multiple locations, such as Goregaon, Malad, Vasai, Turbhe.

The company has five CTP kits, including the ThermoStar T9. Among the re-maining four, three are screen thermal and the other is Cron CTCP.

The company offers thermal CTP plates to offset printers. It also provides system application support. “We are closely associated with Pressman. Together, we provide shopfloor training to our customers. At alpha, every person has a key responsibility for his task,” Panchal said.

He said Alpha Plus always believed that technology will help us survive the competition. “In 2014, when we planned to go for an eight-up thermal machine, we had a major challenge with the UV-CTCP plate bureau. The UV-CTCP cost was less than Thermal CTP plates. But we were sure that the technology and its development may happen in the future. Also, world-wide thermal technology was showing an upward trend,” Panchal said.

He added, “For strong technology decisions, one needs to self-evolve with the available technology. Once you are sure and have faith in the technology, you need the right partner for guidance. TechNova has helped us with guidance for the right machine. We had the challenge that the ThermoStar T9 should match the result of our old screen machine. Also, it should match with the same con-sistency. If any customer needs a repeat plate, they should not be disappointed. The TechNova team has been sincere in its efforts to take care of all our con-cerns.”

Panchal said the company has seen a rising demand for good quality CTP plates, especially in thermal double-layer plates. “Because the double layer technology takes care of many machine errors. It also helps get better run-length and good repeatability,” he said.

Regarding ROI on the machine, Panchal said, “If the price of thermal plates comes down a little, we are sure to make a growth of 8-10%.”