Ashwani Thapar, proprietor, Pearl Printers, said, “Our print run has increased and we needed faster and higher output to meet the demands. This was the main reason to install one more new machine.”

The market for the 25x36-inch size is very competitive and to compete in the market, economic prices and faster turnaround are the two key aspects, Thapar added.

Beside the RMGT 920, Pearl has a Ryobi four-colour with coater; a five-colour Heidelberg, two two-colour Heidelberg and one single colour Heidelberg.

“We are using the new press for a 16-hour shift right now. Soon, we will be running the machine round-the-clock,” said Thapar, adding that its other five machines are running round-the-clock.

With this new addition to its fleet, Thapar said the company’s business has increased by 40%. “We do multiple sets of jobs in a day. A set of job ranges from a minimum of 1,000 to 5,000 sheets,” he said.

The company also installed a pre-owned Flowline recently.

Thapar said high-end commercial printing market is growing and printing exports into Middle East and African markets are also growing. “Right now, higher volume jobs go to China. We hope that very soon Indian printers too will be able to do such jobs,” he said.

On future investment, Thapar said it will be in post-press.  

Thapar, a first generation printer and a self-made entrepreneur, has more than three decades of hands-on experience. He joined the industry as a helper in 1981 and worked in two printing companies, before starting out on his own in 1998.

In a 20,000 sq/ft facility, Pearl works round-the-clock with more than 100 people, of which 35 members are on a payroll and the rest are on contracts. The company gets work from more than 200 clients, 150 of which are account holders with Pearl.

The RMGT 920 press is LED UV-ready and multi wavelength LED UV lamp will be installed soon. “This technology will be a game-changer for us. We will be able to use conventional printing ink for UV effects,” said Thapar.