Sachin Gupta, managing director, Sain Packaging, said, “We have many printing presses from Heidelberg, but all are pre-owned. We decided to go for the new machine to improve our print quality and to serve our customers better. With the new machine, we plan to print CMYK with one pantone colour as pantone colours are in demand in pharma packaging.”

The press came from Heidelberg’s manufacturing plant in China and Gupta said it made the deal around 8% economical.

Gupta established the pharma packaging company in 2004 on the suggestion of a family friend, with a single-colour offset in Burari, Delhi. Gradually, Sain Packaging grew and now it converts 400 to 450-tonnes of packaging boards per month in 65,000-sqft production area. Total area of the plant is 2,025-sqm. “We can even produce 100 cartons on offset. And on higher side, there is no limit,” Gupta said.

He said being a pharma packaging printer, 99% of its jobs come under 25x37-inches press. “But all of our existing presses are of 28x40-inches. So we decided to go for the Heidelberg CS 92, with which we will be saving around Rs 1.5-lakh per month on printing plates. We will also save on manpower, electricity and space. With the new Speedmaster CS 92, we will reduce our wastage of printing substrates by 90%,” he added.

The Speedmaster CS 92, a size 37 format press, comes with production speed of 15,000 sheets per hour. It can handle substrates with thickness from 0.03-mm to 0.6-mm (0.0012-inches to 0.024-inches). Printing plate costs are almost 20% lower with the CS92, a key competitive advantage in a fiercely contested market. The unique format class caters to about 90% of commercial print products. Alongside the classic 16-page A4 format, the Speedmaster CS 92 also promotes the use of additional imposition layouts, nine A4 repeats or six-page products in three rows of repeats.

Deepak Walia, AGM, sales (northern region), Heidelberg India, said, “The Speedmaster CS 92 is based on the extremely successful press format, the Speedmaster CD 102. This ensures stable print quality throughout the entire run, exceptionally easy operation, and outstanding productivity. Developed by Heidelberg engineers in Germany and equipped with high-performance components such as the fully automated preset plus feeder and preset plus delivery with pile heights of 1.3-m, contact-free AirTransfer System, stable inking and Alcolor dampening with vario system, Intellistart for easy make-ready, the Speedmaster CS 92 is a reliable and secure investment.”

Gupta said having Heidelberg kits give a packaging printer an edge in the market. “When it comes to pharma packaging, it is growing well with demand for quality print production. Today, print buyers want quality board along with print beautification and security features.  They want UV coating instead of lamination,” he explained. “Braille is also in demand right now and we are planning to invest towards it.”

The company’s post-press segment is equipped with four die-cutters. Currently the pre-press is outsourced. The company, which exports around 40% of its total production to Nepal, also has an in-house corrugation facility. The company also manufactures lamitubes and aluminium tubes. “Our present turnover is Rs 48-crore and we are targeting to double it in the coming years,” he said. Gupta runs business with his father Mitr Sain and team of 250 people.

Lalit Kumar Lamba, product manager and sales analyst, Heidelberg India, added, “Speedmaster CS 92 is gaining popularity among Indian printers, precisely because the size format is a perfect fit which provides utmost plate savings and reduces sheet wastage. This is our sixth CS 92 press in the northern region. In total we have installed 12 CS 92 presses across India.”