Saraswathy Prakashan installs an Impel Welbound inline binder
Aurangabad-based book printing company Saraswathy Prakashan has equipped itself with a 12-clamp inline binding machine Bindline 4K complete with Signa gatherer and Trimit 30C book trimmer. The machine was successfully installed amid the pandemic situation.
30 Jul 2021 | 1594 Views | By Aultrin Vijay
Somnath Dongapurre of Saraswathy Prakashan says that the overall production efficiency has been improved with less wastage.
Established in 1981 as Chaya Books, the company used to outsource printing of textbooks, which was cumbersome, according to Dongapurre. Later, it was renamed to Saraswathy Prakashan in 2004. However, the revamp was not just in the name. It installed a host of machinery to enable printing of books as well as other publication works.
In 2007, Dongapurre bought a six-clamp perfect binding machine from Welbound and a Muller Martini web offset press. A decade later, the company purchased two additional web offset Rotaprint presses. And recently, it installed the 12-clamp inline binding machine Bindline 4K complete with Signa gatherer and Trimit 30C book trimmer to replace the Muller Martini machine it already had.
Speaking about the latest installation, Dongapurre says that the new machine will boost bookbinding at Saraswathy Prakashan. “We are expecting orders from Balbharati to come in large numbers this time. Added to that, we have our own publication. So, the new inline binding machine will only cater to the demand efficiently.”
The machine was installed by the Impel Welbound team from Mumbai during the lockdown period.
Several companies are reorganising its plant to reduce turnaround times – for some it means replacing older machines with new ones; for others it means production planning and the need to be efficient yet flexible.
According to Dongapurre, one must always invest in newer technologies and machines. “Earlier we had a six-clamp machine, which was capable of churning out 15,000 books per hour. But now, with the 12-clamp machine, we are able to produce nearly 30,000-35,000 books per hour. And this includes the cutting done inline, that too, in auto mode,” he explains.
P Sajith of Impel Welbound said, "The six-clamp WB@2500 operated at speeds of 15,000 books per shift. Now that has been improved to 30,000 books per shift." Sajith added, "The overall space requirement has come down by 50%; the binder employs only six people to churn out this production."
Saraswathy Prakashan and Covid-19
Saraswathy Prakashan has gone through several ups and downs, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the firm’s revenue is generated from the orders it receives from the state-run Balbharati – the Maharashtra State Board. However, with schools closed and teaching gone online, book printers all over the country faced trouble in the form of low or no orders for printing textbooks.
For a company such as Saraswathy Prakashan, which relies mostly on textbook printing orders from Balbharati, the pandemic situation served a major blow to its business.
Expressing concern over the present situation for book printers in Aurangabad, Somnath Dongapurre says, “There has been no business for the past two years. It’s a difficult time for the printers here. The situation is still the same. It will remain so until exams begin, and schools reopen.”