Ronak Parikh, director and the gennext at threedecade- old Shriram Offset said that he had decided to replace the old press a year back, but hesitated a bit, given the Covid-19 crisis. “There was too much volatility in the market.

Meeting customer timeline and quality along with government guidelines on following Covid-19 protocol was a tough job. But we successfully planned our resources and manpower to meet our customer demands.”

But Parikh, who is managing the family business taken forward by his father, Jaimin, said he had long term goals in mind when he turned to Komori GL 637C. “The demand for packaging jobs has gone up, so it seems we did the right thing by investing in the Komori press.”

Shriram specialises in inlay cards, which basically goes inside a see-through plastic packaging. The inlay cards have product descriptions, photos, and similar information. “With the ban on plastic packaging in some countries in Europe, and countries like Australia, New Zealand and the USA, the demand for packaging that does not include plastics has increased. So, we are now producing fancy paperboard-based boxes too,” said Parikh.

The Komori GL 637C can handle paper thicknesses of 0.06mm to a maximum of 0.8mm and can print at a speed of up to 15,000 sph. The press is equipped with KHS-AI System, KID (Komori Info-Service Display) and PDC-SG spectral print density control. “It provides feedback to press, this colour feedback technology contributes to shorter changeover time and reduced paper waste,” said Parikh.

In the pre-press, Shriram is equipped with a CTP facility and in post-press, it’s mostly manual die-punching, lamination and foiling, for finishing the packaging products. “Our next investment is in the post-press. We are now sound and efficient in printing. Now we don’t want printed stacks of paper lying on our floor causing wastages,” concluded Parikh.