As it continues to keep abreast of the latest technology, Kochi-based Maya Printers has installed a brand new Heidelberg CD 102 4-color offset press. Established in 1955 as a letterpress printer, Maya Printers has kept evolving and is now both a commercial and packaging printer and converter. The print house is present in both the commercial and packaging space. It is managed by director PS Prasad and his brother Ajay Kumar.
Maya’s association with Heidelberg began several years ago when it bought a brand new 4-color Heidelberg PM 74 offset press. The new CD 102 press attests to the company’s confidence and faith in Heidleberg, says Ajay Kumar. Along with the two multicolor Heidelberg presses, Maya Printers has a full-fledged postpress department including folders, 6-clamp perfect binding and lamination machines and a Polar 92X program cutter. The prepress department has a Suprasetter A75 CtP with Prinect Prepress interface software from Heidelberg.
“We have a very good relationship with Heidelberg and having installed PM 74 earlier it was natural for us to go in for another Heidelberg. The brand is globally respected for its quality and service. Our business was positively impacted after we bought the first Heidelberg,” Kumar says. Used mainly for printing monocartons, the new CD 102 is also used for printing quality magazines and brochures. Often referred to as an all-purpose machine, the Heidelberg’s Speedmaster CD 102 is the best-seller in the 70 × 100 format press series worldwide.
The trend of traditional commercial printers in India moving to monocarton packaging continues to gain force. As commercial print margins shrink and hyper-competition grows, many more printers are venturing into packaging printing and packaging as a whole. Maya Printers also has great ambition in the carton segment and it is planning substantial investments in the first quarter of next year in packaging-related equipment. “We are looking to sharpen our focus on packaging and that is why we have planned to make further investments in this segment. We are looking to add another Heidelberg press early next year and we also plan to invest in a Bobst autoplaten diecutting machine,” states Kumar.
Commenting on the local market scenario, Kumar says demand for quality in packaging is on the rise in Kerala and Maya Printers, with its stress on modern technology, is uniquely equipped to capture this upturn in demand. “With rising demand in Kerala, we at Maya Printers expect the company to grow in high double digits in the near future. We will continue to invest in latest technology and machines so that we remain competitive,” he concludes.
