Pune-based Inkfish Creations has diversified into digital commercial printing with a brand-new Canon imagePRESS C710 digital production printer. The company was till now specializing in wide-format signage printing, which started in 2013. The Canon press was installed in early October and is expected to be fully commissioned within the week.
“This is our first digital production press. Before finalizing the deal, we saw a couple of brands and found the quality of the Canon press the best. The color consistency is excellent and the resolution is 2,400 dpi x 2,400 dpi,” says Usama Yaqub of Inkfish Creations. “Also, the training provided by the Canon India team during installation was excellent.”
The imagePRESS C710 can print at a speed of 70 pages per minute at what is claimed to be a resolution of 2,400 dpi x 2,400 dpi (and which we assume means 600 dpi in each color). It can handle a variety of paper stocks such as plain, heavy, coated and specialty, from A4 to 13X51-inch size. In addition to the EFI Fiery G250 kit, the printer also comes with the option of having an IPR kit for printers who want a more economical option. Inkfish has opted for the Fiery kit and a paper deck.
From outsourcing to in-house commercial print
Talking about the reason for expanding into the digital commercial print business, Yaqub said this was primarily to reduce the total reliance on the wide-format printing. “We started the wide format printing business in 2013 and earlier this year we thought it was time to branch out into another segment. We were already outsourcing digital commercial print jobs to third part printers. So, we decided why not bring the printing in-house,” he says.
Yaqub is optimistic that he will be able to print about 15,000 impressions every month once the press gets into full operation. Inkfish plans to print items such as visiting cards, invitation cards, brochures, and leaflets.
Business still sluggish
Like most printers across the country, Inkfish Creations was also shut during April and May. It was however doing some sporadic work related to the pharmaceutical and medical sectors. The business has picked up since June but is still sharply lower than what it was pre-lockdown.
“Wide-format printing market saw a steep decline during the lockdown. It has picked up in recent months but recovery is slow as customers are avoiding expenditure on promotion and advertising. Wide-format printing is expected to get back to normal only in the first quarter of the 2021 calendar year. However, with the new Canon imagePRESS C710 in operation I expect digital commercial printing business to augment business,” Yaqub concludes.
