Rahul Print O Pack is a well-known name in the book printing segment in Delhi-NCR. The Okhla-based book and commercial printer installed a brand new Heidelberg CX 92 press in April this year – its third Heidelberg 92 format press in the past five years, which Indian Printer & Publisher has already reported. “We already had two Heidelberg CS 92 installations in 2018 and 2020. In April, we started our third machine – the Heidelberg CX 92. We have had three brand new Heidelberg installations and all three are in production,” says Rahul Soni of Rahul Print O Pack.
Ajay Soni, Rahul’s father and the proprietor of Rahul Print O Pack said, “Our experience with the new Heidelberg CX 92 has been very good. The machine is significantly updated. Our two previous machines were on the previous generation (CS) of this platform. It’s now called CX and has a lot of upgrades if you compare it with the previous generation – it is definitely more productive and easier to use.”
The software, the control panel, and the interface are advanced, it is easy to use for operators, and even a layman can easily understand its specifications, the junior Soni told Indian Printer & Publisher. “If there is a warning sign, for instance, if there is an issue in the inking unit, everything is flashed on the screen and it’s very easy to navigate. This platform supports high speeds of up to 16,500 sheets per hour as compared to 15,000 in the previous generation. The feeder is of XL technology, which is their top-notch, high-productive machine. Now it is even more productive. Our job changeover time has improved and aesthetically the machine is better,” he said.
Rahul Print O Pack works mostly in commercial printing and publication or book printing. “We have started printing magazines since we have an expanded capacity and the presses are capable of top-quality printing. Our portfolio is increasing – in publication, we offer the best quality. Our clients are also top-notch. We maintain quality standards and are translating that into commercial print. We do a lot of short-run brochures – as low as 500. Earlier we never used to take up these jobs,” the senior Soni told us on a recent visit to their plant.
Bullish on investments
From our business perspective, we are still very aggressive and bullish on investments, the junior Soni says. “We are primarily targeting books because that is our mainstay. I think in the next 2-3 years, there will be a slight uptick in the demand for books. We are targeting exports. We are optimistic and will aggressively grow in the next few months by increasing our capacity, our grinds, and our portfolio by taking up all kinds of jobs,” he said.
“Since my father had expertise in packaging, by chance we ventured into book printing. We are using his and our team’s knowledge of packaging to offer packaging solutions to book publishers. We also offer fancy activity books and board books apart from regular textbooks. There is some kind of value addition in this kind of book. We provide all such solutions to book publishers under one roof. Usually, publishers rely on a separate printer for packaging solutions for books. That gives us an edge,” he added.
“At Rahul Print O Pack, you can get the book along with a kit or a die-cut insert because in activity books, there are a lot of creative things as well. We offer these solutions aggressively to our book publishing clients. We are fairly optimistic and I think we will expand and grow very aggressively in the next few months and years. We will hopefully add capacity every 1-2 years. We have maintained that cycle and we hope to maintain it in the future,” both the father-son duo said.
Rahul Print O Pack is adding to its ancillary machines for post-press expansion. “We have added capacity in binding, and we have updated our entire portfolio of folding machines. We have bought used but state-of-the-art seven models of 2008 Heidelberg Stahl folders and directly imported them. We replaced all our folding machines and added two more. We ordered nipping machines from a local manufacturer. We will automate our sewing machines, which are at present semi-automatic. Additionally, we have placed orders for an automatic section sewing machine and a lamination machine. We are considering a section on sewing books equipment and will consider fully automated binding equipment in our next phase of expansion,” the junior Soni concludes on a positive note.
