Goyal Offset Works, a large-scale commercial printer has installed a new Heidelberg Speedmaster CX92 4-color offset press to enhance the considerable production capacity of its massive plant in Kundli in the Delhi NCR.
Established in 1978, the company was founded by CL Goyal in central Delhi’s Daya Basti and it has kept moving to larger plants as the business grew – first to GT Karnal Road and then to its current plant in the Kundli industrial area near Sonepat. The commercial printer is focused on book production and also produces season-based calendars and diaries for its customers.
The company’s second-generation director Prince Goyal, who now heads the company’s operations, joined the family business in 1995 when production was still carried out at the GT Karnal Road plant. “When I joined, we were still growing in commercial printing with two single-color, four double-color presses and one 4-color press. I mostly learned about the market and the printing industry when I was still pursuing my bachelor’s degree,” he says.
After completing his formal education Goyal increasingly took over the management role and focused on growing the company’s production infrastructure. “We imported a Heidelberg CPTronic 4-color press with coater directly from Italy to tend to our other products such as calendars. After using that machine productively, our interest grew in Heidelberg.”
As the company continued to invest in production equipment it ultimately set up three plants in the GT Karnal Road industrial area. However, the space constraints and moving back and forth between the plants became increasingly stressful and the growing commercial printer finally shifted base to Kundli in 2017. “In GT Karnal Road, our total production area was 45,000 square feet. The new plant in Kundli has a built-up area of 500,000 square feet on a single floor,” he explained. This means that all the operations and material movement including the postpress, finishing and bookbinding take place on a single floor.
Apart from the new 4-color Heidelberg offset which is a first for Goyal Offset, the plant contains several used Heidelberg offset presses including a 10-color perfector, two 8-color perfectors, and four 4-color presses. He feels quality triumphs in the business and the new press has a compact size that fits perfectly on the company’s floor since the book production workflow generally contains a significant amount of work in progress.
A confirmed Heidelberg user, he says 99% of our production machines are from Heidelberg. Although he says that his new Heidelberg CX92 4-color is double the price of some of the competitors, “Heidelberg’s assurance remains unmatched. In terms of quality, there is no competition. High-end machines providing quality and timely production are something that move a business ahead. When we approach publishers for a job, they ask about the machines and specifications. All goes well when they learn about our lines from Heidelberg.”
The in-house postpress and binding department provides all finishing options including section sewing and hard case binding. According to Goyal, the company can bind books up to 70 mm thick.
Though many printers indicate that commercial printing has slowed down, Goyal feels book printing will continue to thrive. “Book printing will not face any downfall in the foreseeable future. The digital medium is growing but readers still prefer printed books. For instance, I don’t know anyone who collects eBooks. Kindle and other mediums are not able to retain users or even grow in terms of market share. Be it education or leisure, printed books will remain relevant.”
With a turnover of over Rs 50 crore, the company exports 25% of its production. Goyal plans to visit drupa, which is taking place from 28 May to 7 June in Dusseldorf, to improve his already substantial understanding of the global trends in book printing and finishing.
