Lucknow-based Amar Fax Services, a provider of books, business cards, pamphlets, menus, high-end invitation cards, maps, point of sale (POS) material, and other print products, has expanded capacity with a 4-color Komori LS 426 offset press. The press has been installed at Amar Offset, the company’s new production unit in Aliganj.
Combined with an AccurioPress C12000 digital press from Konica Minolta that the company installed last year, the new unit is now equipped with in-house UV curing, die cutting, foiling, stamping, and a single-color press.
Indian Printer and Publisher had last year reported about the company’s plans to expand with offset and into packaging. The commercial printer provides printed commodities to educational institutions, banks, government, and private offices – supplying to most of Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Delhi-NCR.
Directors Surjeet Singh and Harpal Singh started Amar Fax Services at a time when printing was not considered profitable. Initially, users of analog machines from Xerox, the company, which was established in 1989, switched to digital to meet speed and quality demands with media flexibility. At present, the company owns digital presses from Konica Minolta installed in the last eight years.
The company’s expansion into offset printing and rigid box packaging printing has significantly upped its operations, opening up more growth avenues along with bulk offerings. “Demand has been fluctuating — from bulk orders to short-run to bulk prints again. So instead of recommending other printers, we desired to become a one-stop provider. The new unit is in response to that,” Surjeet explained.
Speaking on market trends, he said while on the one hand job variety has increased, on the other, quantity decreased, resulting in shorter margins and increased workload. At the same time, he says this is the new normal. “There are regular orders that keep business growth substantial. However, we expect increased demand during election time. Digital and offset combined should give us a good yield overall.”
Surjeet said they initially used analog machines from Xerox along with a plan printer (for maps), as there weren’t any providers of big maps, making it the first in Lucknow. “Eventually, during the 90s, we added color presses from Xerox. During the early 2010s, we were introduced to digital machines that could easily fit on our shop floors. We kept adding digital capacity and eventually got the Komori.”
The company, with four printing units in Lucknow, is now one of the biggest names in digital commercial printing in the city. Following the Komori installation, they have plans to book another offset press and enhance the post-press unit. Investments in several new machines, including a wide-format printer, are a possibility.
