Gulbarga-based Somu Digital has recently installed a brand-new Konica Minolta bizhub Press C1100 color production printer to add to its array of Konica Minolta presses. The press was installed during the Covid-19 lockdown and has been operational since June 2020.
“From the time we started our services, we have been using Konica Minolta digital presses. We have been pretty happy with our association with the company. That is why we bought our newest digital press, a C1100 from Konica Minolta,” says Manjunath Kalgi, proprietor of Somu Digital.
The Konica Minolta bizhub Press C1100 prints at 100 pages a minute and features its enhanced Simitri HD toner, with its inbuilt SEAD IV screen processing, to continuously maintain image stability over long press runs. The substrate movement from the feeder to the delivery is improved with vacuum-based feeding for better registration and reliable paper handling, including hybrid de-curling for consistently flat output in the delivery stacker.
In addition to the newly installed C1100, Somu’s earlier digital presses comprise a Konica Minolta bizhub Press C6000, a bizhub Press C1085, and the Konica Minolta 71hc. “The reason we went for the bizhub Press C1100 was because of the rising volumes. The C1100 is faster than the C1085 and will help us handle and take on bigger volumes,” says Kalgi.
In addition to Somu Digital, Kalgi is also the proprietor of the Somu Photo Lab. The Somu Photo Lab offers wedding photography services, video shooting services, video editing services, and wedding photo album printing. Somu Digital, on the other hand, offers commercial printing services with a variety of print products such as visiting cards, leaflets, ID cards, scratch cards, invitation cards, and several others. Both companies were established in 2011.
Sharp recovery to 60% of pre-lockdown levels since 1 June
Mostly shut during April and May due to the central government’s lockdown, Somu has been fully operational since 1 June 2020 and has seen a sharp recovery in business in the past three months. “During April and May, Somu was mostly closed, and the only jobs we were doing were those offered by the local government authorities. We were printing items like posters and leaflets for the local government bodies. Since June, things have opened up, and we have witnessed a big recovery in demand. We are at almost 60% of pre-lockdown levels,” Kalgi says.
Kalgi expects full recovery by mid-October as the economy further unlocks. “We expect a lot of businesses to recover from September as the central government has ordered further relaxations. It has asked the state governments not to impose any further localized lockdowns. This should help in economic recovery and increasing demand for print,” he concludes.
