Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh-based Kisan Printers and Traders, has significantly increased its digital print volumes in little over one year since they installed a brand-new high-speed Konica Minolta AccurioPress C6085. Kisan Printers and Traders caters to customers from the city of Saharanpur and nearby areas. It prints labels for customers in the pharmaceutical industry and items such as brochures, leaflets, business cards, among others.
“Before we bought the C6085, customers in Saharanpur and nearby areas had to go to Delhi or Noida or Ghaziabad to get their short-run jobs printed. We saw an opportunity here and decided to get a high-speed digital production printer. Now, customers do not have to travel outside Saharanpur to get their jobs printed,” says Divakar Singh, one of Kisan Printers and Traders owners.
Before acquiring the C6085, they were supposed to work on a slower-speed digital printer from Konica Minolta, the AccurioPress C2070. This older press is no longer in service now.
“We have been using Konica Minolta ever since we started our digital printing business about four years ago. We started with the C2070, used it for about two and half years, and then graduated to C6085. We are delighted with Konica Minolta’s after-sales service,” Singh adds.
In the previous avatar, Kisan Printers and Traders was known as Kisan Printing Press, and it was founded in 1967 and offered only offset printing services. Kisan Printers and Traders still provides offset printing services and operates two 4-color Komori presses. It also has an in-house pre-press department.
Offset volume flat, digital rising
According to Singh, in recent years, Kisan Printers and Traders have seen minimal growth in offset volumes and sharp growth in digital volumes. However, its offset segment still generates higher absolute volumes; it is the digital department where the real growth is happening.
“Our digital print volumes have grown by 20% every year since the last couple of years. On the other hand, our offset volumes have been stagnant. This trend is likely to continue, and that is why we are planning to add an even faster digital press, most likely next year. We are looking at AccurioPress C14000 or C12000,” Singh says.
Business back to pre-COVID levels
Kisan Printers and Traders was impacted by the lockdown for about two months when its operations were almost zero. However, things are now back to normal.
“Yes, we were impacted by the lockdown for about the initial two months or so. Since then, we have seen a gradual recovery in print volumes as things have opened up. As of March, we are back to last year’s levels. We are making about 60,000 impressions every month. We expect the recovery to continue and hope the 2021-2022 financial year will be very good,” Singh concludes.
