Noida’s multi-functional service provider and supplier, Shri Krishna Graphics, has become print biz with a new Komori Enthrone G29 4-color 2 x 30-inch offset press. Owner Anupam Gupta told us on our mid-May visit that the new press installed in January 2026, prints job work such as flyers, brochures, manuals, and small cartons.
“Before we shortlisted the Komori machine, we researched its working efficiency, quality of print output, and compared the productivity and life of new and refurbished machines. Brand new machines are worth investing in as they have little to no repair costs and don’t pose many challenges,” he said.
Gupta says he is satisfied with the quality and post-sales service. “We have gained new customers via word-of-mouth publicity about the press in Noida Sector 10, an area where such services were not available before.”
Being a trade supplier of offset plates, Shri Krishna Graphics has a Cron UVP-4664G+I+ commercial and newspaper CtCP from Monotech Systems and a Technova CtP. Anciliary machines for the print business include a Polar guillotine and a Chinese thermal laminator.
An alumnus of the Pusa Institute of Technology, Gupta has over three decades of experience in print with stints at The Indian Express, The Times of India, and CMS Info Systems. In 2010, he started his own prepress trade bureau, Krishna Sales, supplying offset plates to printers.
Distributor for Technova, Toyo Inks, DIC Inks, OC, & Blunova Chemicals
In 2013, Gupta quit his job and started working full-time with Krishna Sales. Four years later, he started Crystal Graphics for supplying offset plates in Delhi-NCR. Located in Ghaziabad’s Tronica City, the unit has a Technova thermal CtP and an Amsky CtCP. His wife, Renu Gupta, plays an active part in the company.
An ink-matching center at Crystal Graphics is primarily used for spot and Pantone color inks. “Pantone and special colors are required in almost 90% of packaging work. These colors cost at least 30-40% more than the regular CMYK colors,” Gupta says. In 2022, Gupta founded Shri Krishna Graphics in Noida’s Sector 10 to print local orders and added the new Komori in January this year after repeated requests for printing services from his regular customers.
The printer runs a computer science academy called Kodvidya Academy of Computer Technology, with branches in Faridabad, Khanpur, and Yamuna Vihar aimed at government school students. Sri Krishna Graphics signed an MoU with Guru Jambeshwar University of Science & Technology in Hisar to boost industry-academia collaboration, opening new avenues in education, skill development, research, innovation, and industry engagement. Gupta is also an advisor to Print Olympiad, which works in close collaboration with Kamal Chopra.
“We are the first printing press to sign an MoU with a government college for knowledge exchange and student training. There is a lack of awareness about printing as an industry. Mostly, low-ranking students opt for printing. Many students of printing institutes are clueless and or unaware of the opportunities the field offers. I make students aware of the future possibilities in the field,” Gupta says.
The commercial printer serves customers in Noida and its vicinity regularly supplying offset plates to The Hindustan Times and plates and printing services to Amar Ujala. Regular customers include Sahibabad-based Selina Publishers, Khosla Printers, Shagun Printers, and Raas Technology.
Challenges & limitations
According to Gupta, printing and packaging are growing at a convincing pace. “I have high respect for printing as it is a channel of communication playing a significant role.” On challenges in the industry, Gupta sees a serious shortage of trained manpower. The rising cost of raw materials and consumables due to the US-Israel war against Iran is another challenge. “Prices of most raw materials, including chemicals, inks and plates, have risen by 30-40% in the last three months, but we have not increased prices, resulting in reduced margins.”
Though the market is hypercompetitive, high-end technology and brand new machines equip a printer with an edge to stand out in the market, he says. The offset plates business, while regular and stable gets to be capital-intensive since it faces delayed payments and cashflow.
Gupta wants to diversify further into packaging printing with plans to acquire an automatic die cutter and a folder gluer together with 28 x 40-inch 2-color press. “As trained manual labor is a big challenge, we want to automate operations as much as possible.” A five-year full packaging plan is in progress, to acquire 3 to 4 presses, including a 6-color press with coater.
