Delhi-based Ankita Communications, a pre-press and print enhancement specialist with nearly four decades of experience, has added a Kodak Trendsetter Q800 W-Speed platesetter to its production setup in a bid to enhance quality prepress and efficient plate production.
The system was supplied and installed by Insight Print Communications, Kodak’s authorized channel partner in India, which also managed technical commissioning and operator training at Ankita Communications.
The Kodak Trendsetter W-Speed leverages Kodak’s proprietary Squarespot Imaging Technology, offering high-precision thermal imaging for consistent dot reproduction at production speeds, the company stated in a release. The platesetter is compatible with Kodak Sonora process-free plates, eliminating the need for chemical plate processing and reducing environmental impact on the shop floor.
Lalit Gupta, founder and CEO of Ankita Communications, said, “In this industry, the quality of the plate directly determines the quality of what comes off the press. We needed a system that could keep pace with our output requirements while maintaining the precision our clients expect. The Trendsetter Q800 W-Speed fits that brief precisely.”
Founded in 1987 by Lalit Gupta, a printing diploma holder who spent three years at an advertising agency before launching his own venture, Ankita Communications began as a pre-press service bureau after years of outsourcing print work. In April 2002, Gupta set up his in-house facility and made an early mark by launching the first CtCP machine in North India, a move that set the tone for the company’s technology-first approach.
Over the past 15 years, the company has built a dual capability in long-run offset work handled through external print partners, and short-run in-house digital production covering brochures, wedding cards, visiting cards, booklets, leaflets, sweet boxes, photo albums, and diaries. Its prepress setup includes multiple CtP systems supported by a range of digital presses and finishing equipment.
Beyond its print production operations, Ankita Communications co-founded Memorys.in in late 2019, an eCommerce platform targeting the personalized gifting and print-on-demand segment. The platform lists over 200 products across categories including photo albums, envelopes, corporate stationery, personalized gifts, and home décor, and shipped to more than 15,000 customers across India within its first six months of operation.
With commercial print volumes growing across magazines, calendars, book covers, and promotional print, Ankita Communications required a platesetter capable of matching higher plate demand without compromising quality.
The Kodak Trendsetter Q800 W-Speed, an 830nm external drum platesetter, addresses that need directly, delivering throughput of up to 66 plates per hour at 2400 dpi for an 838 x 1030 mm plate size when configured with the Autoloader, SCU, or MCU.
The system offers standard resolution of 2400/1200 dpi, with optional 2540/1270 dpi and high-resolution options of 4800 or 5080 dpi, along with a maximum line screen of 450 lpi and optional 25-, 20-, or 10-micron Kodak Staccato screening.
The platesetter connects to Kodak Prinergy Workflow and most third-party workflow systems via the standard Kodak Print Console with TIFF Downloader Software. A Kodak Mobile CTP Control App enables remote monitoring of the device from Android or iOS, allowing operators to respond to production alerts even when off the floor.
Ajay Agarwal, MD and CEO, Insight Print Communications, said, “Ankita Communications has always been ahead of the curve in adopting technology, and this investment in the Kodak Trendsetter Q800 W-Speed is a natural progression of that thinking. Lalit Gupta and his team have built one of the most comprehensive prepress and print enhancement operations in North India, and the Trendsetter Q800 W-Speed, with its Squarespot imaging precision, process-free plate compatibility, and high throughput, gives them the prepress backbone to support their next phase of growth. We are proud to partner with Ankita Communications on this journey.”
