Focus
Dainik Bhaskar: beefing up continues
-unveils ‘Bhaskar Print Planet’ state-of-the-art new facility in Gujarat

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With innovative approach to exploring new market opportunities in local and regional areas allowing them to be one of the leaders in newspaper publishing, DB Corp has constantly been forwarding by accomplishing remarkable feats since establishment of their flagship newspaper brand Dainik Bhaskar in 1958. Presently, they have emerged as one of the leading print media companies in India, publishing seven newspapers, 48 newspaper editions and 128 sub-editions in three languages (Hindi, Gujarati and English), with presence in eleven states in India.

Their flagship Hindi daily, Dainik Bhaskar is present in nine states having 27 editions: Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Sagar, Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh); Raipur, Jagdalpur, Bhiali, Bilaspur (Chattisgarh); Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Kota, Nagour, Pali (Rajasthan); Chandigarh; Shimla (Himachal Pradesh); Dehradun (Uttrakhand); Panipat, Hissar, Faridabad (Haryana); national edition Delhi, Amritsar, Jalandhar, and Ludhiana (Punjab). Launched in June 2003, Divya Bhaskar has also evolved as the largest circulated Gujarati newspaper, with presence in two states having eight editions: Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Surat, Baroda, Bhavnagar, Bhuj (Gujarat), Mumbai (Maharashtra). Business Bhaskar, a Hindi business daily, is being published with seven editions including: Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Panipat, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and New Delhi. DB Corp Ltd also publishes largest daily newspaper of Saurashtra, namely Saurashtra Samachar. DB Star from Bhopal, Indore and Jodhpur, and DB Gold from Surat city are yet another compact newspapers from their stable. Besides the above brands, DB Corp also publishes an English broadsheet daily ‘DNA’ on a franchisee basis from Ahmedabad, Surat and Jaipur. Other media venture of the Bhaskar group include FM radio network MY FM with seventeen stations across seven states.



But these operations are not adequate for Bhaskar group to materialize their expectations, inspiring them to strive for betterment. As in his vision statement, Ramesh Chandra, chairman, Bhaskar group mentions, “The dream of Bhaskar group is ‘to emerge as a powerful group in the international media scenario in the next five-ten years’…We will follow the policies, which are unparalleled in the world…Our efforts shall not be confined merely to newspapers, but we shall move ahead with time and shall reach the heights untouched by others...We believe in performing something extraordinary and to be second to none...”

Plant inauguration reporting covered live It took straight twelve minutes to go print after having capturing the shot of ribbon-cutting ceremony by Narendra Modi, chief minister, Gujarat outside the building by staff photographer at the print facility. The work involved transferring the pictures from camera to computer, colour correction, masking, fitting into the page, transferring the data to CtP installed in a separate room, producing four plates, clamping on to the KBA Prisma plate cylinders, running the press producing the finished copies reaching at the hands of CM while he arrives near the delivery point.

To deliver more vibrant newspaper quality for touching the readers, DB Corp has developed state-of-the-art printing infrastructure, having almost seventy percent colour capability on over all basis, and around fifteen premium editions with hundred percent colour capacity. Presently the group has 31 printing centers with 59 state-of-the-art machines and an installed capacity of around 19.41 million copies. Adding new milestone in this process, nine towers of KBA Prisma web press with the capacity of 72 all colour pages and speed of 85,000 copies/hour having two platesetters from Krause (300 plates/hour) was inaugurated by Narendra Modi, chief minister, Gujarat, at their new facility at Changodar, Ahmedabad on November 13, 2009. It took only one year in erecting ‘Bhaskar Print Planet’ facility in Ahmedabad and just four months in installing KBA machines. Normally, use of KBA machines in India was limited to English newspapers till now, but by establishing a benchmark in the Gujarati journalistic world, now, Divya Bhaskar is being printed on KBA machines. All the new machines and those being installed in future will be known under the title of ‘Bhaskar Print Planet’. The KBA machines of its kind have already been installed at Dainik Bhaskar, Jaipur.

At Ahmedabad facility, the entire machine is installed in a single line - PU11+PU12+PU13+PU14+Folder (two formers) +Twin Folder (four formers)+PU21+PU22+PU23+PU24+PU25 - from which they can print 72 pages all colour at a time, with speed up to 85000 copies per hour. Three folders enable them to print 24 pages all colour product at each folder. Total print capacity of the line is 255000 copies per hour. PU11+PU12+PU13+PU14+Folder (two formers) is known as ‘Press 10 section’, while twin folder (four formers)+PU21+PU22+PU23+PU24+PU25 has been named as ‘Press 20 section’. They have four consoles to operate these both sections, dedicating two consoles to each section. Also, they installed two Plough Folds, one at each section.

Post-press segment at this plant is equipped with mailroom systems provided by IDAB WAMAC (Schur Wamac), configuring three high-speed single copy gripper lines with five stack pack lines. The three single copy grippers PCC 903, (L= 150Mm each) include one pick up station, five drive units, one check copy release station, one waste copy release station, two stack release stations, and one end release station. While in five stack pack lines, each stack pack line includes – release conveyors NBCV 601 & 602 for one and two drops; stackers TS 800; accumulating bundle conveyors ABM 650-5; under wrappers UW 181; plastic wrappers PWA 650; accumulating bundle conveyors ABM 650-1; strappers PSU 6028, 9MM; turn tables PTU 6088; gravity roller conveyors RB 660; bundle line controls BLC 650; and Wamac Network Control System WNC V5.

Divya Bhaskar launches another coffee table book After venturing into coffee table book publishing activity to inspire entrepreneurs, Divya Bhaskar recently launched another coffee table book, ‘The Power 100 (Volume II): the makers and shapers of Gujarat’. Previously, they released Women of Substance, a coffee table book, profiling eminent women achievers of Gujarat, who have broken the gender barrier and have made a distinct mark for themselves in the society by their sheer perseverance and strength of conviction. Women of Substance provides insights on their struggles and triumphs and also glorifies their achievements to inspire and build confidence among like-minded women of today. “Women have played a crucial role in building our society. In today’s era we cannot overlook the achievements of women. Divya Bhaskar takes this opportunity to salute all women achievers of Gujarat, who have made the state proud for their contribution to the society. It is our way of saluting these women for their fervor and efforts towards the society,” commented Jagdish Sharma, managing editor and COO, Divya Bhaskar, Gujarat. “Women in Indian society have a place of respect and there have been many moments in Indian history when their involvement and actions have almost redefined the future of that area,” added Sanjeev Kotnala, VP marketing, Bhaskar group, expressing his views on the newly launched coffee table book. Redefining brand connect with the readers by pleasantly surprising them, providing them something that is unique and differentiated is a continuously evolving process, Women of Substance is one such effort towards the same. In-fact Bhaskar has a huge women reader base, with a separate page ‘Women Bhaskar’ containing news specially selected for the women readers.

The TS 800 stacker is one of the fastest stackers in the market with a cycle time of approx. 1,0 s. The short cycle time facilitates production of programmed production and the stacker easily produces bundles down to one single copy at full press speed. In addition, the increased compensation improves the bundle quality. Developed and designed for gentle handling of newspapers in combination with reliability and high performance, this stacker has an intercept mechanism that allows gaps in the incoming newspaper stream and is designed to handle press speeds up to 90 000 cph.

With capacity to handle pagination from four pages up to 160 pages broadsheet newspaper at speeds up to 90 000 cph, the PCC 903 provides a digital, programmable control of the copies all the way from the folder to the stacker. The control system synchronises the gripper system to the press with a flexible interface to the control system of the press. It is also integrated in real time with other parts of the production process, providing unique opportunities of customised production methods and to integrate different function such as release of single copy, single copy addressing, storage, on-line inserting at full speed and small bundle (key bundle) system with bundles down to one copy.

In the prepress segment at this facility, Divya Bhaskar has installed two lines of LS Jet 300 CtP equipment and BlueFin processor from Krause, Germany. The equipment is optimally suited for highly productive newspaper and commercial applications. With up to 350 plates per hour, the new LS Jet from Krause is the fastest single optic CtP high performance violet platesetter with a single exposing head currently available on the market. Its efficient performance allows for later editorial deadlines which are vital for modern newspaper publishers. Owing to its flexibility in plate handling, the LS Jet is perfectly suited for production environments with frequent format changes. The well-proven Krause construction and violet-technology guarantee an efficient utilization of resources and offers the highest quality and reliability at the lowest possible operating costs.

The machines are designed to be user friendly by open design with free access to all platesetter components. Optimum output is guaranteed with every print run having integrated double media sensor with automatic plate eject system. Owing to the small spotsize of the Juwel-Optics, plate production is consistently of superior industrial standards. Additionally, the LS Jet also significantly reduces service costs through the remote service offered by Krause technicians.

The LS Jet 300 at Divya Bhaskar is aptly complemented by the dynamic BlueFin Processor from Krause. The BlueFin is a superior plate processor for printing plates, available in two speed configurations. It is ideally suited for constant processing results and modern standards in newspaper production, for example high resolution and FM screening. Low energy and chemical consumption, less faulty plates and high production availability reduce the costs per plate considerably. Equipped with FlowControl guaranteeing a maximum degree of security, the machine immediately recognises irregularities and therewith contributes to the stability of the total production process. This represents another step towards fully automatic, industrial newspaper and commercial production and guarantees efficient utilization of resources. The machine reduces energy costs by up to fifty percent along with significant reduction in maintenance works and time.

Milestones 2009 Inauguration of ‘Bhaskar Print Planet’ at Changodar, Ahmedabad by Narendra Modi, chief minister, Gujarat, on November 13, 2009 Installation of KBA printing machines imported from Germany at Jaipur and Ahmedabad facilities Launch of DB Star Jodhpur editions on Aug15, 2009 2008 Dainik Bhaskar completes fifty glorious years as a leading Hindi publication Business Bhaskar, a Hindi financial newspaper, was launched in Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, New Delhi, Panipat, Jalandhar and Ludhiana with separate editions for each of these cities Launch of Dainik Bhaskar editions in Pali, Nagaur, Bhilai, Ratlam and Shimla Launch of DNA in Jaipur as a franchise by DB Corp Ltd Launch of editions of DB Star in Bhopal and Indore MY FM consolidates its network with 17 radio stations in 7 states, across India 2007 Launch of DB Gold – the first compact newspaper in Gujarati from Surat Launch of DNA in Ahmedabad and Surat as a franchise by DB Corp Ltd Launch of Young Bhaskar Magazine for children and Lakshya, a career magazine MY FM enhances its reach to 14 cities across India Launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s Ludhiana edition on Dec 15 Launch of Divya Bhaskar’s Bhuj edition on July 30, making it the only Gujarati newspaper with seven editions in Gujarat Launch of Divya Bhaskar’s Rajkot edition on Nov 01 2006 Entry in Punjab with launch of Amritsar and Jalandhar edition on Oct 08 2005 Inception of DB Corp Ltd, pursuant to the demerger of publishing business of Writers and Publishers Limited (WPL) The Dainik Bhaskar group won license from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for launch of radio business, through their subsidiary, Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd (SMEL), in seventeen stations, in the name of MY FM AHA! Zindagi magazine launched in Gujarati language ‘IMCL’, a new web media company was formed as a subsidiary of DB Corp 2004 Launch of new Hindi magazine, AHA! Zindagi, the first of its kind on lifestyle and positive thinking In their first merger and acquisition, the Dainik Bhaskar group acquired ‘Saurashtra Samachar’ – the sixty years old, largest circulated daily newspaper of Saurashtra Launch of Divya Bhaskar’s Baroda edition on Sept 12 Initiated presence in Maharashtra with the launch of Divya Bhaskar’s Mumbai edition in July Launch of Divya Bhaskar’s Surat edition on March 28 2003 Launch of Divya Bhaskar from Ahmedabad on June 22. This was the biggest launch of any new edition, across languages, across territories in India where the daily was launched with 4,52,000 copies on day first and became the leading publication in Ahmadabad city 2001 Dainik Bhaskar Group further consolidated its position by launching Faridabad edition, in Haryana state, after two editions from Panipat and Hisar 2000 Dainik Bhaskar group expands presence to Haryana state on June 04, by launching Panipat and Hisar editions Launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s Chandigarh edition on May 07 1999 Launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s sixth edition of Rajasthan from Kota city, the educational hub of the country. 1998 Launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s fifth edition of Rajasthan from Udaipur on May 31 1997 Launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s fourth edition of Rajasthan from Bikaner on Oct 16 Launch of the third edition in Rajasthan from Jodhpur on Aug 03 Launch of the second edition in Rajasthan from Ajmer on April 06 1996 Launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s Jaipur edition in Rajasthan on Dec 19. This development marked a critical point for the company, which significantly altered the strategic direction and growth plans of the company 1995 Dainik Bhaskar emerged as the number one newspaper in Madhya Pradesh and was declared the fastest growing daily in India, by the Readership Survey 1993 Launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s Bilaspur edition on September 20 1988 Launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s Raipur edition 1983 Launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s Indore edition - the first and biggest move outside home town of Bhopal – on March 05 1981 Dainik Bhaskar’s Bhopal edition became the largest news paper of Bhopal City 1977 India’s one of first web offset machine got installed at Dainik Bhaskar for Bhopal edition, against uniform prevalent practice of rotary machine 1958 Dainik Bhaskar launches its first edition in Bhopal on August 13