Malayala Manorama chooses
QuadTech print quality solutions
QuadTech has recently announced the installation of its QuadTechprint quality control solutions at Malayala Manorama. The suite of QuadTechprint quality control solutions consists of ICON Integrated Platform, Register Guidance with MultiCam and Ribbon Control with MultiCam.
Vince Balistrieri, VP-operations, QuadTech; PP Prakash, VP- Materials,
Malayala Manorama; and Vinodhkumar Balakrishnan, area sales manager,
QuadTech at PRINTPACK India 2017
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As the first phase installation of the suite of QuadTechprint quality control solutions has been successfully done at the facility of Malayala Manorama’s headquarters in Kottayam (Kerala), the QuadTech solutions are expected to significantly reduce make-ready times, minimise errors and reduce waste in the newspaper’s production process. The phased installations of new print quality control solutions will be completed by the end of 2017. The whole suite of QuadTechprint quality control solutions will deploy on 42 towers of 11 presses, across 7 different locations. Malayala Manorama announced its investment in the QuadTech print quality solutions during the recent PRINTPACK India 2017 at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, Delhi-NCR.
Malayala Manorama is best known for being the largest circulated newspaper in Kerala and third largest across the country with its daily circulation of 2.35 million copies. “At Malayala Manorama, we are recognised for our emphasis on quality and recognised for delivering superior publications. As such, it’s vital that we continue to implement systems that safeguard our reputation and guarantee high quality print, while also ensuring our operations are as productive as possible,” said PK Philip, vice president of works, Malayala Manorama.
“With the installation of QuadTech’s integrated control systems, we can maintain the level of print quality our customers expect, improve reliability and reduce waste. In addition, QuadTech’s excellent support team is already implementing a smooth installation process.” In addition to newspaper, the award-winning company also produces nationally and internationally recognised magazines such as The Week, Vanitha, Year Books, National Geographic Kids, Smart Life, Watchtime India, among others. Also on the television and radio front, the company runs news channels like MM TV and Mazhavil Manorama TV and also the company broadcasts FM radio programme Radio Mango from four different centres. The company has 11 solely-owned print locations and 8 outsourced print locations in India and abroad.
Advantage India
Although the circulation of printed newspapers in European and American countries have declined, the industry is still growing in India due to increasing literacy rates, which drive demand for regional-language newspapers throughout the country. Newspapers are a source of news and entertainment, and are essential in providing education and empowering political participation. Despite the growing readership, the cover price of Indian newspapers tends to be very low, in order to remain affordable for a large proportion of the population, while reduced advertising revenue following the recent demonetisation drive is challenging profitability across the industry. Therefore, it is imperative that new print technologies improve efficiency and lead times to meet demand for the news, while reducing waste and keeping overheads low as the market evolves.
Superb streamlining
Adoption of the new QuadTech ICON platform, which is a single, central station that can integrate with existing software and is designed for optimal efficiency, operators at Malayala Manorama can quickly recall and apply stored job setup data, delivering savings in terms of equipment setup time, labour and materials. ICON offers outstanding flexibility and ROI; as more products become ICON-compliant, operators can integrate each new press control system cost-effectively, without the need to invest in stand-alone Operator Control Stations.
Register Guidance with MultiCam is a closed-loop colour-to-colour register control system designed to integrate with other QuadTech products, including the Ribbon Control System, on the ICON platform. MultiCam is the world’s best-selling register camera, with over 15,000 units have so far been installed worldwide.
Ribbon Control with MultiCam minimises waste by making automatic angle-bar adjustments during startup – before ink even becomes visible. It resides on the ICON platform, which allows all QuadTech press control systems to share a single, user-friendly interface. “Malayala Manorama is one of the most highly-regarded newspaper publishing houses in India; so, it’s a great endorsement for our technology that they are installing QuadTech systems across the territory,” commented Vinodhkumar Balakrishnan, area sales manager for South-East Asia and Korea, QuadTech.
Vinodhkumar added that the waste management and automated colour control is an important factor in the newspaper industry’s efficiency and cost considerations. As such, QuadTech ICON platform provides a fully-integrated quality control system that delivers valuable competitive and profit driving benefits, as well as being a fully flexible platform that can accommodate future product upgrades and enhancements.
