Colours Print Media adds Thermostar T9

Hyderabad-based Colours Print Media (CPM) has installed Thermostar T9 from TechNova’s stable and replaced its Screen platesetter, which was a refurbished device installed in 2009.

25 May 2016 | By Rushikesh Aravkar

The managing director Ravi Varma K said, “It was time to replace the existing platesetter, which had a limitation regarding overall output. Therefore, we were assessing CTP platesetters available in the market. We have been using TechNova plates and the market feedback about TechNova’s platesetter was positive, plus the service support of its technical team tilted the decision in favour of Thermostar.”

The new Thermostar installed ten months ago can image 27 plates per hour, and conveniently serves the 90 plates per day requirement of the three machines at CPM.

CPM recently consolidated its operations in a new three-storey building with 20,000 sq/ft area near AC Guards in Hyderabad. The managing director Ravi Varma K is a first generation entrepreneur. He started as a freelancer in 2003 and established the print firm two years later. Today, the company is home to three secondhand four-colour presses, the latest being a Komori Lithrone installed in August 2015.

CPM employs 60 persons and produces more than 40 jobs converting over 1.5-lakh sheets per day. A leading print firm in the seeds and pesticide industry, CPM prints commercial leaflets and packaging cartons for Godrej Agrovet, Adventa, Xylem, Syngenta, Shakti Seeds and many other companies in the sector.

“Over the years, we have had a healthy growth. The potential for agro-based industries is huge but the business is dependent on the weather. The last year saw a bit of a slump as erratic monsoon resulted in a slowdown in the agriculture and related businesses,” said Varma.

Looking ahead, Varma is keen to tap the soaring book printing market in the city. “The plan is to invest in a web offset press to cater to private publications,” he explained.