Sanjevani's Bengaluru unit opts for Kodak CTP system for newspapers

Sanjevani, a Kannada evening daily in Karnataka, has installed a Kodak Trendsetter 400 four-up CTP system along with a Kodak T860 processor for its newspaper printing unit in Bengaluru.

04 Oct 2011 | By Samir Lukka

B T Amuthan, the managing director of Karnataka News Publications (KNP) – publisher of Sanjevani said: "It offers double the speed of what our Agfa CTP system, installed in 2005 has to offer."

It uses Kodak Electra XD thermal plates for the six colour pages of the eight-page daily for its Bengaluru edition. The black and white pages are processed through films developed on a Canon inkjet printer.

The firm has 11 regional print sites, including the one at Bengaluru, and houses seven web-offset presses from Orient and four from Webking. It is tipped to install Kodak CTP system at each of its site. These sites are located all across Karnataka in Hubli, Gulbarga, Shimoga, Bellary, Mysore, Mangalore, Devangere, Tumkur, Kolar, Raichur from where KNP delivers localised content through eleven editions.

The other editions apart from the Benguluru edition is produced with four pages in colour and four in monochrome. KNP also publishes another evening daily in Tamil language called Dinasudar.

Currently ranked eighth in Karnataka, Sanjevani caters to a middle-class audience and enjoys a readership of 3.75 lakhs daily for its ten editions of Sanjevani, which are localised according to the various regions in Karnataka. This apart from the readers for its internet edition all across the world.

"The benefits of being an evening daily are two-fold. One, the time of our internet edition combines with the morning time for our readers in USA. And two, our printing units are free in the night and are used for doing job printing for ten other newspapers including the Financial Express and three Malayalam newspapers," added Amuthan.

KNP has an overall monthly consumption of 6,000 plates and 175 tons of paper across all its units.  

A man of native intelligence, Amuthan did his MA in journalism in 1983. He belongs to the old school of journalism and believes in providing valuable content to his readers through the evening dailies. He understands local sensibilities of each region that Sanjevani and Dinasudar cater to and stands by the motto that "newspapers are a responsible medium and stand for a secular and vibrant democracy," said Amuthan.

Established in 1962, KNP has been a witness to the technology growth in print. It pioneered news reporting in India by being the first newspaper to buy a Kodak digital camera and made use of wireless network technology for its reporters. Even today, it continues to be a pioneer with Sanjevani being the first newspaper from South India to have an e-version in 1998.

KNP employs a staff of more than 450 direct employees. 


Amuthan: newspapers are a responsible medium and stand for a secular and vibrant democracy