Poised to move beyond the survival mode it found itself in, running single-colour Swift and Grafica presses, Progressive Printing Press’ owner and managing director Asgar Sanchawala in an interaction at his plant in Surat, said, he began a new era in four-colour offset printing. To usher in this new era, Progressive Printing Press installed a used Komori Sprint 425 and a Polar cutting machine in 1998, that made significant changes in the fortunes of the company.
“With the four-colour press we could produce more and offer our clients what they exactly wanted, quick delivery and quality,” said Sanchawala. The company earlier used single-colour presses for producing four-colour jobs.
Established in 1965 by Sanchawala’s father, late Hussain Sanchawala, Progresssive began with a letterpress. But with investments in later years and till recently, the company is today growing at a rate of 25%, a turnover of over Rs 16-crore and one of the premier printer in South Gujarat.
Following the installation of its first four-colour press (though it was the second four-colour press in Surat, it eventually became one because after the Solna installed by another company was sold and installed out of the Surat), Progressive installed a raft of four-colour presses and today has as many as six four-colour and one six-colour plus coater plus intradeck press, all used machinery.
The company though has recently installed a brand new Screen Platerite 8600, the twenty-first Screen platesetter in India, which can fire 32 plates per hour, claimed Sanchawala. “We were also the first in Surat to install a CTP, way back in 2006,” he said.
Besides commercial jobs like brochures, fashion books, catalogues, Progressive also produces self-adhesive labels and packaging boxes.
CTP technology has created a faultless combination of the entire design process from concept through development and on to production. “Enhanced quality because of first-generation dot placed on the plate results in registration and dot geometry on each plate and on the final printed is clearly improved and noticeable,” said Sanchawala.
CTP is just one of the many technology enhancements at Progressive. “We have been moving with times and we will continue to do that,” said Sanchawala, while declaring that he has installed a colour proofing software, few have in India and implemented ISO standards for colour proofing and printing. “
Besides, the kit for pre-press and press, Progressive's post-press equipment include lamination, UV, hot foil, stamping, punching, pasting, folding and Welbound single-clamp binding machine.
It has also installed a Konica Minolta C8000 press, to cater to short-run demands from the textile industry.
Progressive is housed in a 50,000 sq/ft plant, which employs 110 persons.
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