The epiphany of two printers: Nice and Usha in Bengaluru

The 32,000 sq/ft factory located in Harohalli in Kanakpura where a team of 110 professionals caters to the pharma industry

The 47-year-old print professional, R D Nayak of Nice Prints has a simple mantra: cost-effective, quality folding carton printing along with compliance standards

The Heidelberg Suprasetter CTP system. Earlier Nice outsourced its plate requirements

The older form of plate making continues for selected jobs. All jobs adhere to stringent quality parameters

RD Nayak says, "It is ideal for the work we do, pharma cartons using a wide range of stocks and materials, especially 300 to 350 gsm boards. We have an advanced, automated and productive machine which permits us to produce 150 shades of cut colours”

The five-colour with a coater press, which was installed at the company’s premises is additional to the firm’s existing equipment list

By installing the Bobst Novacut 106, Nice has boosted production capacity for folding cartons

The Novacut which guarantees outstanding die-cut to print register accuracy is backed by a Repetto 65 from Autoprint

Every process at Nice supports the manufacturing process and helps the team achieve compliance. Nayak believes, "Each subsystem has an impact on the others and they all have to work together to consistently produce a quality product"

Specialising in pharmaceutical goods packaging, Nice opted for a Bobst folder-gluer which features a HHS glueing and quality assurance system

The folder-gluer with a HHS glueing system ensures precision with gluing even at the machine’s top running speed

The USP at Nice: Gluing, quality assurance and camera verification system

Autoprint's Finecoat 80 for offline UV jobs. Some pharma companies prefer varnish to UV coated jobs

The traditional punching helps the Nice team when they have to deal with smaller runs and unique box styles

A QC lab with a varnish rub resistance testing machine

Four lines of Pratham which permit up to 12 folds (parallel and cross folds) at high speeds and offer a variety of solutions

The Nice mantras: minimised product variability; enhanced test method accuracy; reduced costs due to deviations and rejections; minimised product loss

Dispatch centre at Nice which is handled by three Mahindra Pick Up vehicles

Pharmaceutical products that shine. Nice offers a portfolio of innovative solutions

Besides being a packaging professional, RD Nayak is a theatre actor and rasik who makes it a point to watch one play a week

The five-storey Usha Prints unit has cemented its diversification into offset printing after acquiring the Heidelberg Anicolor

B H Srinivas entered the print industry at the age of 13 when like India's PM he served tea at a printing press. From those humble origins he has created a brand which is respected

Srinivas with his team, who feel the Anicolor is more capable when it comes to colours because of the anilox rollers, which allows the print job to take more ink where you need to run the colour a bit stronger

The Usha Prints team did a 29 set job in three hours and 30 minutes. That's almost seven minutes per set

Usha Prints has also invested in two Komori presses to help it respond to demand for more short-run commercial print work

The press work at Usha Prints is backed by two CTP systems, a Basysprint CTP kit and the recently installed Kodak platesetter

B H Srinivas who learnt the tricks of the trade while being an apprentice at other print shops ensures systems and mechanisms are in place

Srinivas says, "Ink may not seem the most glamorous weapon in a printer's armoury, but it is after all what turns blank paper into something sellable. This means that inks need special care and attention"

In addition to the offset print unit, Usha Prints is supported by four digital outlets in Bengaluru which is a lean-mean organisation of four to five team members and a production of seven lakh impressions

Usha's rates are in the public domain. The company has a strong relationship with Konica Minolta, plus two devices from Canon, which helped them grow their business

Usha Prints is primed to leverage the print price stalemate in the Bengaluru market with its competitive pricing and zero credit policy