Kalim: A tribute to an unsung hero

Kalim Iftikar Shaikh, one of the proprietors at M K Stationery and Printer in Parel, Mumbai, loves his job at the press. Kalim, who works on a semi-automatic cutting machine and has working knowledge on the binding machine, undertakes multiple jobs including binding the registers.

When Kalim begins his work at the press, the people who visit the press are astonished seeing him pull the handle of the cutting machine at the press. That's because Kalim is visually impaired; and a perfecti

23 Dec 2015 | By PrintWeek India

In January 1984, Kalim got a license for the press and started working at MK Stationery, which later became MK Stationery Printing Press. The firm has been undertaking jobs from State Bank of India (SBI), as a registered contractor on the tender basis

(l) Ibraar, the younger brother of Kalim, said, “In the printing industry, there are very few persons with visual impairment and I am proud of what Kalim is today.”

Ibraar, who looks after overall work at the press, says, “No one looks at the rate at which the loan is given by the bank. There is no financial support from the customers and the bank. There should be a system made by the government and should be followed by all.”

Sarfaraaz, handling all the packing work at the press, said, “Print is the same as it was in 1997, the rate and cost of margin in print industry has come down. There is a growth in IT, mobile and other digital mediums and this has only made our working process smoother, but the rate of returns has become very thin. There are clients who still want to execute work at old rates.”

In 1997, Kalim with his family’s assistance bought a new single-colour offset, black and white printing machine at the cost of Rs 4-lakh. The size of the mini offset press is 14x18inch

Iftikar, owner of M K press and father of Kalim had taken loan from the BEST, Co-operative Society and bought the Tader machine and later the cutting machine was purchased. All the accounts are handled by Kalim and at the end of every month, the amount is distributed within the family

Kalim, said, “With the semi-automatic cutting machine, I am able to work and cut the same amount of material which is being cut at other printing presses.”

Annually, M K Stationery and Printer has paper requirements of 10 metric tonnes and Gala Paper Mart and Reliable Paper Mart, Girgaon, are the supplier of paper to the press

(r) Kalim shared, “The quality of the paper is the same, but the cost of the paper has risen by 20% as compared to past 15 years. If we speak of one change in the printing industry, the thinking should be changed in offset printing.”