The Zeitgeist at the Burda Druck factory

Located in Greater Noida, the Burda Druck India book factory is going flat out 24x7. The mantra is: Competitive pricing, quality of printing and meeting delivery timeliness with strict schedules

The factory can convert upwards of 35000 tonnes of paper. Other than textbook orders, the Burda team also services 60 international and 18 domestic magazines

The pre-press set-up is impressive with more than 100 employees with aequired standards like calibrated monitors with ICC profiles

A standard illumination table for proof visualisation, international colour profiles for offset and gravure printing are used for pre-press services

Production is capable of excess of 20 crore books including the online bound products

Rotogravure printing at Burda: This is an intaglio technique, where the image to be printed is made up of small depressions in the surface of the printing cylinder

Rotogravure printing at Burda: The cells are filled with ink and the excess is scraped off the surface with a doctor blade, then a rubber-covered roller presses paper onto the surface of the plate and into contact with the ink in the cells. The rotogravure printing cylinders are usually made from copper and may be produced by digital engraving or laser etching

Burda has a signature of 92 pages (A4) because of the gravure machines, which they have. This would normally be 16 pages on a regular offset press. A signature of 92 pages reduces the total number of signatures in a book from the regular.

The processes are robust and are backed by high-end servers backed up by risk management system, dedicated lease lines, high resolution scanners and standardised proofers

Unlike other textbook printers in India, Burda has deployed its 2.45m publication gravure printing kit to print on maplitho paper.

The rotogravure presses at Burda have the capability to print at high speeds premium quality variants such as catalogues, books, annual reports, journals and other outputs of virtually any size

High printing speed up to 40,000 copies per hour can be achieved

The capability to print on 2.45m wide web, using a paper as light as 36gsm, high printing speeds, lower web tension requirements

A state-of-the-art engineering setup uses free cooling system, solvent recovery and recycling system

Today Burda Druck India stands as one of the largest global textbook printer with its customer base spread across the world. This depends on a superb automated workflow

One of the presses at Burda can print, saddle stitch and finish online 96 pages (A4) with self-cover (same inner and cover paper) at the same speed, providing a swift delivery time

With less tension, rotogravure presses can run a lighter and less expensive paper reducing costs. Rotogravure can print on coated and super-calendered paper that is lighter than 39gsm

Rotogravure colour is generally deeper and richer than offset, because more ink can be applied to an area than with offset. The maximum density of offset ink is about 260% for the four colours – cyan, magenta, yellow, and black – combined, while rotogravure can theoretically have a maximum density of 400%

The gravure production line is backed by a Kolbus Publica KM412B binder which can produce two-up up textbooks, along with a slitting unit and two three knife trimmers

The Kolbus Publica KM412B binder - has been differently designed by Kolbus.

The Kolbus has a clamp size of 510mm which can take two-up textbooks, coupled with a slitting unit and two three knife trimmers

In spite of a PUR unit, none of the textbooks are bound with PUR presently. Although Burda India has produced a few books for the Ghana textbook market with PUR glue

Super Warehouse: Burda has the logistics support to stock the books. This has become a requirement for any textbook printer vis a vis the handling of material

Well stocked: Burda converts upward of 35000 tonnes of paper this year and hopes to manufacture in excess of 20 crore books

Significant advances in paletising systems have enabled Burda to keep pace with its gravure press and Kolbus line

The processes are robust and are backed by high-end servers backed up by risk management system, dedicated lease lines, high resolution scanners and standardised proofers - to the final despatch

VIPs at the Burda Druck India unit. The company expects to achieve a turnover in excess of Rs 250 crore

B S Shesh, CEO of Burda Druck: We are into one of our busiest periods of production where our facility is going flat out 24x7 to service the huge number of orders we have in hand. None none of us can afford to be away even for a short holiday

Burda Druck India was set up as a joint venture between HT Media limited and Burda Druck GmbH, Germany and was named HT Burda Media. However in October 2013 Burda Druck GmbH, Germany purchased the entire shareholding of HT Media in the joint venture