New Delhi’s Rahul Print O Pack opts for its second Heidelberg

According to Ajay Soni of Rahul Print O Pack, the company decided to opt for another Heidelberg kit to meet its increased demand. “With a single Heidelberg machine, we were converting around 100 tonnes of paper per month. Now, we are converting more than 200 tonnes of paper monthly in our 24x7 operation,” Soni said.

He added that opting for the second Heidelberg was an easy decision as the company has the experience of working with the press for the last three years. “We have printed more than 14-crore sheets on our first press and more than three crore sheets on the second one. We have seen a 100% growth after getting the new Heidelberg,” he said.

Soni started his career with freelancing jobs in the 1990s. In 2007, he established a finishing/ binding unit offering services in books and commercial jobs, called Rahul Print O Pack, named after his son. In 2010, he invested in real estate and in 2013, constructed a multi-floor facility comprising 15,000-sqft constructed area.

The real turning point, however, came in 2018, when Soni finally decided to invest in the Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 four- colour sheetfed offset printing press along with the Heidelberg Suprasetter thermal CTP. He said, investing in the first Heidelberg was a big leap since until then the company used to outsource its production, except post- press.

And he settled down on Heidelberg because until then all its outsourced jobs were printed on the German machine. “It was our first choice from day one,” he said. “Heidelberg is best for consistent quality. Plus, it helps us differentiate, as the segment is dominated by Japanese players.”

In the first year after the installation, Rahul printed around 55-million impressions while the global average for Heidelberg customers is 20-million impressions per annum. “I’m in the business for the last two decades but I have been dependent on outsourcing. I have found that on-time delivery, client servicing and quality production are the keys to sustain and grow in the market,” Soni had told PrintWeek in 2019.

Among others, Rahul Print O Pack specialises in short-run books. “The run length of 75% of our jobs varies between 3,000 and 7,000 copies,” he says. Working in a 12-hour shift, Rahul converts around 2,000-tonnes of paper and board per annum. Soni says, “We have produced up to 1,46,000 sheets in a 12-hour shift. It is our maximum print production in a single shift.”