Ronald launches SpectraForge for short-run book printing

Speaking on the launch, Adithya Gupta, director, Ronald Web Offset, said, “The publishing market today is moving rapidly towards shorter runs, faster delivery, and minimal inventory. SpectraForge has been developed keeping these exact requirements in mind — high speed, consistent quality, and cost efficiency for short-run books.”

Ronald Web Offset has already installed SpectraForge machines at three customer locations — Milan Enterprise, CTP Dot Com and NKN PRINTS demonstrating early market acceptance of the solution. These installations validate the machine’s suitability for print-on-demand (POD) and short-run book applications where turnaround time, less space and operating costs are critical.

(l-t) Vikas Verma & Adithya Gupta of Ronald with Navin Bansal of NKN

SpectraForge is a sheetfed digital inkjet press that prints directly from digital files, eliminating the need for plates, lengthy makeready, and heavy manpower typically associated with offset printing. According to Gupta, the press is capable of delivering up to 100, A3 pages per minute, with resolutions reaching 600×800 dpi with advance profiling options, producing sharp text, smooth gradients, and HD-like grayscale and colour output.

Sushil Mittal of CTP dotcom

The machine’s workflow begins with digital file input, followed by high-precision inkjet deposition using industrial-grade piezoelectric printheads. Sheets are fed via a suction-based separation like sheetfed offset system, ensuring accurate registration throughout the print run. One of SpectraForge’s standout features is its gathered output, where printed sheets are stacked in book form, significantly reducing downstream handling. The optional staggered stacking feature helps operators easily identify job separation, streamlining, binding and finishing.

As detailed in the brochure, SpectraForge is built on several independently developed control systems, including motion control, ink supply control, and nozzle control boards. These ensure stable ink circulation, prevent streaking or banding, and allow single-pass variable dot printing, enhancing print quality and consistency.

The press supports a wide range of substrates, such as wood-free paper, newsprint, inkjet-coated paper, carbon-free paper, and wove papers, with grammage support from 50 to 200-gsm for single-sided and 70 to 120-gsm for duplex printing. With an input capacity of up to 4,000 sheets approximately and output stacking of 4,170 sheets, the machine is engineered for continuous production.

SpectraForge offers several advantages that make it particularly attractive for short-run book printers: These include high image quality suitable for books, manuals, and educational content; short turnaround times due to plate-less operation; cost efficiency for low volumes; variable data printing, enabling personalisation and versioning; reduced waste and minimal makeready; energy efficiency, with low power consumption compared to conventional presses; and compact footprint, requiring approximately 20×10-ft of floor space.

In addition to SpectraForge, Ronald Web Offset also offers the DigiGraf roll-fed digital inkjet printing machine, capable of delivering output in roll, sheet, or folded formats, giving customers flexibility to scale production based on application needs.

With SpectraForge, Ronald Web Offset has positioned itself strongly in the evolving digital print ecosystem. As publishers, educational institutions, and content creators increasingly demand faster delivery, lower inventory, and economical short-run production, SpectraForge is poised to become a strategic asset for modern book printers across India.