30th June 2014

Courtesy: Asian Printer Online

Heidelberg adds firepower to Kaliswari

One of India’s leading fireworks manufacturers, Sivakasi’s Kaliswari Group has increased its in house print shop’s capabilities with the addition of two solutions from Heidelberg.

The company’s investment sees the addition of a Pro C751 digital press (pictured above) and a Polar N 115 plus cutter. A P Selvarajan, director of Kaliswari Group, say the company values its association with Heidelberg. He says, “We still have the original Heidelberg cylinder presses that were used during early days of operation. The equipment is in perfect working condition even today.

While pyrotechnics forms Kaliswari’s primary business, the company’s umbrella brings together other diverse business verticals, including educational institutions, Transport and Hotels. The in house printing division caters to the labelling and packaging needs of the Group’s own Fireworks business.

The Pro C751 digital printer will cater for the company’s internal applications. M Manoharan, senior manager at Kaliswari Group says, “We use the Heidelberg Pro C 751 mostly for test-printing and sampling specialty paper and boards for packaging purposes. The print matches offset quality. Also, it helps save considerable time and money that we would otherwise spend on outsourcing.”

The printer uses oil-free PxP toner to improve image quality, delivering up to 4800dpi resolution, which he says comes to results achieved with offset printers. The printer can handle paper sizes between 3.94 × 5.51 inches and 13.00 × 19.20 inches. A P Selverajan sees it as the ideal solution for cost-effective production on short runs; it can print up to 75 A4ppm with on stock up to 300gsm. He says, “The Heidelberg Pro C 751 is the latest jewel in our crown. Easy to use, it offers an exceptional range of functions and outstanding print quality.”

The Polar N 115 Plus, a programmable high-speed cutter, has application for cutting paper, cardstock, paper board, and plastic foils. It comes with an 18.5 inch colour display and touch screen operations to avoid errors in programming. It offers short makeready times, largely thanks to its intuitive cutting programmes. Manoharan says, “Life is a lot easier with the Polar N 115 plus. The Polar cutter reduces the time usually spent on labelling and small-sized packaging jobs.”

Heidelberg says the Polar N115 Plus’s patented Direct Positioning System ensures mechanical positioning accuracy of 1/100 mm, offering excellent cutting accuracy. Its nickel-refined, wider machine table helps facilitate easy handling of sheets. The company says that the standard model has extensive features that can boost productivity by up to 20 per cent, adding that print shops can achieve higher productivity by using additional, programmable functions.

Manoharan expects the new equipment to play a crucial role during Diwali season. He says, “Fireworks production usually peaks before Diwali, when its boom time for business. The printing unit operates in all shifts to match packaging with production. The print jobs involve specialised hot- and cold-foil embossing, and die-cut designs to make the packaging of these Pyro products more attractive. Both the press and cutter will come in handy, especially at the time.”