February 2014 | Volume 35 | Issue 2 | Rs 40 Surveywww.pressinstitute.in RINDA Journal of the Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development MADE IN GERMANY FOR THE WORLD An aerial view of the technotrans headquarters in the rural area of Sassenberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which shows the production plants, the techno-centre buildings that house the various offices, and the Global Document Solutions subsidiary (smallest building in picture). technotrans is, with more than 500 employees, one of the biggest employers in the small city that has an approximate population of 14000. High-tech products are manufactured here and sold to the world via an extensive sales and service network. technotans India was set up four years ago (read cover story inside). Top-class quality is our utmost For Indian illustrators, finding a voice priority and it comes at a price: in the newsroom is challenging: technotrans India GM Reuters head of Graphics FROM THE EDITOR A technologist and a graphic designer provide food for thought I had first met Matthew Sunil more than two years ago, in Chennai, when the ‘going green’ concept had really not caught the imagination of the printing industry at large in India. Of course, isolated printers were doing their bit for the environment but that was not enough. It was clear that the onus was on the industry to come up with creative solutions to be efficient and be counted in the expanding world of green printing. Matthew struck me as a man of style and substance and also as a man with a vision to take his company forward. He seemed to be a man in a bit of a hurry, to get his vision implemented quickly on the ground. The occasion was the presentation of the Green Printer Award instituted by technotrans India. The Times of India, Ahmedabad, was the winner, having taken small creative steps in saving energy and reducing paper wastage. The award was perhaps a first of its kind in the country – a printer being honoured for respecting the environment. It was Matthew’s idea of encouraging a corporate citizen who showed it was socially responsible about preserving the environment for future generations. It was also, I thought, a wonderful way to have a celebration for the ‘backroom boys’ in the newspaper industry without whose efforts the daily newspaper would never be produced before dawn. technotrans India, under Matthew’s leadership, has come quite a long way since then. Despite the odds, the team keeps stressing that quality is its topmost priority and that there’s a price to be paid for it. This, I feel, is being disarmingly frank. It will earn the company goodwill and help its growth in the long-run. A couple of other things Matthew said also struck me. One, for any system supplier, efficient service support is the core competence and if you cannot meet customer demand on service requirement, you will fail in the long-term. And two, being an advocate of healthy competition helps you do your homework, understand your strengths and weaknesses, and complement the areas that need attention. Matthew sees his competitors in India as partners in the industry who can together develop the best solutions for the customer. A statesman-like sentiment, one that will stand him and his team in good stead. ********************** Simon Scarr, deputy head of Graphics for Thomson Reuters, was in New Delhi recently. It must be some job because Reuters has about 2800 journalists in 200 bureaus around the world. Simon says it is always rewarding to work very hard on projects you are passionate about and have them appreciated by your peers; it’s also good for the department to be recognised on an international stage for our work. And it is such recognition that Matthew I’m sure understands very well – there are many more entries coming in now for the technotrans Green Printer Award. A pertinent point Simon made was about illustrators and graphic designers working in newspaper offices in India not finding adequate space in the newspaper for their work and lacking the confidence to voice aloud their views in the newsroom. Perhaps this will change once newspapers in India begin to look at information graphics as an important element in news production. It was another point he made that stuck with me for a long time. There should never come a point where you know everything, says Simon. You should constantly learn from your mistakes and also from the work and practices of others. Wish many of us could emulate his example! Sashi Nair [email protected] February 2014 RIND Survey 1 RIND Survey February 2014 | Volume 35 | Issue 2 C o n t e s Scoring well – with technology and services: technotrans shows how 4 2 RIND Survey February 2014 RIND Survey ‘Finding their voice in the newsroom is challenging’: Simon Scarr's views on information graphics in India and much more 18 Next steps in multi-channel publishing 24 Industry Updates 26 Other News 41 Events Calendar 43 Cover page photo: technotrans February 2014 RIND Survey 3 TECHNOTRANS INDIA Scoring well – with technology and services ‘Crisper, brighter, fresher print’ is the insistent demand of newspaper readers the world over, and the Indian consumer is second to none in this respect. In India, as elsewhere, the challenges printers face include maintaining a consistently high level of quality, creating a larger window of press operation, reducing operating costs by investing in products with long lifespans, cutting down on maintenance costs, minimising press downtime and also reducing environmental impact. To fulfi ll this tall order, the print media in the country has been consistently upgrading and acquiring cutting-edge technology. Susan Philip describes how technotrans, a company which says its thinking is determined by its customers, is quietly making a mark in the Indian print industry with its technical know-how and excellent service support chieving the right mix of ink and water is among the most crucial factors that contribute to the look of the newspaper. Proper ink-water balance improves the quality of the newspaper Aand technological innovations have permitted great strides to be made in this fi eld. One such innovation is the spray bar. Spray dampening units are an important part of web offset printing presses and have a strong impact on the quality of the printing result. The spray bar system consists of the nozzle ray, shielding, drip tray and bracket. Spray bars are contact- free dampening units – the dampening solution circulates in a closed loop and so is protected from the environment, giving no room for contamination and needing less cooling capacity and therefore less power consumption. Photos: technotrans/Sakal The spray bar system A view of the spray bar system from technotrans installed at the Sakal plant in Pune. from technotrans, popular 4 RIND Survey February 2014 applications, a complete system is created to optimise the functionality of the dampening units. The circulators ensure consistent and reproducible conditions. This allows printing under stable conditions and at a consistent quality. A wide range of confi guration options are also available. Apart from quality, economic and ecological concerns also weigh with the decision-makers in media houses, and technotrans scores on both these too. The Venturi-Cap To meet the rising demands of contemporary production, deltaspray spray bars operate with a unique nozzle cleaning concept – the Venturi Cap. Sophisticated structures within the cap generate the Venturi Effect. By using basic physics, negative pressure is created. The need for expensive The Gama chiller tank used for the spray dampening system used in the same plant. compressed air is eliminated. Clean air is taken in through a fi lter in the bar and circulated around the with international newspaper houses, has been nozzle. This ensures that it stays free from dirt and widely accepted by the print media in India as well. ink particles. The Germany-headquartered company’s product The unique nozzle-cleaning concept does not helps newspapers achieve faster ink-water balance need additional power supply and reliably prevents and thus produce quality saleable copies with the nozzles from clogging. This maximises machine minimum wastage. The innovative and reliable availability and clearly cuts down maintenance and technology of the modular deltaspray helps printers downtime. achieve consistent printing quality and high process Also, the service life of each nozzle is greatly stability. It offers more fl exibility with zone control increased, and press availability and productivity are when compared to other systems. The individual actively improved. nozzles (zones) allow water adjustments to be made as needed. Explaining the advantages of the spray bar, Matthew S.T. Sunil, general manager of technotrans India, says zonal control of the spray bars gives maximum control on the quality. Each spray nozzle and automatic shutter can be individually activated, allowing great fl exibility of the system confi guration, and this gives full control over the spray patterns and dampening – independent of paper widths. Also, reproducible water curves maintain consistent quality for repeat jobs and advertisements. Signifi cantly, one system fi ts all. It is suitable for all inks – heatset, coldset and UV. All spray bar parts are interchangeable throughout the press. Together with a specially designed dampening solution circulator for newspaper printing A screen shot of the control system for the dampening process. 6 RIND Survey February 2014 technotrans India, points out. Spray bar systems use minimal water, so the precious resource is saved – costs are reduced and the environment is protected as well. Also, since the spray bar systems are less service intensive, a saving on both time and maintenance costs results.