December 10, 2007 - BERKELEY, Calif. — As the printing industry becomes even more sophisticated and computerized, small commercial printers are taking advantage of the financial gains in these advancements. A 10-employee print shop called Krishna Digital that serves the San Francisco area is getting ready to launch a new website as a way to create a center of attention.
"Our old website was pretty much for informational purposes only," said Rajiv Rai, director of sales and operations. "The new site will provide a sales tool designed to bring us into the world of online printing."
Incorporating Internet-enabled printing into its business processes was made possible by the installation of a Mitsubishi Diamond 1000LS sheetfed press.
"We are very excited about being a Mitsubishi printer in this fast, online environment," Rai said.
Family-run since its inception in 1975, the firm started as a quick print operation. The shop began adding new equipment, offering more diverse services and stressing quality.
"The company slowly made the transition from quick printing, copying and prepress services," Rai (whose parents launched the family business) said. "We operated a direct imaging press from 1997 through 2006. In 2006, we bought a used Mitsubishi 1F press to expand into the 28-inch format and improve our print quality. The older press prints exceptionally well, but we decided to buy the brand-new press because it would provide a higher degree of automation and faster job changeovers."
With four printing units and an aqueous coater, the 20 x 28-inch Diamond 1000LS enables Krishna Digital to fulfill a wide range of short-run to medium-run general commercial projects, according to Rai.
"We print anything from small-run postcards to thousands of newsletters and posters," he said. "All the automation on the press gives us the flexibility to go from different sheet sizes to different finishes. For example, sometimes between three jobs, we have to change over coatings twice. The functionality of the press is such that everything is accomplished extremely fast."
Krishna Digital is used to a fast-flowing environment. The firm operates an Agfa :Acento four-up thermal platesetter with automated loading and stacking and EFI workflow software to keep prepress production moving effortlessly.
While the web-to-print storefront will significantly alter the way Krishna Digital communicates and delivers its services, Rai noted that online customers can look forward to the same quality and attention to detail expected by walk-in customers.
"We use the same equipment and methods for every job, just a different protocol for receiving the artwork," he said. "Nothing will change on the printing side. End products will retain the accuracy and detail of the original documents."
The biggest change for the business as a whole is Krishna Digital's ability to grow beyond short quick printing, thanks to the Diamond 1000LS press.
"We have already seen a substantial jump in larger, full-color projects," Rai said. "Customers that didn't ordinarily think of us when they were looking to have commercial jobs offset-printed are sending us work now. We have a better pricing point because we don't have to spend so much time on makeready. That is very attractive to print buyers who want the higher quality of conventional offset at a price that approaches the cost of digital."
Krishna Digital is putting the finishing touches on the programming for its new website, which the company plans to launch in January 2008. It will have the URL www.krishnadigital.com.