Sussex, Wisconsin, USA – QuadTech today announced that Indian publishing house Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd, one of the leading media groups in India, has purchased a suite of QuadTech print quality control solutions: the ICON™ Integrated Platform, Register Guidance with MultiCam® and Ribbon Control with MultiCam®.  

With installation already completed at the company’s headquarters in Kottayam, Kerala, the QuadTech solutions are expected to significantly reduce makeready times, minimize errors and reduce waste. By the end of 2017, the phased installation will deploy QuadTech automation on 42 towers on 11 presses, across 7 different locations.

Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd is best known for producing one of the largest regional newspapers in India, the Malayala Manorama newspaper – Kerala’s largest circulating newspaper, third largest in India – with a daily circulation of 2.35 million copies.

“At Malayala Manorama, we are renowned for our emphasis on quality and recognized for delivering superior publications. As such, it’s vital that we continue to implement systems that safeguard our reputation and guarantee high quality print, while also ensuring our operations are as productive as possible,” commented Mr. P K Philip, Vice President of Works, Malayala Manorama. “With QuadTech’s integrated control systems, we can maintain the level of print quality our customers expect, improve reliability and reduce waste. In addition, QuadTech’s excellent support team is already implementing a smooth installation process.”

In addition to the Malayala Manorama newspaper, the award-winning company also produces nationally and internationally recognized magazines such as THE WEEK, Vanitha, Year Books, National Geographic Kids, Smart Life, Watchtime India, Living Etc and Disney Princesses, is the broadcaster for television news channel MMTV and MAZHAVIL MANORAMA entertainment channel and broadcasts FM radio programme Radio Mango from four different centers. Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd has 11 solely-owned print locations and 8 outsourced print locations in India and abroad.

Although print newspaper distribution has declined around the world, the industry is still growing in India due to increasing literacy rates which drive demand for regional-language media throughout the country. Newspapers are a source of news and entertainment, and are essential in providing education and empowering political participation. Despite the growing readership, the cover price of Indian newspapers tends to be very low, in order to remain affordable for a large proportion of the population, while reduced advertising revenue following the recent demonetization crisis is challenging profitability across the industry. Therefore, it is imperative that new print technologies improve efficiency and lead times to meet demand for the news, while reducing waste and keeping overheads low as the market evolves.

Superb streamlining 

The QuadTech® ICON™ platform is a single, central station that can integrate with existing software and is designed for optimal efficiency. Operators can quickly recall and apply stored job setup data, delivering savings in terms of equipment setup time, labor and materials. ICON offers outstanding flexibility and ROI; as more products become ICON-compliant, operators can integrate each new press control system cost-effectively, without the need to invest in stand-alone Operator Control Stations.

Register Guidance with MultiCam is a closed-loop color-to-color register control system designed to integrate with other QuadTech products, including the Ribbon Control system, on the ICON platform. MultiCam is the world’s best-selling register camera, with over 15,000 installed worldwide.

Ribbon Control with MultiCam minimizes waste by making automatic angle-bar adjustments during startup – before ink even becomes visible. It resides on the ICON platform, which allows all QuadTech press control systems to share a single, user-friendly interface.

“Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd is one of the most highly regarded newspaper printers in India, so it’s a great endorsement for our technology that they are installing QuadTech systems across the territory,” commented Vinodhkumar Balakrishnan, Area Sales Manager for South East Asia and Korea, QuadTech. “Waste management and automated color control is an important factor in the newspaper industry’s efficiency and cost considerations. As such, the QuadTech ICON platform provides a fully-integrated quality control system that delivers valuable competitive and profit driving benefits, as well as being a fully flexible platform that can accommodate future product upgrades and enhancements.”