Prestige printing

Continuing their winning run in quality printing is JAK Printers Private Limited, picking up three first and second positions each, and two third positions in different categories (print finishing, offset printing, single and two color) at the National Awards for Excellence in Printing, 2003. JAK’s tally made it the second highest award winner at the awards held in Bombay in February. At last year’s awards in Madras, JAK had been the third highest award winner in the small, medium and big (combined) group.

While their single maiden entry in the 51st International Calendar show (the world’s biggest calendar show) in 2001 in Stuttgart, Germany had fetched partners Khushru Patel and Aspi Forbes a silver award (the first of its kind for any printing company in India), JAK won the bronze award at Kalenderschau 2002 in the same city. At the Asia Calendar Show 2002 in Bombay, JAK picked up gold, silver and bronze awards, according to their fact file.

"JAK Printers has come to occupy the third place among the most successful printing units of the past few years, though it is one of the smallest printing units in the competition,” (with just one four-color offset printing machine in addition to its two single-color printing machines, while others have up to 10 multi-color machines), notes the April 2003 issue of PRINTCOM INDIA, the "independent quality magazine for print production, digital publishing and packaging,” published in cooperation with Deutscher Drucker, Germany.

In his article on JAK Printers, international writer Kurt Wolf states: "We paid a visit to JAK Printers in the industrial area in Worli and talked to the owners Patel and Forbes. We asked... whether it pays in any way to take part in such competitions...’ Patel replied: ‘Awards earned at competitions are a symbolic reminder for us that we are on the right track with our strategy of producing with great care, with the objective of achieving just the best possible quality... The awards... stand for the reassurance from the competent and impartial award organizers that we could deliver the highest level of quality. And what better way can we ever ask for to win over customers!’”

From left: Meher and Khushru Patel with national awards in Madras; Jeroo and Aspi Forbes receiving international award in Germany

"Although JAK’s prices are considered ‘high’ in India, they are in fact low enough to be attractive, when we compare international prices,” Wolf writes. "‘The big publishing houses in India which have been getting their jobs printed in Singapore for quite some time now, are getting more and more of their books printed here in India in the last couple of years,’ explains Patel. ‘We are one of the three printing houses, which print these high-quality books now in India, because we are cheaper than Singapore, while our quality is equally good.’”

JAK Printers also specialize in the printing of credit cards, the article notes. High quality labels for multinational companies, exclusive writing stationery, fashion magazines having high-gloss print quality, calendars, photo and art books, catalogs, etc make up the bulk of the turnover, but the partners take up small value orders like visiting cards too.

Constrained for space in their present premises, JAK Printers will soon be shifting into new, bigger premises at Byculla. A reliable digital proof and a CtP typesetter will be installed and the present speed master 72 will be joined by a speed master 102 S, so as to enable the doubling of the printing format and to speed up the printing.