Aditya Digital
Planning for expansion
Suresh Jadhav
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It has been 12 years since Suresh Jadhav first entered into sign making business, and his Aditya Digital is known across the city of Kolhapur for producing stunning display graphics. About the company’s uniqueness in print outputs, he says they maintain everything at a very grass root level, whether it’s selection of media or use of graphic images. “We have a small, but a well controlled production facility where equipped an Allwin system with KM printhead,” says Suresh, adding that a team of three machine operators takes care of everything meticulously, except graphic designing, which he looks after himself.
When it comes to choosing printing media, Suresh says they go only for high-end materials, such as SRF. He however explains that it all depends on the nature of projects they take up, what and how to select the printing media. In some projects, which are for temporary or makeshift applications, Aditya Digital simply uses cheaper materials, helping their clients saving costs. The mention of some of the regular customers of the company may come up as a mix bag containing both local brands and corporate biggies, such as Gokul, Hindustan and more.
Suresh says they are now making the Kolhapur signage market a better place to do business. “We have recently formed an association for all digital wide-format printers and signage makers. Now the members are a few, barely a few dozens, but we are hoping for everyone in the city will join us in future. Main aim of the association is to carry the region’s signage market forward, bringing a stable business, by killing all unproductive and unhealthy competition among us,” he explains. He is director of the association—Kolhapur District Digital Printers Association.
The signage market of Kolhapur, according to Suresh, is now on the verge of expansion, as companies from all over the neighbouring cities and towns rush down to the city for getting their graphic art jobs done affordably. “It’s not just affordability, we sign makers in Kolhapur deliver quality as per the need of our customers, quite satisfactorily,” he remarks. Aditya Digital is planning for machine portfolio expansion. In this, Suresh says they will go for another Allwin printer with KM printhead.
Drawings
In service to diverse clientele
Manish Rajgolkar
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What’s in the name? Of course, there’s something in the name! The name of the company: Drawings, which was founded by Manish Rajgolkar with one of his close friends in 1998, both mechanical engineers, is a sobriquet signifying their professional background. “We have grown from one level to another, facing all ups and downs in the market,” says Manish, recollecting the company’s early days. The first machine with which Drawings kick-started their graphic art activities was a Kodak Encad around 10 years ago; after that the portfolio has been upgrading from one level to another. As of now, the production facility of the company is equipped with a line of high-end machines, which includes Mimaki JV-150-160BS, HP DesignJet Z5400, Graphica cutting plotter, among others.
“We are provider of complete graphics solutions, which include commercial prints, to the sheer demands and requirements of our customers,” says Manish. In this, he says their production facility is equipped with a Konica Minolta bizhubPRESS C224, which specially installed to meet any short of commercial print requirements, such as brochures, pamphlets, visiting cards, etc. This is how Drawings has eventually become a one-stop solution provider for their clients.
Some of the major customers, for whom Drawings has been associated for a long period of time, include Big Bazaar, Reliance Mall, Nagarika Exports, among others. In addition to the corporate biggies, the company is a corner where a host of ad agencies, CAD graphic experts, architecture students and many other graphic art companies in and around Kolhapur come down with their projects. It’s all about quality and efficiency in the outputs of Drawings that pull the crowd.
Sangaonkar Signs
Oldest bastion among all
Siddhesh Sangaonkar
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Siddhesh Sangaonkar, who is now on the helm of Sangaonkar Signs, a leading signage firm in the city, is the third generation in the business. His great grandfather Vijaynath Sangaonkar started the company in the pre-independence era, in 1928, as an artist who drew sign boards and portraits in the city of Kolhapur. It was in the year 1991 the company took a big turn with the adoption of a cutting plotter to enhance the way they make display solutions. “We upgrade our machine portfolio to the need of our clients, which are from different industrial sectors,” says Siddhesh.
Unlike the other signage firms that make signs and handle projects in conventional ways, Sangaonkar Signs has a different and unconventional sign making way. The company is widely known for projects in the in-store domain. The production facility of the company is equipped with CNC router and laser engraving machine, which are seldom among other signage firms in Kolhapur. “We have a team of 20 sign making professionals; we engage in almost all innovative activities, such as LED light box for retail stores,” mentions Siddhesh.
Some of the long-term customers of Sangaonkar Signs, who have been tied up with them for a long period of time in the market are SAMSUNG, Vivo, Airtel, JK Cement, Paragon Chappan, among others. Apart from the projects they handle for their clients in Kolhapur, Sangaonkar Signs is also known to clientele coming from other parts of Maharashtra and beyond. In the client list of the company are a handful of big corporate companies rushing from Mumbai and Goa as well.
Swan Digital
Popular corner for everyone
Dheeraj Samarth
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Situated in the 5th Lane of Shahupuri, Swan Digital is one of the most popular signage corners in Kolhapur and this has been proved with the crowd that gathered at the lobby of the company from morning till late in the evening. Dheeraj Samarth, one of the three partners of the company, says they have been serving for a number of big corporate customers since their inception in the year 2002. With a strong team of eight well-trained sign makers, Swan Digital has closely tied up with ad agencies and outdoor hoarding companies, for them the company provides complete fabrication and installation jobs.
Swan Digital boasts a production facility with two Allwin printers (one with 512 KM printhead, another 1024 KM printhead) and an eco-solvent EPSON SureColor system. The mention of some long-term clients of the company may include MacDonald’s, Reliance Industries, ACC Cement, Ultratech and others. Dheeraj says a number of ad agencies from all over Maharashtra come to them, with big projects to be executed in many parts of the state.
About the future plan, Dheeraj mentions they are planning to expand their production facility with the adoption of a new eco-solvent printer. He adds that the expansion plan has been set with an aim to magnify the region of coverage. “We are now aiming at expanding our footprints aggressively in other cities, such as Goa and Pune,” asserts Dheeraj. Swan Digital is capable to churn 10,000 sq ft a day. This capability and their quality production, according to Dheeraj, will be boosted to a new level after the adoption of new advanced printer.
Global Sign
Complete solutions provider
IK Momin
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stablished in 2008, Global Sign is one of the premier sign makers in Kolhapur, whose production facility is equipped with some high-end machines and printers. The company is known to a number of local customers throughout the city. In addition, according to IK Momin, proprietor of Global Sign, they receive jobs from clients from other parts of Maharashtra and Konkan region. “We believe in serving our clients to come back repeatedly; this is what we are always known for all over the region,” he says.
The production facility of Global Sign is equipped with two Allwin printers with KM printers (solvent and eco-solvent), cutting plotter (Hero) and a GCC laser engraver. Some of the regular customers of the company in the city of Kolhapur, normally hotels and restaurants, include Shroha Café, Red Chilli, Taj Tandoor, among others. IK Momin says they provide their customers anything they require when it comes to printing, whether it could be brochures or visiting cards. For that Global Sign has tied up with some leading offset and digital printers in the city.
“Unlike our earlier days when market was very confined and little scope of expansion we had, nowadays everything is possible with newer technologies and innovative designs, concepts and ideas pouring in across diverse segments in the industry,” says IK Momin, adding that they are now looking forward to opening a new branch in Sangli. He says the new branch will help them, not only taking themselves to a new level, but also playing in some innovative ways to make out-of-box signage solutions.
Monarck Digital
Deep local coverage
Vijay Bidkar
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Footprints of Monarck Digital have deeply traceable in Kolhapur. Owner Vijay Bidkar of the company says their mission is to present only in the city, giving their customers best of service and print outputs. Ever since its establishment in 2002, Monarck Digital keeps expanding its client base, covering new entries from different industrial segments, including those in the corporate domain. “We started from a very scratch level. Our client base was only a list containing just a handful of local walk-in customers,” says Vijay, adding that today they have a handful of corporate customers in their roster.
Monarck Digital has a production facility equipped with an Allwin printer (KM 512 printhead) and a half dozen of sign making professionals who could handle any project on any given date and in any circumstance. “We have the ‘client-first’ policy; our priority is to meet the need of our customers’ need first,” says Vijay, adding that the team of Monarck Digital is ready for any task—right from graphic designing to fabrication, installation and any other jobs required in any signage project.
“We are thinking of something out-of-the-box ideas and technologies to make ourselves standout in the crowd,” says Vijay. He adds eco-solvent and UV technologies are something they keep in mind now for taking up as new marvel for innovations they would like to unearth in near future. In this aspect, Monarck Digital is gearing up to expand its team as well as the client base, which may take beyond the city of Kolhapur.
Ajanta Art
Indoor & outdoor expert
AH Mulla
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AH Mulla is an experienced signage professional in Kolhapur, as he worked and explored the industry for more than two decades. Recalling his early days in the industry he says the signage market has now changed into full automation. “My company started merely as a painting shop. Our activities revolved around making hand-made or hand-painted sign boards,” says AH Mulla, adding that times and trend have changed everything today. He mentions that the advent of new wide-format machines has totally upgraded the way professionals make signage and display systems, from manual to fully machine oriented.
“When it comes to technologies and machines, the first machine we adopted in our workshop was a Graphtech cutting plotter in 1996. After that we have upgraded the facility with new printers and machines that have been replaced as per the requirement in the market,” says AH Mulla, adding that they now own an Allwin system with Spectra Polaris printhead. The company’s major clients come through middle agencies and the client list also includes a number of small sign makers in the city and those who come from other parts of Maharashtra, such as Sangli, Kotha, Ratnagiri, etc.
About the future plan of the company, AH Mulla says they have allocated a new setup, where they used to run a signage making unit earlier. He asserts that they are planning to adopt flatbed printer, CNC router and laser engraver. “LED is also one of the areas which we are planning to explore; this is an area that has not yet been fully explored in the city and we are gearing up to expand to a larger extent,” points out AH Mulla.
Navbharat
Provider of cut-signs and modular displays
Rupesh Jadhav
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A unique engraving and CNC cutting corner in the city of Kolhapur, Navbharat works in a standout way, serving their clients from diverse market segments, apart from signage and display art. Rupesh Jadhav of Navbharat says signage is just a part of their job profile. According to him, their activities involve into diverse domains, such as embossing, sunk foundry lettering and all types of name plates and modular sign systems for office buildings and corporate offices. All the outputs are produced on CNC and laser engraving systems they have installed in their state-of-the-art production facility.
Most of the clients of Navbharat are from local proximities, including jewellery companies and people looking for personal name plates, vehicle number plates, etc. “We can deliver name plates and such items in sizes up to 300x500 mm, with 150 mm in height, not more than this; our focus is to produce small, but innovative display items. This is how we make ourselves different from usual sign making companies/firms,” mentions Rupesh.
Swastik Art
For all kinds of personalised displays
Azaruddin Maner
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Swastik Art is an all-time jammed signage corner in Kolhapur where a crowd of bikers, car owners and others gather around for fancy number plates. The company is just a tiny sign shop where equipped simply a Graphtech CE5000-60 cutting plotter, but a big crowd puller. “Of course, one may see our clients are predominately bikers and four-wheeler owners gathering round the clock,” says Azaruddin Maner of Swastik Art. Products that the company delivers include radium number plates, name plates, radium logos, embossed number plates, LED boards and flex printing.
“For flex printing, we have tied up with some of the leading PSPs in the city. We include flex printing in our task, because we would like to make everything available under one roof,” says Azaruddin, adding that they are planning to introduce a facility where some good flex printers are equipped and capable to churn premium range of graphics for corporate customers. In the client list of Swastik Art are some leading hotels in Kolhapur, for them the signage shop provides anything right from directional modular signage, LED light-boxes and flex through direct or third party arrangement.
Shiv Graphics
Premium name and number plate maker
Kiran
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Shiv Graphics is just a few months old in the Kolhapur signage market, as the proprietor Kiran was earlier working in one of the premier signage firms in the city, and he recently decided to explore the market on his own by opening this popular sign shop. “As of now, I just tie up with some like-minded PSPs in the city to get some helping hands when it comes to flex and vinyl printing, and for name and number plates I have installed a brand new Red Seal plotting cutter, managing everything in-house,” says Kiran.
“In a day, we deliver 20-30 vehicle plates and name plates of all kinds, apart from the orders we regular receive for flex printing,” says Kiran, adding that they are planning for a production plant equipped with some good large-format printers that could deliver integrated signage solutions of all kinds, which can impress or pull big corporate clients from other parts of the state (Maharashtra). With the plan of the new machine adoption, Kiran says manpower magnification is also now in his mind, with which he believes Shiv Graphics will mark its presence wider.
