Thoubal and Kakching are two prominent commercial urban hubs in Manipur, ever growing with modern infrastructures and advanced facilities. The two vibrant towns boast of being the home to a host of prominent printing companies, a mixed bag of old & new players, whose production setups are equipped well with cutting-edge printing machines and finishing equipment of diverse formats and technologies for creating and crafting modern signage solutions and more. The traveling bandwagon of Sign & Graphics has roamed around Thoubal and Kakching to interact with some of them who tell their sign-making tales, current challenges, and technologies which they plan to embrace for taking business to the next level.
Siroi Offset Printers, A source of total solutions
As its name suggests, Siroi Offset Printers has been a mark of excellence in traditional offset printing over the last two and a half decades in the printing market of Manipur. Head office in Thoubal with a branch in Imphal, the company works expansively for clients dotted across the length and breadth the state, offering them with newer applications beyond offset. Dr Ningombam Sharatchandra Singh, Proprietor, Siroi Offset Printers, said, “Gone are the days when companies used to engage only in a particular job or activity. Offset still at our heart as a core activity, we have also started engaging in signage or large-format printing. This expansion took place in 2017. Multitasking is the spice of business these days.”
Siroi Offset Printers’ signage division is equipped with a fleet of advanced printing and finishing machines, such as a couple of Gongzheng solvent printers with Spectra printheads, laser engravers (including Manipur’s first stone engraver), CNC routers, and many other allied equipment bought from Mehta Hitech Industries (formerly Mehta Cad Cam). So far, Siroi has completed a number of landmark turnkey projects like aesthetic overhauling of Nupi Keithel shopping complex in Imphal, and many others around Thoubal and beyond. Regular clients from diverse businesses as well as different walks of life from various towns like Wangoo, Sugnoo, and Kakching are common at Siroi Offset Printers.
In the offset division of Siroi Offset Printers, there’s a raft of advanced offset presses including a 4-colour Heidelberg SM and others while a Kodak Achieve Platesetter is equipped in the division’s pre-press section. In this, Dr Sharatchandra stated, “Our overall idea of offering all print solutions produced on offset, commercial, and large-format machines is to fulfill what exactly our clients want to the fullest, which could be either business cards or outdoor hoarding graphics, from a single source without letting them run from one pillar to another for each product.” Dr Sharatchandra is President of TDCCI (Thoubal District Chamber of Commerce & Industry), Thoubal, and Vice President (East), AIFMP (All India Federation of Master Printers), New Delhi.
JK Printers, A regular choice for many
JK Printers in Kakching has carved its position as one of the all-time crowded commercial print shops in the town with constant flow of regular clients from a vast geography. Recalling his hardship days before the establishment of the print shop, Joykumar Singh, Proprietor, JK Printers, narrated, “It all started with my first job as a letterpress compositor at very young age in Kakching. After that during my college days in Shillong in the mid-1980s, I continued working at a reputed printing press in the city. I was paid well. I managed the balance between my academic life and work by choosing the morning shift of college in which all the classes finished by 9 a.m.”
He added, “After all ups and downs, it was in 2018 when JK Printers was launched in Kakching as a single-colour offset printing shop. We started printing invitation cards (barton) in monochrome. Fortunately, we could build up a vast client base within a short span of our inception. Most of the tribal people from the surrounding villages of Kakching became our loyal and regular clients. Many people colloquially call JK Printers a print shop for tribal people. We are happy with the name.”
In addition to commercial printing, JK Printers expanded its activity into digital-large format printing in 2021. “Signage printing was part of our expansion plan. For this, we have tied up with some of the top-notch signage companies in Manipur, such as Fastrack Signages,” informed Joykumar, adding, “So far, we have completed a number of landmark projects like fabrication and implementation of bus shelters on Imphal-Kakching road and others with close collaboration with the organisations like GR Infraprojects.” He said the next-step plan for JK Printers on the technological front is the adoption of high-end engraving machines.
TKN Signage, A locally preferred player
TKN Signage, a popular sign shop in Kakching, is all-time buzzed corner where walk-in customers assure quality. Tiken Konthoujam, Founder, TKN Signage, said, “First thing which we prioritize when we work for our clients is the quality. It’s what we are different from other sign shops in Kakching. Our production facility is equipped with a Gongzheng solvent printer with KM 512i printhead, a laser engraver, and other finishing machines, which we mainly bought from Mehta Cad Cam (now Mehta Hitech Industries). We have another branch of TKN Signage at Pallel town, situated around 10km from Kakching. The branch is designated for our LED-based signage and cut-letter solutions.”
TKN Signage has been in the market over the last 15 years. Over their short span of its existence in the market, the sign shop operating from Kakching and Pallel has roped in a good number of clients who are predominantly walk-in individuals as well as local schools, sporting clubs, etc. According to Tiken, they are now expanding the client base. He added, “As of now, we cover the area which is within the parameter of around 10-20km. We are planning to expand our branches for wider footprints in new towns.”
When asked about the company’s next-level expansion on the technology front, Tiken truly stated that the printing industry has entered into a new era of innovation and uniqueness in outputs. “UV technology is now redefining everything in the industry, whether in the commercial, packaging, and signage printing arenas, with unmatched applications and creativity can be unfolded like anything never done before now. This is where we plan to expand for producing inventive signage solutions.”
KD Printers, A better way to print
KD Printers, a relatively young signage shop in Kakching, is redefining the way sign solutions are made using modern high-end machines and technologies. Young and highly enthusiastic proprietor of the new sign shop, Piken Konthoujam emphasized the fact that ordinariness does not work these days in the signage market. “Earlier, we were part of TKN Signage, which is now fully owned and cared by my elder brother Tiken Konthoujam. When it comes to the newer applications and use of unconventional materials, both the shops still work collaboratively,” he informed.
Established in 2020, KD Printers is backed by a team of half a dozen printing and production staff members to handle projects around Kakching, Pallel, and other surrounding areas. The sign shop’s production facility is equipped with a Gongzheng Solvent Printer and a Vega CO2 Laser Cutting & Engraving Machine from Mehta Hitech Industries (formerly Mehta Cad Cam) as the two key machines, complemented by a line of trimming and finishing systems. Like TKN Signage, KD Printers has another branch at Pallel.
“Nowadays, we primarily focus on cut-letter signs and such solutions. Directional signs, modular display for fascias, name plates, and road signs are what we create with a little creativity and innovation added to them,” mentioned Piken, adding, “All our finished products are manufactured at both the branches. We prioritize on-time delivery of every single finished product which we produce and completion of projects which we handle.” KD Printers works for clients who are based in every nook and cranny of Manipur.
PT Signage, A corner full of innovations
PT Signage is yet another sign shop in Kakching run by a young and enthusiastic proprietor, Raj Mayanglamban. Like many young minds in the industry, Raj believes in use of non-conventional technologies and solutions in sign making. “We work for general clients, not multinational companies or big corporate biggies. However, our clients are quite demanding, highly conscious about quality. That’s why we keep looking for the latest machines and technologies which are trending in the industry, intending to unfold a new revolution of modern signage systems, and impressive with the clients,” he added.
When it comes to counting some of the major clients of PT Signage, the list will include a host of walk-in individuals from Kakching town. Besides them, a number of retail and departmental stores, churches, restaurants, and many others like local organizations and associations are part of the sign shop’s heterogeneous client list. Many of the clients are from other towns and villages. Beyond Kakching, clients swarming at the lobby of PT Signage are from Thoubal, Bishnupur, Tengnoupal, Chandel, Moreh, etc.
A team of seven skilled printing and production staff members is the vitality behind PT Signage’s productivity and creativity. When asked about the sign shop’s next plan, Raj rightly said they keep looking to adopt newer technologies like UV printing to boost print innovations at PT Signage. “There is a big prospect of UV applications in the signage market. This is what we are planning to get into in the near future. After all, we are going to conduct some interactive sessions with our clients to share such new technological developments in the industry,” informed Raj.
Lakhi Flex & Signage, A house full of all prints
Lakhi Flex & Signage in Thoubal is a kind of print shop in the town where customers from all businesses and individuals from different walks of life are commonly thronged. Be it commercial printing for business cards, pamphlets, fliers, booklets or outdoor billboards, this print shop manages everything under the common roof. Prabhakar Thingujam of Lakhi Flex & Signage said they believe in providing their clients with whatever prints and finished products they demand. “With a line of digital colour production presses, we have a separate setup where a Gongzheng solvent printer with KM 512i printhead and others including finishing equipment are installed. We are now planning to upgrade the setup with the additions of newer range of machines of advanced features, technologies, and capabilities,” he informed.
Clientele of Lakhi Flex & Signage is confined in Thoubal. “It has been the trust in our work and end-products we deliver, a number of our clients from different parts of Manipur regularly come to us,” mentioned Prabhakar. “In fact, we are proud of being able to have a vast client base across Manipur,” said Prabhakar. He added that they are now looking forward to boosting machine portfolio as well as the manpower to expand range of applications and a bigger client base in the future. Strongly backed by a team of seven highly-skilled staff members who know the knack of printing and professional sign making at a core level, Lakhi Flex & Signage has been working for clients from different sectors, such as hospitality, food, FMCG, etc. Far beyond Thoubal town, some of the print shop’s regular clients are from Bishnupur, Kakching, Wangjing, Khongjom, etc.
