Heidelberg India for long has been known for its commitment of fostering the Indian Printing Industry by means of training, education and  consultation. Two years ago, Heidelberg India’s Print Media Academy (PMA) amongst many initiatives came up with an idea of training the operators of print-shops. This idea materialized into what is now popularly called as the ‘Operator Development Program’ (ODP). Ever since, PMA India has been conducting an ODP annually and this year marks the competition of the fourth consecutive ODP.

ODP is a customized one-month long training program exclusively designed for operators and is conducted at PMA in Chennai. The training program is fully sponsored by Heidelberg India, including the lodging arrangements of the participants. The participants are trained and exposed via elaborate sessions on various printing subjects including fundamentals of colour and reproduction techniques, press standardization as per ISO 12647-2 norms, material standardization, print finishing & conversion, and IT application and so on. The participants also undergo hands-on training on Heidelberg Suprasetter CtP, Speedmaster SM 74 press, Polar 115 X cutter and Stahlfolder KHC 78 folding equipment.

This year, operators from various locations including Kolkata, Bangalore, Mumbai, Goa and Meerut participated in ODP. Prof. Rajendra Kumar Anayath, Head – PMA India, says, “ODP-s are just getting better and better every passing year. The fourth Operator Development Program (ODP) was a grand success with excellent support from our fellow printers. We designed the program in such a way that the operators could grasp the technology behind each vital division of the print production chain i.e., Prepress, Press and Postpress, in detail. Just like previous ODP-s, we were successful in striking the right balance between practical and theoretical sessions”.

Dr.Rajendrakumar Anayath, Head – PMA (right) handing over the course certificate to an ODP participant

Mahendran from Shree Maruthi Printers, Coimbatore – one of the participants of the fourth ODP, says, “Even though I have worked in the shop-floor as a press operator for more than a decade, this training program was an eye-opener for me. We have been provided excellent knowledge across prepress, press and postpress. Right from job planning to finishing, we have gained excellent information”.

Prof. Rajendrakumar Anayath adds, “We trained fourteen operators this year and besides regular subjects, we included a special course on print colour management which gives in-depth understanding of colour separation, prepress techniques, preflight checking and proofing methods.”

“We have acquired practical knowledge of different subjects such as Ink-water balance, colour management, press maintenance, safety procedures, Ink application for commercial and packaging printing and so on. Training on ‘print color management’, in particular, was very useful. We gained knowledge on how to enhance the data in prepress stage itself, which saves time during printing”, expresses Shashidhara from Mangala Art Printers, Bangalore – another ODP participant.

The participants also had a chance to visit some local commercial and packaging industries in and around Chennai and enjoyed the local sight-seeing trips which were arranged during the weekends. At the end of the program, the participants felt more informed and equipped to improve the production capabilities of their respective print-shops. Heidelberg India wished them well and bid farewell gifting them some more print literature to study back home.