A cooperative exchange deal will see Manugraph and Seiken share technology and products in their respective markets.

Indian manufacturer Manugraph will sell the Japanese-built Seiken 85, a 4x1 (double-width, single circumference) press in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Gulf, complementing its own 4x1 and single-width presses.

Manugraph managing director Pradeep Shah says the Japanese press will be a product option alongside its own Smartline (70,000 cph) and Dreamline (50,000 cph) designs. "We can now offer our customers world class Japanese technology with a speed of 80,000 cph, providing great versatility to customers with higher print runs."

With their increased productivity combined with the flexibility of four-page pagination increments, 4x1 presses have been popular in India, accounting for a large proportion of the - mostly German and Japanese - presses imported to that market.

Existing Seiken users in India include Tamil daily the Daily Thanthi in South India, which has a 4x1 Seiken 65. Seiken Graphics is also prominent with single gripper conveyor installations, and Manugraph will promote this along with plate punch benders and a super panorama system.

"India being a nation with the largest paid circulation of newspapers in the world and growing, we felt it was necessary to support this segment of larger print runs by adding the Seiken 85 to our portfolio," Shah says.

The agreement also sees Seiken promoting Manugraph single-width presses in Japan, an arrangement Shah says, "expected to complement the growth of both our companies and enhance market capabilities by dual sharing of technology".

Seiken's quality systems include three-roller dampening and long train inking achieved by using a larger diameter roller than on double-circumference presses.