S. Nandakumar, former Controller of Printing of The Hindu Group , passed away here on Thursday. He was 75.
He served the organisation at different printing centres during a phase in which the technology and techniques of printing were changing rapidly and inexorably.
Nandakumar, a qualified mechanical engineer who joined the organisation in 1965, was involved in the operation in Coimbatore in 1969 when The Hindu, for the first time, started a printing unit outside Madras. A facsimile edition, receiving page images from Madras by means of co-axial cables was set up. In this technical feat of the times, Nandakumar worked under the guidance of G. Kasturi, The Hindu’s Editor who had a keen eye for matters of production as well.
When the second facsimile edition was launched in Bangalore in 1970, Nandakumar was involved as well. He later served in Madurai when The Hindu launched its first offset printing facility in that city, and then in Hyderabad. Indeed, his forte was high-quality offset printing. From 1985, he headed the overall printing operations from Chennai. Mr. Nandakumar led the team that oversaw the introduction of colour in the daily broadsheet editions in 2001.
He was associated with the organisation as a Consultant up until his passing away.
