Asian Print Awards Winners announced in this issue by Print Innovation Asia

Print INNOVATION

Asia

Magazine

Printing, Packaging and Publishing Industries across Asia Pacific since 1985 Issue 7 2021

Enter the dawn of a new era, the next revolution in print has arrived. Join us at our launch event as we unveil the pride of Fujifilm’s relentless pursuit of innovation: The Revoria Press™ Series. Engage with the industry’s most brilliant minds and discover how you can harness digital print to deliver business impact beyond what you thought was imaginable.

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Asian PrintAwards 2021 th

PACKAGING EXCELLENCE AWARDS: 2021

_018 022 Contents Page 4

The EFI Roadmap to Asia Pacific Growth

Fujifilm’s Versant 3100i Press wins prestigious award

DKSH Paves the Way to Packaging Sustainability

in Asia

Transactional printer discovers production efficiency,

turnaround time improvements, and new business

opportunities 26

Digital direct-to-garment, capabilities for on-demand

production 28

Inkjet Printing Enhances the Value of

Corrugated Packaging

COVID-19 - anti-counterfeiting, brand protection

and security packaging

State-of-the-art Zhejiang printer promoting

smart factory

New Speedmaster CX 104 underlines technology

leadership of Heidelberg

Miraclon continues to expand the boundaries

of flexo with PureFlexo Printing

44-75 The Asian Print Awards winners announced

Issue 6 2021

Print INNOVATION

Asia Magazine

Published by Asian Print Awards Management Pte Ltd 65 Chulia Street #46-23 OCBC Centre 049513 Singapore Print Innovation Asia Labels and Packaging Innovation Asia Asian Print Awards Packageing Excellence Awards Label and Packaging Conferences Publisher Paul Callaghan paul@printinnovationasia.com Editorial Elizabeth Liew elizabeth@printinnovationasia.com Editor Sha Jumari sha@printinnovationasia.com Packaging Sales Elizabeth Liew elizabeth@printinnovationasia.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

The EFI Roadm Asia Pacific Gro EFI highlights its commitment to growing the Asia Pacific region with a game plan and an expanded product portfolio suited for its needs. By Sha Jumari. As vaccine rollouts proliferate in 2021, economies are starting to recover and open up - including the print industry in Asia Pacific. “In 2020, we did better in some markets than others because COVID-19 was in different stages in each country. Overall, the net effect is that we started to see recovery in Asia Pacific in 2020, relative to what we were expecting. In particular the areas of strength were Australia and China, and that’s expected to continue in 2021,” said Rodd Harrison, vice president of sales for Asia Pacific. One of the key growth drivers in Australia can be credited to the increasing onshoring of work, jobs that would have otherwise been outsourced to China had to be produced locally.

New product rollouts EFI made a series of new launches in 2020 and 2021, all of which will soon be available for sale in the Asia Pacific region. Some of the ground breaking solutions include the VUTEk XT, a super high speed, superwide-format inkjet hybrid device, the VUTEk Q series, EFI’s fastest roll-to-roll printer yet, and the Pro 30h, an entry-level production hybrid flatbed/roll printer. “We're very focused on bringing the latest generations of our technology to the existing market. We've completely revamped our technology platforms in the display graphics space,” said Harrison. The VUTEk XT The VUTEk XT hybrid printer is EFI’s new breakthrough solution in

its superwide family. The machine has the highest throughput in the VUTEk product line, exceeding 375 boards per hour, nearly twice the throughput of its predecessor, the VUTEk HS125 F4 printer. “The VUTEk XT is a super high speed hybrid, which fits into that space of producing high end display graphics and backlit work for multiple applications. The list of new technologies designed into this production solution is vast, from full magnetic linear drives, the latest high resolution writing systems, incredibly powerful yet flexible modular vacuum belt systems, to full pallet to pallet automation, and even robotics,” said Harrison. The new XT model utilises the CP5G ink system which boasts complete ink

“There's been a lot less offshoring of work in Australia with some people running at peak volumes even during COVID,” Harrison explained. “The Australian economy is improving with some consolidation happening. Some smaller businesses are shutting down and other bigger businesses are consolidating and taking in more work.” “China is also on an upturn, because the country has largely got Covid-19 under control and has started recovery, particularly in the domestic economy. We’ve always had very loyal customers in China, with a strong base of over 200 installs,” said Harrison.

The VUTEk XT hybrid printer

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

map to owth VUTEk Q5r

circulation, superior dot placement, 5-picoliter drops and grayscale imaging. Compared to other display graphics inkjet printers, CP5G provides a significant economic advantage of increased quality and speed with better ink yield. The VUTEk XT utilises the next-generation of hybrid architecture for EFI’s LED UV pin-and-cure technology, which sets the standards at high production speeds.

The VUTEk Q series The superwide-format Q series – which is making its debut at APPPExpo in Shanghai on July 21-24 is EFI’s fastest, most productive roll-to-roll display graphics printer ever released. The new EFI VUTEk Q3r and Q5r can accomplish a wide range of challenging, high-volume applications, with premium features such as multi-layer white and in-line finishing, collection, and auto backlit and blockout options so customers can now achieve a low total cost of operation, at previously unforeseen speeds. “The Q series is all about horsepower. We already have the VUTEk 5r+, and the Q series is significantly faster at better quality while achieving the same efficiencies,” Harrison explained. The 5-metre-wide VUTEk Q5r printer runs at speeds up to 672 square metres per hour, and the 3.5-metre-wide VUTEk Q3r model prints up to 558 square metres per hour. “This is really attractive to businesses that need that burst capacity, instead of running three shifts, they can complete the same volume of work in two shifts or even one shift. It’s fantastic value for the money, and customers have been amazed by the industrial build

quality and the output quality/speed combination” said Harrison. The EFI Pro 30h The EFI Pro 30h is a 3.2 metre versatile hybrid UV LED entry to mid-level production solution. The flatbed/rollfed printer is targeted at commercial print shops, sign shops and in-plant print departments looking to start, upgrade or add board and roll-toroll print jobs to their wide-format capabilities. “The Pro 30h is perfect for customers in Australia and Southeast Asia, which are typically small to medium enterprises with less than 20 employees. These businesses need a “Swiss Army knife” that can do roll and flatbed, but with the efficiency of the higher end machines. We’re now bringing the quality into this entry level space. The Pro 30h is a cost-efficient solution that delivers on quality, at a fantastic price-point without compromising the technology,” said Harrison. One of the Pro 30h printer’s main differentiating factors is its Continuous Board printing capability. This feature allows users to print large boards or multiple small boards simultaneously

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Pro 30h

at full production speeds. The printer comes standard with two channels of white and multilayer printing. The Pro 30h printer features dual roll printing for even more throughput, and is designed to easily alternate between rigid and flexible substrates. With speeds up to 230 square metres per hour using magnetic linear drives, customers will be able to take on more jobs and meet customer demand for faster turnarounds at an amazing capital cost. EFI COLORS 340 and POWER 340 EFI’s two new soft signage printers help display graphics producers reach new heights in productivity and extend their capabilities. The EFI COLORS

340 printer prints at up to 850 square metres per hour (in a four-colour x 4 configuration) while providing unmatched colour capabilities for premium-quality soft signage. For even higher-volume production environments, the EFI POWER 340 prints up to 1,564 square metres per hour. Leveraging technology from EFI Reggiani’s 70+ year legacy of bestin-class fabric printing, both new offerings give users higher quality on a wider range of material, with 100% penetration on both sides of the material. The disperse dye-sublimation printers offer added versatility and economical ink capabilities with their ability to print either direct to fabric

or to transfer paper using the same ink set, eliminating the significant cost and downtime related to switching over inks. Designed for ultra-premium pointof-purchase work requiring smoother colour transitions and ultra-realistic skin tones, the COLORS 340 printer uniquely offers greater versatility in colour capabilities to print in fourcolour x 2, four-colour x 4 or six-colour x 4 configurations, as well as an eightcolour configuration featuring standard CMYK and light CMK colour inks, plus a penetrating agent. Meanwhile, the POWER 340 printer meets the needs of the highest-volume producers of premium soft signage with its superior throughput. Strengthening distributorship “Asia Pacific is not unique in the requirements of the market. Everyone needs speed and everyone needs low running cost – those two key things, without compromising quality.

POWER 340

Every product that we introduce, be it the Pro 30h, the VUTEk XT or the VUTEk Q series, equates to ‘better, faster, cheaper.’ The beauty of EFI is that our comprehensive printing solutions delivers value at all levels of the product portfolio. I think that's what we do better than anybody,” said Harrison. EFI has a network of partners across all its markets in Asia Pacific. Most recently, it inked a distributor

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

8 partnership in Australia and New Zealand with digital print specialists, Currie Group. “I believe we've picked the right partners with the best financial capability, skill set and reputation in the marketplace. Over the last few years, we’ve streamlined the partnerships that we have and worked hard to strengthen those relationships,” said Harrison. “In Singapore and Malaysia, we've got a long standing relationship with AVS Technologies for over 10 years. They’re a great company, and they’ve been an excellent partner with professional, well-trained technicians and the ability to support our customers very well. We back them up, and they back us up. And that's just one example of the partnerships we have,” Harrison continued. “We pride ourselves on being a leading provider of a comprehensive range of end-to-end digital printing solutions for our clients, so partnering with EFI has always been the natural choice. EFI is a company that continuously delivers on cutting-edge, quality technology at every market level, which widens our portfolio so we can drive growth for our customers,” said Kelvin Mun, general manager, AVS Technologies Pte Ltd. Heavily investing in people and technology When the economy slowed in the earlier parts of the pandemic, EFI took the opportunity to heavily invest not just in recruiting people, but also in training. Over the last 18 months, EFI has been boosting its Asia Pacific team and presence across the region. “We're very thorough with our hiring processes. We deliberately built a team of people who have industry knowledge, and they understand customers, processes, and the technology. We’ve brought in a whole new team of people, and gone through intensive training, both on technology and problem solving for customers,” said Harrison. “I'm always telling my sales people to change their business cards from sales to problem solvers, because actually that's what they do. During the

Rodd Harrison, Vice President Sales, APAC at EFI pandemic, we've gone into customer sites and went through a discovery process with them. In this process, we’re not trying to sell them anything, we want to understand their workflow processes, production capacity, and the problems they’re going through. I think it's fair to say no one's really buying capacity because volumes are down. But people are buying efficiency,” said Harrison. “And every single sale we've made, it's been us coming to agreement with the customer that we can deliver on improvement. If a solution can cut production costs by 40%, or run it 50% faster, they will not need as much labour as soon as the economy recovers. That means the investment pays itself back in one to three years,” Harrison explained.

“We've got a lot of new, unlocked value to deliver to customers with greater efficiency, higher productivity, lower labour cost. These are all real tangible benefits,” said Harrison. “We’re in this unique position because we were lucky enough to work for a company that has great technology, and continually improves on that technology through continued investment in R&D.” “We're really committed to the marketplace. We're investing in our people. That hasn't stopped. In Southeast Asia particularly, we’re ready with the right people, the right products and the right partners. Our only challenge is with the pandemic situation, but we're ready and excited for when the world is back to normal again,” Harrison concluded.

https://www.efi.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Fujifilm’s Versant 3100i Press wins prestigious award FUJIFILM Business Innovation Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. has won a BLI 2021 PRO Award from Keypoint Intelligence for the Versant 3100i Press.

The press was recognized in the midvolume CMYK production device category due to its efficient production workflow capabilities, strong colour matching performance and automated setup with minimum user intervention. The Versant 3100i Press has already started sales in the Asia Pacific region. According to Keypoint Intelligence, the GX Print Server 2, which powered the press in their tests, proved to be intuitive to use and feature-rich, with an excellent media stock library, timeline viewer, and variety of remote management options.

It also caters to diverse customer’s needs on fast turn-around when handling multiple applications, colour consistency and uncompromised colour accuracy. The ability to conduct image quality correction and auto-registration greatly reduced the need for manual checks. Additionally, it helps to optimise production workflows and boost productivity in printing business, especially during urgent jobs and job disruption due to unforeseen events or circumstances.

“We are elated and proud of the recognition given to the Versant 3100i Press. It has proved its mettle since the launch in October 2020 with its outstanding performance of 37% growth in the Entry Production Colour High category,” said Scott Mackie, General Manager, Graphics Communication Services Business, FUJIFILM Business Innovation Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. “This recognition has further affirmed our commitment to deliver value and unlock our customer’s potentials in the region and cemented our market leader position in this segment.”

The Versant 3100i Press performed very impressively, delivering high levels of engine efficiency while still maintaining an average mean DeltaE00 colour drift of only 1.8 across more than 46,000 clicks over their six production-length test runs spanning coated, uncoated, and textured stocks from 80 gsm up to 300 gsm. The device also stood out with excellent colour matching, and on the reproduction of memory colours, where it gained their highest 5 Star rating. The Versant 3100i has a swift print speed of 100 pages per minute and 2,400 dpi true/real output resolution. This robust yet versatile production press not only delivers vibrant images with various creative finishing options, it can also handle a wide variety of paper types (long, heavyweight).

https://www.fujifilm.com/fbglobal/eng

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

DKSH Paves the Wa Sustainability in Asia With strong industry-leading partners, DKSH is set to be the integrated solutions provider in Asia for companies moving towards sustainable packaging. DKSH Group is a Swiss company with a global footprint focusing on market expansion services. The group has a wide ranging service portfolio across business units in healthcare, consumer goods, performance materials and technology. DKSH has deep roots in Asia Pacific, having been in the region for 150 years. In 2019, DKSH established the Business Line, Packaging, Printing and Converting (PPC). The branch now has presence in nine markets in Asia, with key focuses on food and beverage, health, beauty and personal care, and pharmaceutical industries. The company’s main applications are flexible packaging, flexography, rotogravure, laminates and coextruded film. The packaging market has matured over the years and the Asian packaging industry was projected to exceed USD 26 billion at the end of 2021.

Consumer preferences for sustainable packaging continue to grow globally, and this trend is even more prevalent in Asia Pacific. “The flexible packaging market in Asia has matured over the years and now needs sustainable solutions, given the fact that there is a high focus on banning single-use plastics. This is an area where DKSH Business Line Packaging, Printing and Converting will focus on and align the service and support around it,” said Suhas Kulkarni, General Manager, Business Developement, DKSH Asia Pacific. “With the increased focus on eliminating single-use plastic bags, there is also increasing demand for sustainable solutions from the industry,” said Kulkarni. “At DKSH, we want to become the sustainable solution provider that our customers can count on to receive the right support for their business success.”

In 2020, DKSH made sustainability one of its key values. In becoming a sustainable partner for its customers, DKSH PPC is focusing on three key areas: - Providing high quality products and innovative solutions from leading brands to customers in Asia Pacific. - Providing excellent after-sales service from its dedicated teams with deep technical expertise in the printing industry. - Being a reliable trustworthy partner through its 150 years of continuous presence in Asia and track record of financial stability. An increase in demand for sustainable solutions is not the only key growth factor for packaging in Asia. Other trends that will factor into the growth include increasing demand for food and pharma packaging, manufacturers switching from gravure to flexo technology, as well as a higher demand of print quality. “Asian customers do not want to sacrifice quality at all when looking for printing solutions. The leading flexo technology offers manufacturers print stability, excellent quality, and registered accuracy in small batches that are on par with the traditional gravure processing method for large columns of printing,” Kulkarni explained.

SOMA Optima 2 in operation

SOMA – the leader in sustainable flexo technologies To aid their customers towards sustainability, DKSH specifically partners with companies that aligns with its green values. One of its partners that aligns with its sustainability vision is SOMA, a producer of flexographic printing presses, slitter rewinders, laminators, plate mounters and diecutters. Doing especially well in Asia

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

ay to Packaging a Pacific is the SOMA Optima 2, a second generation flexographic printing press. The SOMA Optima 2 dramatically enhances print quality, make-ready times, and running costs – qualities that all contribute to reducing ecological impact. The main focus is to implement sustainable technologies, such as a water-based ink system and technologies to reduce make ready in terms of time & waste. “This is the second generation of a machine that is already very successful, so customers can be confident that they will receive an exceptional, proven flexo press,” explained Jan Verner, the chief designer of the original Optima 2. “The powerful features that defined our first generation Optima 2 remain: quick job changes for short runs, exceptional print stability for long runs—as well as excellent machine serviceability. In addition, the user will certainly appreciate that the nextgeneration machine can perform many activities automatically and will do so by switching jobs in the most efficient way.” The new press is focused on increasing efficiency and producing cost-effective print runs with reduced VOCs and material waste through automated job settings. The Intelligent Job Tuning is one of the new functions in the Optima 2 which enables the automatic tuning during job setup. It has specially designed algorithms that can minimise the bouncing effect for each particular design. “It takes into consideration the dynamic effects of each job—the bridge, the sleeve, the tape and the design itself. This lets each specific piece of artwork achieve its ideal drive setting on the press. It’s quite a revolutionary technology that can bring control of printing press stability to

new, exceptional levels of precision,” said Verner. Designed for short runs, the SOMA Optima 2 is equipped with a newly developed S-Mount automatic plate, which makes plate mounting faster than a manual process. Since it is precisely defined, it can eliminate incorrect plate mounting, reducing press downtime later, during makereadies. Part of this intelligence comes from the system, where plate topography and register are measured, providing the foundation for automatic registration and impressions settings on press. Due to that system, the register and impression on the press is set without operator involvement in a fully automatic mode, with minimal material waste. The CARTRIDGE system offers printers a means of reducing ink costs on printing jobs where expensive spot colours, special effects, and metallic formulations are required. These high pigment inks are expensive consumables. Reducing ink volumes and residual waste lets printers maintain profit margins while meeting end user price demands. The built-in ‘Advanced Bounce Control’ system features cutting-edge technology that reduces bouncing at high press speeds to optimize print quality when using HD plates. Bounce reduction results in a sturdier press, and

limits the wear of other parts—saving customers even more money in the long run. The presses can also be supervised remotely, so managers can proactively discover issues before they cause economic problems. Past job history of time and waste can help change future estimates if they have been previously inaccurate. Web path limitations of a traditional CI press design is removed, because the unwind and rewind systems are located outside of the printing unit modules. This variable design allows the option of choosing any unwind/rewind configuration and in-line upstream or downstream printing and converting units. One small but outstanding feature is the cooling of the cylinder housings at the motor side, similar to the cooling of the central impression drum. This prevents any temperature-caused expansion, thus preventing dot gain. Another clever feature was developed for the inter-deck dryers. It allows them to swing open by 90 degrees, similar to a door. This makes it easier for cleaning, and provides effortless access to the substrate and CI drum. In short, the new generation Optima 2, with Intelligent Automation,

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

14 is vital to reducing downtime and the impact that has on energy usage and waste materials or consumables such as inks,” said Lloyd. It is reported that several other initiatives under the sustainability banner have been introduced. Such as a Hydrogen-Argon–Nitrogen mix coating system which replaces the need for Helium, a mined gas which is the only element on the planet that is a completely non-renewable resource so needs to be used sparingly. contributes to exceptional quality flexo printing, improved communications, and primarily helps to deliver quick and easy change-overs between jobs, while minimizing operator error. DKSH is the exclusive distributor in Asia for the Optima 2, as well as SOMA’s range of advanced solutions for flexible packaging production. Sandon Global – on the forefront of sustainability in Anilox In 2020, DKSH inked an agreement with Sandon Global to promote solutions for anilox and coating rollers in key regions of Asia. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Sandon Global is committed to minimising environmental impact with its solutions. “Even the smallest change in the manufacturing process, materials or logistics can collectively contribute to the drive for operating a sustainable business, quite literally. As an anilox manufacturer our accountability varies from material changes such as the imminent introduction of recyclable packaging and shipping containers to more complex process and equipment investments,” said Global Marketing Manager Stephen Lloyd. Anilox manufacturers typically produce both chromium oxide and aluminium oxide waste materials as a by-product of the coating process. Sandon Global have a closed loop system in place that takes this waste and re-melts it to produce fused materials for application in other industries. Furthermore, their unique Enhanced Densification Treatment (EDT) has been developed to provide a preventative barrier to substrate corrosion and oxidisation. It is applied prior to laser engraving making the

chromium oxide ‘ceramic’ coating totally impervious to any liquid or chemical ingress. As a result, EDT delivers a more efficient and consistent ink evacuation from the engraved cells leading to a more consistent ink film thickness. In short what this means for printers is both a reduction in cell “plugging” of dried ink and therefore less time required to deep clean their anilox inventory. Ultimately contributing to printer’s sustainability and environmental objectives as set out in a variety of government policies around the world. “We spend significant time on R&D which benefits our customers in the long run. One of our points of differentiation is durability, printers need to rely on their anilox inventory to perform consistently at high speed. Our laboratory team constantly conduct tab samples testing the porosity levels within a tolerance of 1%, that the minimum hardness value of 1350 Vickers is achieved, and the bond strength of our coatings are robust,” Lloyd continued. “Why does this matter in the context of reducing operational impact on the environment? The integrity and performance of an anilox roll or sleeve

Sandon Global have also developed lightweight narrow-web anilox rolls using recyclable aluminium and steel bases, which delivers health and safety benefits for the operators. New engraving formats have been designed to reduce ink usage through improved release and transfer characteristics. Not only have Sandon Global walked the walk in terms of sustainable product development but their brand new facility has been designed using BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) the world’s leading sustainability assessment method. The purpose built factory has been assessed for environmental, social and economic sustainability performance. This means BREEAM rated developments are more sustainable environments that enhance the well-being of the people who live and work in them. The impressive building includes a solar panel roof and multiple energy saving technologies which is due to complete for the end of the year. The Integrated Solutions Provider in Asia In addition, DKSH has strong partnerships with other industry leading solution providers such as TEG Technologies, sei Laser and Koenig &

SOMA Globe Technology Centre

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

16 benefit from our service & knowledge to improve productivity, efficiency, and sustainability,” Kulkarni added. Customers can also expect digital print solutions coming up in DKSH’s product offerings: “We would like to continue expanding our portfolio of leading technologies to the Asian customers. We are now looking to expand into digital print solutions, blown film extrusion lines as well as consumables such as mounting tapes and photopolymer plates,” said Kulkarni. Suhas Kulkarni, General Manager, Business Developement, DKSH Asia Pacific and Stuart Mitchell, Sales Director at SANDON Global

The first key geographical markets that DKSH will be focusing on are India, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Bauer Coding.

“We believe that growth opportunities will continue to differ by market. At DKSH, we will customize the approach for market expansion based on our market intelligence,” said Kulkarni.

“We would like to become a Turnkey Solution Provider that offers a consultative approach for flexographic printing. Led by our professional team, DKSH will provide step by step guidance to our customers from engagement, analysis, execution, handover, education to optimization,” Kulkarni emphasized. Adopting a consultative approach for flexographic printing will benefit Asian customers such as ‘greenfield sites’, which would need a 360-printing solution from scratch.

Kulkarni asserted on the importance of DKSH being a long term and trusted partner with a strong collaborative mindset: “We understand Asian customers build their trust around a partner who knows the specific needs of their business and is empathetic and respectful of their expectations. They also appreciate a partner with total honesty and is transparent with them on implementation planning.”

“This will be beneficial to customers who are currently using gravure but would like to cross over to flexo through professional services. Customers who are already using flexo could also

“Asian markets are transforming from being product-centric to a servicedriven focus. Along with this shift, the Asian customers also have higher expectations from service providers

including support for equipment,” Kulkarni continued. This service-provider stance became more crucial than ever in current pandemic times. During the pandemic, DKSH digitised its support system to its customers by leveraging omnichannel approaches. One of the ways was to collaborate with its business partners and provide online webinars to share new technologies and solutions in different local languages. “In 2020, we see that many countries have struggled to maintain previous levels of growth particularly due to lockdowns. For example, flexible packaging demand growth was at 5.5%, down from 7.4% in 2019. We also see that food packaging continues to be the main flexible packaging application in the region, totalling 21% of overall demand. And yes, there are delayed investments, but we still see high engagement of our customers in the markets especially through webinars in learning leading technologies and solutions for their future growth,” said Kulkarni. “Despite the challenging environment, we have been keeping our employees safe, serving our customers and clients in the markets to continue growing their business. We are facing the same challenges as everyone. However, leveraging our strong structure and local set up, we are able to continue providing services and support to our customers,” said Kulkarni. Due to the strong set up, DKSH was able to complete a recent installation of a SOMA 880 Optima CI Flexo press, at the main plant of Multiflex Polybags (P) Ltd. in Chennai, India during the pandemic. “At DKSH, we are dedicated to providing a comprehensive omnichannel solution and deliver the best service experience to customers; embedding a service culture and mindset of our employees; obtaining and maintaining top-notch service expertise. We believe excellence in customer satisfaction is the only way to sustainable business growth,” Kulkarni concluded.

https://www.dksh.com/ppc

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Email: suhas.kulkarni@dksh.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Transactional printer discovers p time improvements, and new bu InfoIMAGE’s journey began in 1984 with the modest goal of establishing a company that could effectively compete with other statement print service providers. Minority-owned and family operated, its corporate headquarters is in Brisbane, California, with a regional facility in Coppell, Texas. Entering its fourth decade of business, InfoIMAGE has grown to become a nationwide leader in document composition, print and insertion, and presort and mailing services for banks and credit unions, delivering on time, quality services in the most costeffective manner possible. Because the majority of its staff have been employed by core providers and/ or major financial institutions, the scope and depth of InfoIMAGE’s domain knowledge and experience translate into a keen insight and understanding of the business objectives and acute sensitivity to regulatory requirements unique to financial institutions. This has enabled InfoIMAGE to tailor solutions that perfectly align with a client’s business goals.

Rather than a reliance on restrictive, limiting, and/or expensive middleware or off-the-shelf products, InfoIMAGE’s competitive advantage lies in creating flexible and agile processes to integrate customized coding to support the needs of its clients, whether it’s customizing a statement to accommodate a recent merger or implementing complex workflows based on unique business rule requirements. Transactional printing is characterized by having to meet the output requirements of exponential volume spikes during the beginning of the month while simultaneously complying with time-sensitive and regulatory mandates. Reliance on toner-based cutsheet printers limited InfoIMAGE’s capacity. After extensive research, the company embarked on a campaign to transition to inkjet technology, which not only eliminated capacity limitations but greatly improved time-to-market for its clients’ documents, decreased operating costs, improved the ability to customize, streamlined workflows, and extended its clients’ reach to new customers in novel and more impactful ways.

THE CHALLENGES Prior to acquiring production inkjet presses, InfoIMAGE utilized a fleet of sixteen toner printers across California and Texas—mainly sheetfed except for two continuous feed devices. Its workflow consisted of warehousing a three-month supply of preprinted forms (or shells) for each client, pulling the shells from inventory, and printing the variable data on the cutsheet toner devices as needed. Production was a multistep process with multiple touchpoints. In fact, the Texas facility was managing more than 200 individual forms, with some clients having multiple forms per document. The California facility had its own offset presses to print the shells in-house. The Texas facility outsourced the offset printing of these shells. Both locations needed warehousing space for the forms to be ready at a moment’s notice. If a client had an unanticipated spike in volume, InfoIMAGE had to reallocate inventory to handle the demand.

InfoIMAGE corporate headquarters in Brisbane, California.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

production efficiency, turnaround usiness opportunities

A preprinted shell workflow required forecasting the number of forms for warehousing, creating production orders to print the shells, receiving the forms into inventory and properly warehousing them, counting the available inventory monthly (and again before the high-volume transaction runs the first week of the month), pulling the forms from inventory, and replacing any unused forms. Shortfalls could occur due to human error, e.g., putting the shells back in the wrong box or with the wrong orientation in the printer drawers. The use of preprinted shells was also a challenge when a client needed to update data on their forms. Perhaps it was a phone number change or a credit union added a new location. Having three months of inventory could result in obsolescence and made such changes very expensive for the client. InfoIMAGE found that its clients’ service level needs were changing. Clients began wanting their statements in the mail more quickly. The company found its production capacity was a limitation in improving turnaround time. Handling the shells—removing them from inventory, opening the

The Canon ColorStream series inkjet web press provides top-notch productivity and operational efficiency, high-end print quality, and outstanding production flexibility. reams of paper, orienting the preprinted shells in the right direction in a drawer, starts and stops between jobs, the print speed of the toner devices—limited the volume it could produce in a given time period. One other issue was quality. “In a toner environment, you’ve always got the risk of toner smudge, whether it’s coming off the printer or if the toner didn’t set well enough before it was inserted into envelopes,” explains Christina Esparza, vice president of operations. “We had to clean the belts on the inserters constantly before running a job so we didn’t get any toner smears.” The need for greater production efficiency, faster turnaround times, and production capacity improvements ultimately led InfoIMAGE to transition to production inkjet technology from Canon Solutions America. THE SOLUTION After several years of researching the market, InfoIMAGE chose a Canon

ColorStream series inkjet web press for its Texas location. The ColorStream offers high speed—1,818 letter images per minute for a twin system, up to 28 million letter images per month for a single unit, or up to 59 million pages per month for a twin. Although capable of running high quality, full-color output, InfoIMAGE originally wanted the technology primarily for monochrome work. “We brought inkjet in for the production efficiency,” Christina says. “At the time we onboarded our first ColorStream, we had only two clients that wanted color on their statements. So, we didn’t make the decision because of inkjet color. We made the decision based on efficiency and speed to market for our clients’ documents.” The ColorStream is ideal for starting with high-speed monochrome printing and later transitioning to color. The press can be set up as a monochromeonly printing system when needed and is flexible enough to allow a

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

20 InfoIMAGE has realized enhanced production efficiency and improved speed to market for its clients documents thanks to its ColorStream series inkjet web press.

company to adapt the printing mode to match its pace of transition to color. That flexibility contributes to a future-proof system that helps simplify the transition of applications to more sophisticated documents with personalized variable data and more impactful communication in color—of which InfoIMAGE has recently taken advantage. With the ColorStream and Canon PRISMAproduction preprinted form replacement software, the need for offset preprinted shells vanished and was replaced with an electronic form. Using a PDF version of the form files, InfoIMAGE was able to substantially reduce all the individual touchpoints that had hindered its production efficiency and limited its volume capacity, printing the entire document in one pass. PRISMA also eliminated the form warehousing costs, obsolescence, and human error. InfoIMAGE found that one ColorStream press runs at about the same speed as 10 of its previous cutsheet toner devices. “Now we don’t need to put a cap on what we can generate and get out the door within 48 hours simply because we can run work so much faster, so much more efficiently, and we never run out of preprinted shells since we no longer need them,” Christina says.

In addition to enhanced production print speed, InfoIMAGE realized substantial labor savings. “Now I’m looking at having one to two operators generating just as much output as what previously would have taken four to five operators,” Christina explains. “We’re not just talking about more speed. We’re talking about reducing unnecessary labor costs and reassigning labor to where the effort actually needs to be.” The move to inkjet has contributed to improved time to market in other ways. “In any operation, you always have unforeseen issues that pop up along the way—the production workflow is more than just print. There are insertion steps and sorting steps,” Christina says. “Any way we can gain some time in the print process leads to more time to deal with other business opportunities. We’re no longer concerned about meeting a timeline when a client needs to add 40,000–60,000 additional statements this month. We’re able to onboard higher volume clients without as many concerns about capacity as we would have if we were just operating cutsheet toner-based printers. And we don’t feel as crazy during the peak time of the month. We’re not sweating it like we would have done because print would actually eat up so much time in the production process before inkjet.”

The elimination of preprinted forms has reduced the company’s need for warehouse space. The company noticed far less paper waste. No longer were shells being misplaced or re-inventoried in the wrong location. “We have much tighter control over our paper expenditure. We’re far closer on our budget projections than we ever were before,” Christina explains. In addition, decreased personnel requirements in receiving, inventory control, and warehousing have generated significant labor savings. InfoIMAGE uses the Canon PRISMAproduction print management software in both locations, not just for forms replacement, but also to streamline its workflow from start to finish. “PRISMA has done a great job for us in terms of workflow and managing how we get our jobs to print—much more so than the homegrown product we had prior,” Christina says. “The user interface is very easy for our people to use.” She also likes the accounting and reporting PRISMAproduction makes available. “We now have better tools to track our production output rather than relying on the paper logs that operators had to complete at each step in the production process. We’re driving efficiency by reducing unnecessary labor, even if it is just a tick mark, and making the most of the technology Canon has made available to us through PRISMA,” she adds. To automate its production as much as possible, InfoIMAGE runs micro-perf and three-hole punch units inline on the ColorStream press. It also uses a Tecnau finishing unit for roll-to-sheet conversion. Three weeks out of the month, most jobs are small volume ones, as brief as 10 to 20 letters, so its inserter hardware has been configured for cutsheet work.

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

22 The Canon VarioPrint i300 sheetfed inkjet color press equips InfoIMAGE with paper stock flexibility and just-whereneeded MICR ink capability.

InfoIMAGE recently installed two Canon VarioPrint i300 sheetfed inkjet color presses in its California facility. The run lengths at that location are not as high as in the Texas facility, and the job requirements are more varied, so the flexibility of a sheetfed inkjet press was ideal for the company. Being a sheetfed press, the company also has flexibility in using varying paper stocks beyond the usual 20 lb. or 24 lb. bond paper it uses on the roll-fed ColorStream presses. In addition, one of the two VarioPrint i300 presses is equipped with MICR ink capability, which has enabled the company to eliminate all of its nonCanon cutsheet toner devices and to drive efficiency into the workflow of MICR printing. “Now, when a client wants MICR, we can apply MICR ink where they need it, with the added benefit of security features, all printing on the fly,” Christina explains. “Besides being far more efficient, it’s cost beneficial, provides the security features our clients need, and the result is really, really good quality.” “Our salespeople are finding clients who would not consider us unless we could provide full colour options. We've added a number of clients who are now printing full colour. That's exciting because our team has closed deals the we wouldn't have been able to compete for otherwise"

Christina Esparza, vice president of operations, InfoIMAGE

NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES The color capability of the inkjet presses has enabled the InfoIMAGE sales team to engage with clients in different ways. The company has found that its clients are asking about variable color possibilities more and more for the messages they want to apply to their documents. “Our salespeople are finding clients who would not consider us unless we could provide full-color options. We’ve added a number of clients who are now printing full-color. That’s exciting because our team has closed deals that we wouldn’t have been able to compete for otherwise,” Christina says. Clients are using color to add value to what used to be a monotonous transaction statement with lines of data. They are using color to call attention to the balance due or to add colored arrows pointing to the dollar figure of what is due. InfoIMAGE has also seen increasing demand for variable graph data utilizing color. The company also uses color in the statement’s whitespace to help its clients reach their target customers in new, impactful ways. Whether embedding targeted offers within existing documents or creating marketing mailers, InfoIMAGE can leverage the power of the client data

it already has to provide marketing products tailored to individual needs. Customers want their documents to be easy to understand, have content personalized for them, and use color to emphasize important information— all areas where color inkjet can have a major impact. Recently, InfoIMAGE developed a marketing tool where its clients can log into their own portal just as they would for their statements or transactional mail but now for creating marketing mailers. The client provides the instructions for the mailer; supplies the art they want to use or draws from an asset library for reusing content across promotions; chooses from various formatting, styling, layout, and personalization options; and the mailer is sent to print. “The VarioPrint i300 presses really did come at the right time to handle our new marketing offerings exceptionally well. I’ve seen the color output from them, and it’s beautiful. It’s absolutely amazing!” Christina says. THE CANON SOLUTIONS AMERICA RELATIONSHIP Christina credits the relationship with Canon Solutions America as the largest selling point in choosing the VarioPrint i300 press. “Canon met us at the right time and helped us grow into inkjet. I felt like I truly had a partner, not a sales rep who would walk away

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

23 “No one really likes changing a roll of paper. There had been a lot of that, and the operators really appreciate the difference a streamlined workflow has made,” Christina says. THE FUTURE InfoIMAGE is looking forward to expanding its marketing offerings to clients by highlighting its color capabilities and helping them create more impactful mailings. “I see tremendous benefit in adding variable messaging within documents and using the data clients already give us combined with color to produce marketing promotions that help our clients grow their businesses,” Christina says.

when the sale was done,” Christina explains. “That gave me comfort in knowing there was no way we were going to make a mistake with this investment. We have a new business offering with our marketing products, and I have a business partner who can help me make the most of it, and, when we’re ready, help take us to another level. Success isn’t always about putting paper through a printer. Success is about doing it well, doing it better, and maybe even finding some benefits you didn’t expect along the way. That’s what we’ve seen with the ColorStream and PRISMA experience, and that is a lot of what drove us to the VarioPrint i300 decision.” InfoIMAGE recently moved into its new headquarters in California and relied on Canon Solutions America’s recommendations for the layout of that space to optimize its workflow. It also used Canon’s Professional Services assistance in setting up job profiles within the PRISMAproduction software to gain efficiencies by ganging jobs with similar characteristics, e.g., perf jobs vs. non-perf jobs, 20 lb. bond paper jobs vs. 24 lb. bond paper jobs. This decreased the amount of time needed to switch paper stock between jobs for improved productivity.

She also sees production inkjet as a major enabler in helping InfoIMAGE be a better business partner for its clients for their everyday transactional document needs. “We’d like to think that every job runs perfectly, but we know that is not reality. There are issues and data challenges that arise,” she explains. “When those occur for a client, and we are waiting for a corrected file or an approval is running late, we can manage the tight time constraints that result. With an inkjet workflow, we can make up so much time. That enables us to really be there for the client. Now we can print most anything a client requires, do it with great quality, and do it very quickly. The exciting part is being able to perform when a client really needs you to be there for them. What we can do for clients when they are really in a pinch is what sets us apart and solidifies our client relationships. With inkjet, we can do a whole lot more for our clients in tight turnaround situations than we ever could before.” As an example, InfoIMAGE had a recent experience with a client that had an immediate obligation to mail 30,000 copies of a 16-page document due to a regulatory requirement. That size document would not fit into a #10 envelope and had to be inserted as a flat. The initial response of InfoIMAGE would have been that the job was outside the scope of what it could do. But with the ColorStream series press,

“We could print that file in a heartbeat and then get to work on the insertion,” Christina says. “Within five days, we got that 30,000-piece flat job handled. We would not have been able to do that in the past. It would have taken us five days just to print the job in the old toner cutsheet environment. I think that’s a really good example of being able to show up for a client.” In another situation, one of the company’s clients had a merger, which triggered a regulatory requirement for a mailing. Normally the client would ship offset printed shells to InfoIMAGE for such a mailing, but time constraints were quite short. InfoIMAGE stepped in to assist, secured the artwork from the client, was able to match the color with a Delta E of less than 2, and produced the job in about two hours. “In an offset preprint world, you’re talking about days to get the offset press running and the shells shipped to us,” Christina explains. “Inkjet helps you step into those tight situations and really gain trust with the client. ” Christina credits the thINK Ahead conferences and thINK Community* with obtaining the knowledge and confidence needed to make the transition to inkjet technology. Being able to talk with other printer providers that already installed inkjet presses, getting questions answered, and learning why other companies invested in inkjet gave her assurance the decision was a good one—and that she had the right business partner with which to work. “The best part of my day is walking into the facility, looking at those presses, and being able to smile again,” she says. “The work is fun. Inkjet is fun. Inkjet takes the ‘tough’ out of the work and makes it enjoyable and flexible. It brings a whole breath of fresh air to our business day. I’m sure that will hold true through all the rest of our installations as we continue to grow our business with Canon Solutions America.”

* thINK is an independent community of Canon Solutions America production inkjet customers, solutions partners, and print industry experts. For more information, visit the group’s website, thinkforum.com.

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Digital direct-to-garment, capabilities for on-demand production “Kornit has demonstrated both the production capability and the practical expertise to be the strategic partner we need.” Kornit Digital a market leader in digital textile printing technology, announced today that Melbourne, Australia-based Prima Printing has purchased Kornit Atlas for sustainable, industrial-scale digital direct-to-garment (DTG) production on demand. Additionally, the business will realize end-to-end process efficiency, visibility, and control benefits by implementing the Custom Gateway workflow software solution. Servicing Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan, Prima is part of District Photo and Harrier companies, manufacturing more than 450 different products encompassing dye sublimation, wall art, home décor, photobooks, cards, calendars, and photographs. The business fulfills global brands’ production needs via their white label service offering, with an aggressive

strategy of adopting innovative technologies, automating key operations, and leveraging data to optimise labour, inventory, systems, tasks, and departments, from order to shipment. This strategy enables Prima to grow its market share by offering global brands unsurpassed value, quality, and consistency all within a threeday SLA—a natural fit for Kornit Digital’s best-in-class, single-step DTG capabilities. Prima intends to use this technology to imprint t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, children’s and infants’ apparel, workwear, aprons, bags, and other pieces. “Whether it’s customer service, product quality, or process transparency, we are hyper-focused on what helps our clients win,” said Amnon Judah, General Manager at Prima Printing. “Many of

our clients have approached us looking for a DTG partner with the scale and IT capabilities to support their expansion, and Kornit has demonstrated both the production capability and the practical expertise to be the strategic partner we need to accelerate our success, and for our clients to grow.” “As brands, producers, and fulfillers across all regions continue to discover, Kornit Digital provides not merely efficient, eco-friendly production on demand, but an end-to-end platform, from point of sale to shipment of finished goods, for making their businesses more cost-effective, more accountable, more resilient, more versatile, and better prepared for new challenges and disruptions,” said Ilan Elad, KDAP President. “Prima’s customers demand speed, quality, and reliability, and this partnership will empower them to answer that need, and scale to meet those needs and opportunities head-on.”

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DIGITAL PRINTING TECHNOLOGY SHAPING THE FUTURE OF PACKAGING

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Inkjet Printing Enhances the Value of Corrugated Packaging The corrugated packaging segment had traditionally been difficult for print and package providers because it required specialized printing and finishing equipment. But now, advances in inkjet printing are opening up the corrugated packaging segment and solidifying corrugated packaging’s attractiveness for both shipping the product and serving as a marketing tool. Innovations in single-pass, high-speed, direct-to-board digital presses are offering new corrugated options and advantages, including: • Flexible print runs • Affordable setup costs • Personalization and versioning • New level of quality These single-pass digital color inkjet solutions — like the ones Powered by Memjet inkjet technology — print extremely fast, firing millions of drops of ink per second to produce exceptional quality at a low cost. The printheads can be flexibly assembled to create various widths and system speeds depending on the type of packaging needed. A plain corrugated package only has to pass once underneath the fixed printheads to lay down all of the colors and details required, enabling faster print speeds than multi-pass print technologies.

The Winjet 168PE Powered by Memjet VersaPass® technology provides an economical way to begin printing corrugated boxes and paper bags.

As a result, inkjet printing is quickly gaining ground in corrugated printing because it is the best way for providers to meet today's packaging market demands of higher print quality, variable printing of images/data, ease of use, faster print speeds, and lower cost of ownership than other printing methods. Print and package providers recognize the value of inkjet printing and see the technology as a pivotal way to expand corrugated packaging's ability to enhance customer experiences and build brand strength. Corrugated Packaging Meets the Moment Just as consumers are paying attention to the impact their choices have on the environment, businesses and brands are putting much more emphasis on the environmental impact they have, too. While other forms of packaging may claim recyclability, corrugated packaging is one with a solid recycling infrastructure. Boxes are not only recyclable; they are made from a high percentage of recycled paper. All of this gives corrugated packaging a strong sustainability story. When it comes to food packaging, choosing the right ink technology plays a crucial role in the overall safety and quality of your package and its contents. Many providers solve this food safety challenge by using water-based inkjet solutions. The new generation of Memjet inks are carefully designed

specifically for use in food packaging and other sensitive applications — an essential differentiator. Ready to Enhance Your Corrugated Packaging? If you are ready to produce your own corrugated packaging, learn more about Winjet by KPower. In addition to their innovation and expertise in highspeed, continuous feed digital printing technology, their success in the label and tag market led them to consider direct printing on the package and the significant savings for end users – not needing both boxes and preprinted label materials stored in their warehouses. Today, in addition to their traditional print solutions, KPower also offers corrugate print solutions Powered by Memjet technology. The new Winjet PE4600 Powered by Memjet DuraFlex® print technology with a 324-mm wide color print engine and new generation waterbased pigment inks make this solution ideal for any packaging including food packaging. It includes added versatility of an optional conveyor and can accommodate printing of corrugated boxes either lying flat or assembled, plus flat paper bags. This solution is a great fit for inhouse enterprise printing, traditional converters and other print shops wanting the advantages of corrugated printing.

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

COVID-19 - anti-counterfeiting, brand protection and security packaging The Future of Anti-Counterfeiting, Brand Protection and Security Packaging to 2026, a new report being offered by Smithers, delves into the technologies being used to thwart, deter, detect or mitigate threats to brands, which have intensified in some segments due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in e-commerce. The global market for anticounterfeiting, brand protection and security packaging is currently worth an estimated $3.24 billion with market value forecast to increase at a CAGR of 5.6% to reach more than $4.26 billion by 2026. The new report on this growing market provides a comprehensive overview of the technologies being used to protect brands, products and consumers. Used

largely to protect pharmaceuticals and luxury goods, track-and-trace capabilities are featured in the report as one of the best-performing solutions as supply chain transparency grows in importance for brand owners. To counter the growth of counterfeit goods, the industry is also investigating and applying other technological solutions that combine overt and covert features to protect brands.

Impact of COVID-19 The global economy was rocked in 2020 by the unprecedented crisis caused by COVID-19. At the time of writing, the pandemic has led to over 2.55 million deaths worldwide, although the emergence of several vaccines towards the end of 2020 sparked hopes that the worst was over. Economic growth was severely curtailed across most of the world as many governments imposed lockdown measures to halt the spread of the virus. According to the IMF, the global economy contracted by 3.5% during 2020, a figure which was most severe (-4.9%) for the developed economies of the EU, the UK, the US and Japan, but less harsh (-2.4%) for emerging/ developing economies. The IMF anticipates global economic growth of 5.5% for 2021, although the pace of the recovery will depend upon the speed and availability of vaccination programmes. During 2021, economic growth amongst the leading countries is forecast to be highest in India and China, at 11.5% and 8.1% respectively. Continued growth of e-commerce According to recent data, the global

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

e-commerce market reached over $2.41 trillion in 2020. In value terms, the market expanded by almost 26% compared with the previous year, with growth having been driven by the dramatic increase in online shopping undertaken by vast sections of the global population caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to 2020, market growth had also resulted from factors such as the spread of the internet, greater consumer penetration of internet-enabled devices (e.g. smartphones) and the rising global footprint of online retailers such as Amazon. Further growth is anticipated for the global e-commerce market – between 2020 and 2024, value sales are forecast to increase by almost 37%, reaching $3.3 trillion. The increasing trend towards online grocery retailing throughout much of the world, product sectors such as food and drink and cosmetics and personal care goods are expected to drive much of this future growth. In regional terms, growth over the next few years is likely to be highest in some of the world’s less mature e-commerce markets, such as those in the Middle East and parts of South America, Africa and South-East Asia. The rise of counterfeit goods The pandemic had a significant destabilising effect upon many of

the end-user sectors of the anticounterfeiting, brand protection and security packaging industry in terms of global trade. Global fears over possible shortages of certain products have increased demand for illicit or counterfeit goods, providing numerous opportunities for unscrupulous individuals and organisations. In the US, for example, recent research indicates that almost 70% of consumers have expressed concerns that the pandemic will increase online sales of counterfeit or substandard goods. Some consumer goods that have been especially hard hit include cosmetics and skincare and haircare products. One brand protection agency, for example, reported a 56% increase in the number of counterfeit products in these sectors sold via online channels during the first six months of 2020. According to the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA), counterfeit sales of skincare and haircare brands have risen by almost 40% within this time. Key market sectors and protection technologies The pandemic has also stoked fears over shortages of medicines and pharmaceutical products in many parts of the world, which has led to greater availability of counterfeit goods in this sector. In the US, the FDA issued warnings to seven companies concerning the sale of ‘treatments’ to

cure COVID-19 during March 2020, while the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) announced it was investigating fraudsters attempting to profit from the pandemic via the sale of allegedly preventative or curative products across the EU region. Increasingly, the market is seeing the integration of online technologies such as in-house track and trace systems. This works hand-in-hand with physical security and allows consumers to use a standard smartphone to deliver authentication and product security, alongside delivering consumer engagement to brand owners. The worldwide market for track-and-trace solutions will grow significantly by 2026 due to the ongoing rollout of legislation mandating track-and-trace for medicines and medical devices, in order to fight the trade in counterfeits. Uptake also expected to be strong in the food and drink, consumer product, and luxury product sectors.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

State-of-the-art Zhejiang printer promoting smart factory Shanghai Hongli and Shanghai Kanggu created a joint venture that's setting a blistering pace for efficiency, innovation and easier operation and also gaining a fast-growing clientele. As it prepares to install its third maxed-out Lithrone G40, the company is also planning new breakthroughs in its state-of-the-art operations and renowned service. Founded in 1992, Shanghai Hongli Packaging Co., Ltd., formerly Shanghai Pudong Hongli Printing Factory, has transformed itself into a full-service specialty provider of folding cartons, colored board, instruction manuals, top sheet labels, kraft boxes, and EPS/EPE products for the commercial print and packaging markets. The company's warehousing and distribution center completes its total support service model, providing comprehensive solutions to various industries, such as home appliances, automobiles, entertainment products, daily necessities and food products. Shanghai Hongli is seen as a valuable partner among its client list, which includes many famous brands such as SONY, Panasonic, Sharp, Ricoh, Daikin, Roewe, Delphi, Group Cebu, GANSO and TOP — an impressive lineup indeed. Through close association with its affiliate, Shanghai Kanggu Industry Ltd., Shanghai Hongli built formidable partnerships with clients of Shanghai Cai Tingwei, president

Guangdian Jituan, creating a strong foundation for business growth by first printing instruction manuals and later producing colored board. Additionally, because of the influence from the support services of Japanese companies, the ideals of management, quality and service are practiced by all employees of Shanghai Hongli, raising the level of management and resulting in high evaluations from many customers. In 2017, Shanghai Hongli and Shanghai Kanggu founded a joint venture to expand their capability and consolidate their processes. The new company,

Zhejiang Kanggu Packaging Products Co., Ltd., built an up-to-date factory in Pinghu, Zhejiang Province, which integrated the carton packaging and EPS/EPE packaging operations previously handled separately. This was an important milestone for achieving their corporate vision of "becoming a leading company providing total printing and packaging solutions." Advanced capabilities for high performance Cai Tingwei, president of Zhejiang Kanggu, says: "With our quality and reliability in board packaging production, we are expanding our

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

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Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

business in package printing for daily necessities, food and cosmetics."

and maximized production efficiency."

"In 2019, we purchased two Komori presses at the same time, a seven-color Lithrone G40+C LED UV and an eight-color Lithrone G40+C LED UV, and put them into operation to improve board productivity, enhance our package printing technical capabilities, and raise the competitiveness of Zhejiang Kanggu in the new market environment."

Outstanding ease of operation "In terms of operability, the presses offer an excellent and easy-to-use operator interface. This indeed is an outstanding advantage of new Komori presses compared to conventional presses. Tian Rui, deputy manager of the Zhejiang Kanggu Printing Department, says: "First, the non-stop delivery enables us to achieve stability and speedy sheet discharge without

"With the introduction of Komori UV presses, our printing processes now include high quality UV printing, giving our customers more options and laying the foundation for further business expansion. These two presses are now in full production, handling high-quality printing of mainly paper packaging for food and cosmetics products from several well-known brands."

stopping the machine, significantly increasing our production efficiency. Second, the Komori feeder has met all our goals in terms of stability, ease of operation and printing speed. And finally, since the new press is equipped with KHS-AI (Advance Interface), we have reduced our dependence on the operator's experience to adjust ink and water balance.

The new presses are bender-less, eliminating the plate bending process, and are equipped with state-of-the-art automation systems such as the latest Komori KHS-AI (Advanced Interface) integrated control system, automatic register control and spectral color control system (PDC-SX), automatic ink swing roller phase adjustment, and nonstop feeder and delivery. Commenting on this, President Cai emphasizes:

KHS-AI allows automatic operation of the press through the press console, and by just pressing once on the screen, the operator's working hours are shortened, and production efficiency is improved. We are very pleased with the results."

"Additionally, we installed the press on a 450 mm raised base, increasing the overall paper loading height to have longer running time between paper loads. By incorporating these advanced specifications and functions, we have raised the level of automation, reduced dependence on operator skills, significantly shortened makeready time,

"Since the presses were officially put into operation, production efficiency has gradually improved to meet our needs for accurate, fast and efficient printing. When we say accurate, we mean accurate image printing, fast means fast makeready, and high efficiency means highly efficient production," says Cai. "We will be a leading company providing comprehensive solutions for printing and packaging." As for the future growth of Zhejiang Kanggu, Cai says: "With Industry 4.0

and China Manufacturing 2025, we have launched smart manufacturing with a mission to 'provide colorful printed products to support a happy life.' We intend to pursue the best through positive action and change the old manufacturing style to smart manufacturing. We will aim not just to expand our scale but to grow our business based on digitalization, definition and specialization." "In order to achieve this, we need to rely on the expertise of the Komori Graphic Technology Center in Japan and continue to learn, practice and create to provide high quality, high added-value products that satisfy our customers and increase our overall strength and industry ranking in the package printing field. We intend to realize our grand goal of becoming a leading company providing total solutions for printing and packaging as soon as possible." Printing technology, one of China's four great inventions, has been slowly changing in the long river of history, but it still plays an important role in the field of information exchange and has become an indispensable information media for people's lives. "With a sense of responsibility and self-awareness, Zhejiang Kanggu will actively contribute to the development of popular culture, art and society. With the delivery of a third press, a sixcolor Lithrone with coater, scheduled for November 2021, I sincerely hope that Zhejiang Kanggu and Komori will build a deeper partnership and contribute to the bright future of the printing industry," concludes Cai.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

SPEED UP YOUR PROCESSES with optical systems for UV curing and drying

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

New Speedmaster CX 10 leadership of Heidelberg • State-of-the-art sheetfed offset technology targets vast market potential with outstanding price-performance ratio • Unique operating philosophy with intelligent assistance systems as standard • New coating unit for efficient and flexible top-quality surface finishing • Innovations in inking/dampening unit increase versatility • New Speedmaster CX 92 combines flexibility, productivity, and cost-efficiency for signature production Heidelberg has presented its latest world premiere – the new Speedmaster CX 104 – live at this year’s largest customer event, China Print in June in Beijing, Just one year after unveiling the drupa 2020 generation of presses, the company is showcasing the next product innovation in its core business of sheetfed offset printing, thereby emphasizing its innovative strength and technology leadership in a challenging market environment. With the new Speedmaster CX 104, Heidelberg is looking to further build on its strong position in the expanding packaging

segment and meet the growing demand for flexible printing systems with a variety of automation solutions and variants in the commercial sector. The new 104 sheet format press offers commercial, packaging, and label printing customers access to cuttingedge sheetfed offset technology from Heidelberg with an outstanding price-performance ratio. When selecting equipment variants, these customers benefit from the system’s free scalability – which extends all the way through to Push to Stop functionality – and also from tailored configurations with as many as

15 printing/coating units. “Heidelberg is investing in the industry’s future. With the new, intelligent Speedmaster CX 104, we’re making our customers and Heidelberg itself far more competitive,” says CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer. “We’ve developed the press for a broad cross-section of customers and a wide range of applications to target the vast market potential. With our new universal press in the 70 x 100 format, Heidelberg is making state-of-the-art sheetfed offset technology available to a large number of print shops worldwide,” he adds.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

04 underlines technology

Unique operating philosophy with intelligent assistance systems as standard The Speedmaster CX 104 boasts a new, ergonomic design with excellent accessibility and offers a completely new operating philosophy (Heidelberg UX), together with a whole host of assistance systems included as standard. This provides the best possible support for operators at the Prinect Press Center XL 3 control station and at the press itself.

elements on the printing and coating units tell operators the press operating status at any given time and indicate any manual intervention that is required.

To ensure makeready times are always kept short, the patented Intellistart 3 system automatically determines the makeready processes required for the jobs to be produced. This involves continuously monitoring the press status and comparing it with the upcoming jobs. Intellistart 3 initiates the makeready process and carries it out automatically. Intelliguide and the Intelliline color-controlled LED

There are also a number of assistance systems based on artificial intelligence, such as Wash Assistant and Color Assistant Pro. These systems enable user-friendly, intuitive end-toend operation, ensure stable processes that can be controlled precisely, and boost performance thanks to minimal makeready times, less waste, and lower energy consumption. Various Prinect color measurement systems

The newly developed Intellirun software takes operator navigation beyond the makeready process, providing a preview of several planned jobs. This gives operators information prioritized according to the situation, which helps them prevent unnecessary downtimes by taking prompt action.

also provide optimum, reproducible color stability with minimal waste. All in all, this means Heidelberg offers an integrated solution portfolio for the globally increasing level of industrialization at small and mediumsized print shop businesses. New coating unit for efficient and flexible top-quality surface finishing One highlight of the Speedmaster CX 104 is its new coating unit. It is based on XL technology, which places the focus on simplified operation, faster makeready, and a further improvement in coating quality. Accessibility is optimized thanks to the arrangement of key elements. A 30 percent lower roller weight of the anilox roller makes the changeover process more ergonomic and far faster. A time saving of up to 75 percent based on one-person operation has

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

SM CX104 ink mist extraction already been confirmed under real-life conditions by pilot customers. The new coating blanket cylinder will make changing coating forms easier and up to 25 percent faster. A combination clamping system for coating blankets and coating plates maximizes the number of possible applications. The pairing of a new, compact bearing unit and a new chambered blade concept ensures homogeneous application of coatings, even at the highest speeds. The Speedmaster CX 104 is the first press to use as standard the new “pulse laser process” (PLP) screen rollers manufactured by Heidelberg. This patented process with targeted laser pulses enables particularly gentle engraving, which results in homogeneous coating surfaces and thus uniformly high gloss levels. These advantages come into their own with UV coatings and when using a helical engraved anilox roller with the new pressurized chamber blade system. Consistent pressure in the chamber suppresses foaming by preventing air pockets in the coating. Even at maximum printing speeds, excellent gloss results and effects can be achieved under stable production conditions. All functions can be operated intuitively on the coating unit itself, and many

functions can also be controlled efficiently and adjusted remotely from Press Center XL 3. Innovations in inking/dampening unit increase versatility The inking/dampening unit on the new Speedmaster CX 104 is geared to optimum quality and productivity. Additional functions are also available for customers that are looking to further boost the performance of the inking/dampening unit, especially in UV printing. For example, integrated ink mist extraction cuts pressroom emissions, in particular at high printing speeds. An automatic ink agitator ensures high printing quality by keeping the viscosity of the UV ink constant. An additional washup solution supply is optionally available for mixed operation with conventional and UV inks. Switching between UV and conventional operation means the correct washup solution is used fully automatically and this makes the washup process far faster. The Auto Protect option protects the rollers in the inking units without a color assignment by applying Saphira Roller Protection Liquid. Intellistart 3 controls this process automatically based on the job data and printing unit assignment, which means no manual intervention is required. This also applies to deep cleaning – another extra – which is automatically suggested when switching from dark to light colors so that the operator can complete other tasks in parallel, saving around five minutes per printing unit.

Coating unit anilox roller change

“Series production of the Speedmaster CX 104 has already started and anyone anywhere in the world who is interested in ordering the new press can do so,” says Florian Franken, the Heidelberg product manager responsible for the Speedmaster CX 104. “A number of European pilot customers in the various market segments are already working successfully with our new solution and are reporting productivity gains of up to 20 percent, which exceeds even our own expectations,” he adds. New Speedmaster CX 92 combines flexibility, productivity, and costefficiency for signature production To coincide with the market launch of the Speedmaster CX 104, Heidelberg is also unveiling the new Speedmaster CX 92. Like the Speedmaster CX 104, it benefits from a new, ergonomic design, the newly designed coating unit, and the innovations in the inking/dampening unit. This model, too, comes with the new Press Center generation and Intellistart 3 as standard, with even the basic version offering a high level of flexibility and productivity. With the launch of Prinect Inpress Control 3 and Intelliline for the Speedmaster CX 92 autonomous printing based on the Push to Stop philosophy is now possible for the first time – a step forward compared with the previous model. In addition to the cost-efficiency achieved by using 20 percent less printing plate material, process efficiency is also improved thanks to faster makeready and a reduction in waste. That makes the Speedmaster CX 92 the ideal press to meet the challenges associated with shorter runs on the commercial market.

https://www.heidelberg.com/global/en/

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Miraclon continues to exp flexo with Controlling unwanted ink spread creates wider operating window, reducing unscheduled press stops and maximizing efficiency for flexible packaging printers Miraclon, home of KODAK FLEXCEL Solutions, has hosted its first Miraclon Innovates virtual event to introduce PureFlexo™ Printing, which enables KODAK FLEXCEL NX System users to produce high-quality flexo print within a wider operating window on press by controlling unwanted ink spread in ways never seen before. Designed specifically for wide web solvent ink on film applications, PureFlexo Printing maximizes press efficiency, repeatability and overall performance while enabling printers and prepress providers to experience cleaner print, stable color and a better bottom line for their business. Emma Schlotthauer, Chief Marketing Officer at Miraclon, comments: “For brands who rely more than ever on the power of packaging to connect with customers, brand consistency and eye-catching flexible packaging is increasingly important. Printers need solutions that help them meet the ever-expanding demands of graphic reproduction, without needing to operate at less than optimum production speeds or risking press downtime from continual adjustments and unscheduled stoppages. A wide print latitude is the key to profitable production. PureFlexo Printing addresses a core technical issue – unwanted ink spread – which helps to widen print latitude and reset the quality-efficiency balance.” Print latitude, unwanted ink spread and why printers should address it Printers get the best out of their

press machinery when they have the flexibility to run uninterrupted. They need wide latitude (also referred to as the operating window) and a robust process to manage production efficiently as a narrow latitude means small changes can push a print run out of acceptable quality or tolerances. By resisting unwanted ink spread, PureFlexo Printing gives printers the power to keep the press running with a low risk of getting to unacceptable print. Dr John Anderson, Director of Advanced Print Applications at Miraclon, explains how unwanted ink spread affects print latitude: “Ink that flows easily is a natural characteristic of printing with solvent flexo inks on film. When that ink flows in unwanted places it can fill in, cause bridging and build-up, creating ‘dirty print’. It’s not always easy to manage and is often made worse by practices designed to address other print issues – such as the use of harder tapes, higher ink volumes and over-impression. PureFlexo Printing addresses the issue head-on by using sophisticated plate surface patterning to resist and control ink spread, and sets a new standard for clean, predictable print.” Schlotthauer adds that PureFlexo Printing and the reduction of unwanted ink spread has major financial benefits for both printers and pre-press providers: “For example, if an unscheduled press stop to clean plates takes about 10 minutes, and with a typical billable press rate of around $700/hour you can easily start doing the math about the financial benefits

in eliminating some of these stops. Add in the reduction of waste material and post-print capacity implications, and the need to address unwanted ink spread proves to be a particularly significant one.” PureFlexo Printing – resetting the quality-efficiency balance for flexo printers Built on Miraclon’s expertise in highly controlled ink transfer mechanisms and further unlocking the core capabilities of the FLEXCEL NX System, PureFlexo Printing gives

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

pand the boundaries of

unprecedented control over unwanted ink spread, increasing print latitude at all quality levels. This extension of Miraclon’s knowledge in Advanced Plate Surface Patterning Technology, which has had over two years of testing in the field on over 20,000 commercial jobs, proves to: • Reduce unscheduled press stops due to dirty print • Deliver more predictable color • Decrease press-to-proof match issues • Lower the impact of operator and other production changes “With lower dot gain and significantly reduced ink build-up during a run, PureFlexo Printing not only brings a more predictable match to a press color profile, it also reduces the need to stop the press to clean plates,” adds Dr Anderson. “This results in much greater production efficiencies while producing a high-quality result. The complete prepress and printing process becomes more efficient.” Benefits for prepress providers, printers and brands The benefits of PureFlexo Printing are felt throughout the value chain:

Printers report that greater resistance to common production issues means that challenging work can now be produced more consistently and with greater uptime. Notably, FLEXCEL NX Plates with PureFlexo Printing can typically use a softer mounting tape without compromising image reproduction. This helps reduce voids and the need to over-impress – further increasing plate life. Prepress providers can break the cycle of chasing color, retouching and remaking plates. Trade shops that have tested the technology report a significant reduction in image retouching and file preparation prior to proof due to a more linear response, and a more accurate press to proof match – reducing the need for client press approvals. Continuous Innovation PureFlexo Printing, utilizing newly patented Miraclon technology created by the same R&D team responsible for the invention of the original FLEXCEL NX System launched in 2008, builds on the innovation that Miraclon has brought to the market over the past 13 years.

“The launch of our core FLEXCEL NX Technology in 2008 helped to elevate flexo printing to compete head-on with other printing processes and addressed the inconsistencies traditionally associated with flexo,” says Schlotthauer as she puts Miraclon’s rich heritage of innovation into perspective. “Since then, we have continued the journey; building our knowledge in mechanisms to control ink transfer with a range of award-winning technology; first with the introduction of KODAK DIGICAP NX Patterning in 2010, and the subsequent introduction of our Advanced DIGICAP NX Patterning (commonly referred to as NX Advantage) with Advanced Edge Definition technology in 2016. PureFlexo Printing is the next step in unlocking the full potential of the FLEXCEL NX System, enabling flexible packaging printers to lead the charge in pushing the boundaries of flexo printing within a controlled, sustainable manufacturing environment.” PureFlexo Printing is available immediately to all FLEXCEL NX System users through the KODAK FLEXCEL NX Print Suite for Flexible Packaging.

https://www.miraclon.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

The importance of the Asian Print Awards for our industry Many of you may not be aware that the Asian Print Awards has been recognising excellence in print since 2001 and has reached into every Asian country in this time. We talked to Paul Callaghan, the current chairman of the Asian Print Awards, to find out more about the programme and its legacy. Q. Why were the Asian Print Awards created? A. Back in 2000, the publishers of Print Innovation Asia Magazine were having a meeting with a few of the leading supply companies, and the discussion turned to quality and the quality of printers in the region. It was noted that there was no benchmark where printers from across the region could submit their best printed jobs to go into a competition, and be eligible to win either Gold, Silver or Bronze awards. With these Awards they could then show their customers that they are quality printers and go above and beyond just being a printer putting ink on paper or board. Hence in 2001, the first Asian Print Awards competition was started. Q. How do you go about creating a Printing Awards and keep it non-commercial and totally independent?

A. Being non-commercial and having NO manufacture input or influence in the judging process was the first foundation we had to achieve. We went and approached several “retired” industry people, who were from the education sector, as well as print providers (printers). From this, we formed the first judging panel, having a representative from several Asian countries, but ALL being independent. The first judging panel consists of 10 print experts. All 10 judges met in Singapore at the end of November 2001 and set the rules for judging. The first and top most priority for judging would be print quality. All aspects of the printing process was considered under the lenses of being judged, including finishing, all the way to special processes and difficulty of the job. We still maintain this independent requirement today, keeping the external politics well away. In the first year we had over 2000 entries and was a weeklong process and we all learnt as we went along. Q. Looking at today, do you think the Asian Print Awards has a role to play during Covid-19? A. Yes absolutely. Now more than ever, the Asian Print Awards will help printers and packaging companies show their customers, using their own internal/ external marketing, combined with all the marketing we do in magazines and

social media, that even during these very challenging times, quality is still a top priority for their print operations. If you consider that many salespeople are not able to travel, or even cross in some extreme situations from one side of a city to the other, the awards is a way for the companies to showcase their quality. All a company needs to do is select their best work - we have over 25 categories now as we see digital is expanding – and submit this work to be judged. If the work makes it through the levels of judging, and if they get to the final stage and win Gold, Silver or Bronze, then what better way to prove they are quality driven. We saw this year that Quality has not decreased at all during Covid-19.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

As you look in the following pages you will see that we have awarded in almost every category three medals representing Gold, Silver and Bronze. The number of entries received for this year’s competition did not decrease. In fact it has increased, and we saw over 2000 jobs submitted from every Asian Country. It seems that now the industry realises that there is no easier and more precise way to show their customers that they really are keeping to standards and quality is at the top of their list. In all honesty, nothing could be easier. Q. What about the future of the awards, where are they heading? A. Well at the moment it’s unfortunate we cannot have an actual dinner awards like in years past, due to travel restrictions, current outbreaks (at this moment). These have always been the highlight were the winners go on stage

to receive their awards. These dinners were full of industry people and not just a night to see the best in print, but in which so much networking and catching up with industry friends was done. We all miss this, and we look forward to such a time we can get back and do it again. However, the winners of this year’s awards will still be invited to come and get their awards as soon as we can arrange the awards dinner.

one new feature: that companies who submit work can only submit a maximum of three jobs per category. This means that they can still enter as many categories with quality work but with the limit of three jobs per category, they will have to do even more stringent quality checks on what they send to us. This should tighten the area and make the competition even more competitive than it already is.

The next awards will be about the same again, and we will only introduce

In closing, the Awards are still the only regional competition in Asia, supported by industry leading suppliers and manufacturers. It is free to enter and the benefit of winning is still the best way to show the customers that they are working with a quality driven print provider. Nothing could be easier and have as much impact as the Asian Print Awards. Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Awards, which you will see as you turn this page, and see the best that Asia has to offer.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Gold Winner

Calandars Company: Grey Matter Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Client Job Title: AIA Calandar Colours Printed: 4 + Spot UV Press: Heidelberg Paper Supplied: SCG Papers

Silver Winner

Company: Sirivatana Interprint Public Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Sirivatana Interprint Public Co Ltd Job Title: Tourism Authority of Thailand Colours Printed: 5 + Metalized Film + Gloss UV Press: Komori Paper Supplied: Sunbrite

Bronze Winner

Company: Mayflower (Thailand) Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: OM Job Title: Thai Airways Colours Printed: 4 + Spot UV Press: Heidelberg Paper Supplied: SCG Papers

Gold Winner

Posters Company: Sirivatana Interprint Public Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Sirivatana Interprint Public Co Ltd Job Title: Sale Poster Bangkok Colours Printed: 4 Press: Komori Paper Supplied: Kinmari Ex–JP

DIGITAL PRINTING SOLUTIONS LIKE NO OTHER Ready for the next turn. Just like you. As truly direct and dedicated printing technology specialists, we believe you should deal with your challenges in your very own way. That is why we offer a wider range of digital technologies for a wide range of applications. From wine labels to wall decoration; from toner to inkjet – how can we help you to make your business ready for the next turn? www.xeikon.com

Direct. Dedicated. Digital.

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: Phongwarin Printing Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Dai-ichi Kikaku (Thailand) Co Ltd Job Title: Isuzu V-Cross MAX4x4 Colours Printed: 4 Press: KBA 105 4c Paper Supplied: C.A.S Paper

Gold Winner

Sheetfed Magazines Company: Comform Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Mass Connect Co Ltd Job Title: Wow Magazine Colours Printed: 4 Press: Heidelberg Paper Supplied: Double A Digital Synergy Co Ltd

Silver Winner

Company: Cyberprint Group Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: 71 Inter Scan Job Title: Thailand Tatler Magazine Colours Printed: 4 Press: Heidelberg Paper Supplied: Thai Paper Co Ltd (SCG)

Bronze Winner

Company: Brand Prix International Public Company Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: 71 Inter Scan Job Title: The Gen.T List Colours Printed: 4 Press: Ryobi

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Gold Winner

3 Sheetfed Books 4 colours Company: Rung Silp Printing Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In House Job Title: The Fine Arts Department Colours Printed: 5 Press: Heidelberg Paper Supplied: CGS Paper Co Ltd pamtongle@rungsilp.com

Silver Winner

Company: Pimdee Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Tistaya nakeam Job Title: Birds of Phichit Colours Printed: 4 + Spot lamination Press: Ryobi Orawan-ta@pimdee.co.th

Bronze Winner

Company: Grand Prix International Public Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: 79 Interscan Co Ltd Job Title: Book of Thai Embassies Colours Printed: 4 + Foil Stamping Press: Mitsubishi/Ryobi

WWW.MPS4U.COM

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

OPERATOR FOCUSED, RESULTS DRIVEN EFS The automated multi-substrate press

AT MPS, we put the needs of our clients first.

HIGHLY AUTOMATED

EF SYMJET The hybrid printing solution

Our focus is on you, your operators and your results. We are driven, driven to improve your results. We design our presses to enhance the talents of your operators.

DIGITAL

EXL-PACKAGING The mid web packaging press

MID-WEB

MPS Systems Asia Sdn Bhd Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia info-asia@mps4u.com www.mps4u.com

MPS019-ADV-EB_EF SYMJET_ASIA_206x271.indd 1

31-07-19 14:44

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Gold Winner

Limited editions and art reproductions Company: Phongwarin Printing Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: ARIP Public Company Ltd Job Title: Hsu Bin Colours Printed: 5 Press: KBA 105 5C, Roland & Komori Paper Supplied: Phianchai Co Ltd/ Thai Paper Co Ltd/Ekkawin Co Ltd /Reanthai Group, Antalis Thailand Co Ltd

Silver Winner

Company: Fuisland Offset Printing (S) Pte Ltd Country: Singapore Job Title: Dr Chee Choong Seng Artwork Collection Colours Printed: 4 Press: Ryobi

Gold Winner

Web offset LWC less then 65gsm Company: Sirivatana Interprint Public Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Office Mate Colours Printed:4 Press: Komori Paper Supplied: Kinmari Sigma

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

See it online as well https://www.printinnovationasia.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: Conform Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: a day bulletin Job Title: a day bulletin Colours Printed: 4 Press: man Rotoman Paper Supplied: Thai Paper Supply

Bronze Winner

Company: Siamprint Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: IT City Public Co Ltd Job Title: Catalog IT City Colours Printed: 4 Press: M600 Paper Supplied: SCG

Gold Winner

Offset Packaging Company: Siam Toppan Tackaging Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In House Job Title: SEA 007 Colours Printed: 6 Press: Komori chayapha@siamtoppan.co.th

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: Chanwanich Security Printing Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In house Job Title: Hair Recipe Seasonal Recipe Colours Printed: 4 + 1 Press: Heidelberg Paper Supplied: CAS Paper Co Ltd

Bronze Winner

Company: Hoang Ha Label Co Ltd – QLM Vietnam Country: Vietnam Pre-Press: Client Job Title: Sampan Full Proof Rhum Colours Printed: 4 Press: Heidelberg Paper Supplied:Toan Viet

Gold Winner

Digital bookprinting Company: atelier gray (c/o Kato Bunmeisha Co., Ltd.) Country: Japan Job Title: Mori Art Museum 15th Anniversary Exhibition Roppongi Crossing 2019: Connexions Colours Printed:4 Press: Jet Press

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: Image Quality Lab Co Ltd Country: Thailand Job Title: Spiritual Journey Colours Printed: 4 Press: Iredesse Production Press Paper Supplied: EPC

Bronze Winner

Company: Ploy Printing Ltd Country: Thailand Job Title: Chiang Mai Colours Printed: 4 Press: Konica C83hc Paper Supplied: Ekkamin Co Ltd / Shine Co Ltd

Gold Winner

Digital Calendars Company: PT Panca Sampurna Indah (Sampurna Print Shop) Country: Indonesia Job Title: Halloween Colours Printed: 4 Press: Iridesse Production Press

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Learn more

New solution for direct-to-substrate proofing on uncoated packaging media - now available for FLEX PACK!

www.cgs-oris.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: Darnsutha Press Co Ltd Country: Thailand Job Title: Rolls Royce Calendar 2020 Colours Printed: 4 Press: HP Indigo 5900 Paper Supplied: Shine Co Ltd DarnsuthaPress@gmail.com

Bronze Winner

Company: Alpha Print LLP Country: Singapore Job Title: Fuisland Colours Printed: 4 + Gold Hot stamp Press: Fuji Xerox Versant 80

Gold Winner

Photobooks Company: PT Bintang Sempurna Country: Indonesia Job Title: Pewarta Foto Istana Kepresidenan RI Colours Printed: 4 Press: HP Indigo 7900 Paper Supplied: PT Surya Paalacejaya

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

The Future of Flexo Plate Making

Improve plate print quality and consistency

Reduce handling errors

Lower total cost of ownership

Higher productivity

www.xsysglobal.com

info@xsysglobal.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Gold Winner

Posters Company: M.I.W Group Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Mr Yada Thongphadungoj Job Title: Mont Calzone Colours Printed: 4 Press: Iridesse Production Press

Silver Winner

Company: Taniguchi Shoyudo Co., Ltd. Country: Japan Job Title: : Japanese Traditional Souvenir Colours Printed: 6 Press: Fuji Xerox Versant 180 Press

Gold Winner

Showcards and Point of sale Company: Ramya Reprographic Pvt Ltd Country: India Pre-Press: Type Corner/Prepress layout in house Job Title: Stanley full range shade cards Colours Printed: 4 Press: Komori Paper Supplied: Venus Paper Corp

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

www.cgs-oris.com

Quality improvement Environmental resistance Faster drying Eco friendly

Ink Saving is so much more than just reducing costs: It helps optimizing the entire production process. How?

Learn more

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: PT. Bintang Sempurna Country: Indonesia Job Title: OTRO Design Co Colours Printed: 6 colour (CMYK + Fluorescent + Silver) + Chemical Embossed/TUF Press: HP Indigo 7900 Paper Supplied: PT Surya Palacejaya

Bronze Winner

Company: GMW Creative Prints Country: Malaysia Pre-Press: Building Technologies Regional Marketing Communications Job Title: MIX IT UP – Portable Colum System Press: Iridesse Production Press - Fuji Xerox Paper Supplied: Ovol Malaysia Sdn Bhd

Gold Winner

Digital magazines Company: TVG Thai Co Ltd Country: Thailand Job Title: Denim Magazine Colours Printed:4 Press: Versant 180 Fuji Xerox Paper Supplied: Fine Continent Industrial Co Ltd jobchaowut@gmail.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: Sirivatana Interprint Public Co Ltd Country: Thailand Job Title: Big C Magazine Colours Printed: 4 Press: FujiFilm Paper Supplied: Gold East paper

Gold Winner

Gold Silver and other special colours Company: Artbeat Publishers Co., Ltd. /New Book Inc Country: Japan Job Title: NEOTOKYOZINE Colours Printed: 7 Colours Press: Iridesse Production Press

Gold Winner

Company: PT. Bintang Sempurna Country: Indonesia Job Title: Intel PrePress: Next Strategic (PT Nirmana Exa Tricipta) Colours Printed: 7 Colours 9CMYK + Indichrome OVG (Orange, Violet, green) Press: POD A3 + HP Indigo 7900 Paper Supplied: PT Surya Palacejaya

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: GMW Creative Prints Country: Malaysia Pre-Press: Holabee Design Job Title: Happy Golden Cow Colours Printed: 6 Press: Iridesse Production Press Paper Supplied: Fine Paper Takeo (M) Sdn Bhd

Gold Winner

Restaurant menus Company: M.I.W Group Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Mr Yada Thongphadungroi Job Title: Mont Calzone Colours Printed: 4 Press: Fuji Xerox Iridesse

Silver Winner

Company: Beebox Printing Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Public Menu Colours Printed: 4 Press: Konica Minolta Paper Supplied: EPC Paper

Bronze Winner

Company: Neo Digital Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Divana Wellness Co Ltd Job Title: Divana Signature Cafe Colours Printed: 4 Press: Fuji Xerox Iridesse Paper Supplied: Digipro Co Ltd

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Gold Winner

Art reproduction and limited editions (under 500 print run) Company: NPE Print Communication Pte Ltd Country: Singapore Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Ng Teng Fong Roof Garden Commission Colours Printed: 4 + Spot UV Press: Canon I300 Print Run: 300

Silver Winner

Company: PT.Bintang Sempurna Country: Indonesia Pre-Press: Next Strategic (PT. Nirmana Exa Tricipta) Job Title: Membangun Indonesia Book Colours Printed: 4 Press: HP Indigo 7900 Paper Supplied: PT. Surya Palacejaya Print run: 10

Silver Winner

Company: Inchya Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Fattarica Lipatapanlop Job Title: In the past life Colours Printed: 5 Press: Konica Minolta C71 / Heidelberg / Swissaprint Nyala 3 Paper Supplied: SCG Paper Print run: 800

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Gold Winner

Digital proofing Company: Chanwanich Security Printing Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Brands Suntory Colours Printed: 7 Press: Lolane Paper Supplied: EPC Corporation Co Ltd Colour Management: CGS Publishing Technologies International

Silver Winner

Company: Sirivatana Interprint Public Company Limited Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In House Job Title: 7?WPX5402 Colours Printed: 4 Press: EPSON 9890 Paper Supplied: UPM

Gold Winner

Digital Packaging Company: Manipal Utility Packaging Solution Pvt Ltd Country: India Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Raaga Serum Mask Colours Printed: 4 + White Press: HP Indigo WS6600 Paper Supplied: ITC

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: Chanwanich Secutiry Printing Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Oral B Vitality Colours Printed: 7 + Spot UV Press: Mimaki Paper Supplied: Suksawad Converting Center Co Ltd

Silver Winner

Company: Sirivatana Interprint Public Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Memories of Love Hard cream Box Colours Printed: 6 + Matt water base + hot stamp + Emboss Press: FujiFilm Paper Supplied: StarLux

Bronze Winner

Company: Hoang Ha Label Co Ltd – QLM Vietnam Country: Vietnam Pre-Press: Supplied by client Job Title: Organique Colours Printed: 4 + Matt Varnish + Emboss Press: HP Indigo Paper Supplied: Minh Kim Long Lindsay.nutley@qlmgroup.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Gold Winner

Digital Labels Company: Hoang Ha Label Co Ltd – QLM Vietnam Country: Vietnam Pre-Press: Supplied by client Job Title: Thanh Ha Fish Sauce Colours Printed: 5 + Matt Laminate + Emboss + Spot gloss varnish Press: HP Indigo Paper Supplied: Avery Dennison

Silver Winner

Company: QLM Label Makers Country: Cambodia Pre-Press: The Champey Academy Of Arts Job Title: Elephant Bar Dry Gin Colours Printed: 4 + Matt Varnish + Emboss + Bronze Foil Press: HP Indigo Paper Supplied: UPM Raflatac

Bronze Winner

Company: Manipal Utility Packaging Solution Pvt Ltd Country: India Pre-Press: In House Job Title: 14oz 3 Wick Jar Candle Colours Printed: 4 + 2 Matt soft touch varnish + Emboss Press: HP Indigo Paper Supplied: Avery Dennision India Pvt Ltd

Gold Winner

Multi piece productions and campaigns Company: Alpha Print LLP Country: Singapore Pre-Press: Client Job Title: Teachers Day Gift Pack Colours Printed: 4 + UV Spot + Hot Stamp + Die Cut Press: Ryobi

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: Sirivatana Interprint Public Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Premium Set Desk Calendar Colours Printed: 5 Press: Komori Paper Supplied: Box: Gold East / Calendar: Thai Paper / Notebook: Green Card

Bronze Winner

Company: Grey Matter / Mayflower (Thailand) Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Kasikornthai PCI Job Title: Wisdom Birthday Pack Colours Printed: 5 + Spot UV + Foil stamping Press: Heidelberg Paper Supplied: SCG Papers

Gold Winner

Embellishment Company: United Graphic Expression Country: Philippines Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Ginebra San Miguel Colours Printed: 5 + foil stamping and matt lamination Press: Komori Paper Supplied: SBS Paperboard mmfabia@ugecorp.com

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: Limmark Advertising Co Ltd Printer: Sirivatana Interprint Public Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Mr Taveepong Limmakorn Job Title: Amazing Thailand Pop up Colours Printed: 4 Press: Heidelberg Paper Supplied: SCG Co Ltd

Gold Winner

Innovation and speciality printing Company: NEOLT Asia Pte Ltd Country: Singapore Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Golden Age of Egyption Colours Printed: Special Press: GCC Paper Supplied: Special Substrat

Silver Winner

Company: Hoang Ha Label Co Ltd – QLM Vietnam Country: Vietnam Pre-Press: Supplied Job Title: Gerber Infant Formula Colours Printed: CMYK + 1 Spot + Gold Cold Foil + Thermal Activated Ink + GL Press: Gallus Paper Supplied: Avery Denison

Gold Winner

Company Self Promotion Company: IDEASTORE HK LIMITED Country: Hong Kong Pre-Press: In House Job Title: Gold Silver Dry Ink Design Guide Book Colours Printed: Multipole Press: Iridesse Production Press

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company: PW Printing Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: In House Job Title: La Vita Visual Book Colours Printed: 4 Process + 11 Pantone Press: Heidelberg Paper Supplied: Paperland

Gold Winner

Security Company: Holographic Label Sdn Bhd Country: Malaysia Pre-Press: Job Title: Colours Printed: Press: Paper Supplied:

Gold Winner

Environmental Award Company: Green Production (Overseas) Group Country: Hong Kong Pre-Press: Green Production (Overseas) Group / Alex King Job Title: My Hometown Colours Printed: 4 + Hot stamping + Embossed Press: Heidelberg T 10x15 Letterpress 9Calendar) + SM 52-4 (Box) Paper Supplied: Acument Paper – Stock Gmund Bio Cycle Wheat

Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2021

Silver Winner

Company Name : Beluga Limited Title of Entry : Enso Calendar Printer : Iridesse Production Press Country : Hong Kong

Gold Winner

Large Format/Out door Company: Image Quality Lad Co Ltd Country: Thailand Pre-Press: Prateep Suthathongthai Job Title: Icon Siam Colours Printed: 8 Press: Oce Canon Arizona 1280 GT Paper Supplied: Thanakoon I nternational Co Ltd

Gold Winner

Judges Design Award Company Name : I Love Share Title of Entry: Clubboy’s Drinking Guide Printer : Color 1000 Press Country : Taiwan

Asian Print Awards Winners announced in this issue

Articles inside

Miraclon continues to expand the boundaries

State-of-the-art Zhejiang printer promoting

Inkjet Printing Enhances the Value of

The EFI Roadmap to Asia Pacific Growth

Transactional printer discovers production efficiency

Fujifilm’s Versant 3100i Press wins prestigious award

DKSH Paves the Way to Packaging Sustainability

Digital direct-to-garment, capabilities for on-demand

New Speedmaster CX 104 underlines technology