PRESSIdeas April 2021

21 vol-21 Issue- 04 April 2021

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174

Vol.21 Issue 04, 2021

Komori at China Print 2021............................06 Heidelberg at virtual.drupa............................10 M9: The new folding dimension...................14 Xerox: New Adaptive CMYK+........................18 Canon India leadership....................................21

A monthly Publication from PRESSIdeas Publishing Pvt. Ltd.

Workflow Integration Success.......................22 Sustainability that Pays....................................24 Warburg acquires Parksons............................35

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Contents Komori at China Print 2021 ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................6 Heidelberg at virtual.drupa 2021 ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Komori participation in the virtual.drupa............................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Rotolito installs innovative technologies from Meccanotecnica.................................................................................................................................. 12 M9 – the new folding dimension from H+H......................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Jasmeet D. Editor & Publisher (jasmeet@pressideas.com) Vineet K G. Associate Editor (vineetkg@pressideas.com)

OPA holds Annual Churning Meeting..................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 technotrans starts the 2021 financial year with revenue growth................................................................................................................................. 16 Koenig & Bauer expects4 organic growth............................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Xerox leading the way with its innovative new Adaptive CMYK+ kits........................................................................................................................ 18 Konica Minolta wins BLI 2021 A3 Line of the Year Award................................................................................................................................................ 20 Canon India leads the A3 & A4 Laser Copier Based MFP segment for 5 years in a row........................................................................................ 21 Creating Print Workflow Integration Success: Strategy, Assessment and Connection......................................................................................... 22 Slovenia Post expands with two Ricoh Pro VC40000s...................................................................................................................................................... 23 Sustainability that Pays: Kodak’s commitment to its customers and our planet.................................................................................................... 24 Environmental friendly custom digital labels...................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Excellent detection of V-Shapes as polypropylene for waste management............................................................................................................ 26 Pragati boosts print quality with another inspection system from Baldwin ........................................................................................................... 28

Jasvinder S. Sub-Editor (jasvinder@pressideas.com) Jacob George Marketing and Sales (jacob@pressideas.com) M.S. Mukundan Advertising and Sales Southern and Western India (aims@pressideas.com) Graphic Designer Anil Kumar

Contamination 10-fold higher following hand drying with jet air dryers................................................................................................................. 29 Cosmetics Packaging without microplastic pollution by Sulapac............................................................................................................................... 30 Cosmo Films Launches 100% Opaque Synthetic Paper................................................................................................................................................... 31

Networking/ Hardware Consultant Sukhdeep Singh

MPS to reveal new corporate vision and brand identity.................................................................................................................................................. 32 XSYS Prepress remote support capabilities ......................................................................................................................................................................... 33 DuPont to introduce new Cyrel EASY R and Cyrel FAST 3000 TD at virtual drupa.................................................................................................. 34 Warburg Pincus acquires majority stake in Parksons Packaging.................................................................................................................................. 35 Siegwerk strengthens SEA and India Process Management & Consulting teams ................................................................................................. 36 OMET TV: First web series of the segment to unveil in 20 episodes........................................................................................................................... 36 JK Fine Prints installs ABG RTS Sheeter................................................................................................................................................................................... 37

USA Correspondents Tensi M., Preeti European Correspondent Rimi, Yadhu Morphine Production Thomas K Alex

Siegwerk real-time tracking feature at Customer Portal for India................................................................................................................................ 38 DKSH partners with Notion Systems to introduce inkjet system solutions in China............................................................................................. 39 PRESSIdeas April 2021 Vol. 21, Issue 04 Printed by Jacob George and published by Jasmeet Singh on behalf of PRESSIdeas Publishing Pvt Ltd. Printed in India at Hues and Colors 363, Industrial Focal Point, Phase-IX Mohali, and published at PRESSIdeas, 437-A 1st Floor, Industrial Area, Phase-2 Chandigarh-160002 (India) Every effort has been made to ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied.

All material supplied is compiled from sources believed to be reliable or solely an opinion of the authors. PRESSIdeas is not responsible for any steps taken based on the information provided herewith.

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April 2021

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PRINT THAT PAYS

From plates and CTP to workflow software, Kodak optimizes productivity and profit across your entire operation. And we offer high-caliber support tailored to your specific needs, to keep your operations running at full capacity. With expertise, products and support from Kodak, you can grow your business and your bottom line with print that pays.

Learn more at kodak.com/go/pressideas

© Kodak, 2021. Kodak and the Kodak logo are trademarks.

FROM THE EDITORS’ DESK Dear Readers, Kodak offers a full range of customer-focused products designed to deliver on the promise of “Print that Pays”. “But now more than ever, our customers are seeing that sustainable, resource-efficient solutions also pay,” says Jim Continenza, Kodak’s Executive Chairman and CEO. Read more under the title “Sustainability that Pays: Kodak’s commitment to its customers and our planet” by Jim. When was the last time you reviewed your workflow? Even a cursory look will tell you that those integration points are essential to the health of the business, which is why reviewing the current state of your workflow integration, and your options for creating an end-to-end workflow that shares data across the business is essential to longterm growth. Creating Print Workflow Integration Success: Strategy, Assessment and Connection, by Todd Bigger, VP of Print, Eastman Kodak Company, deals with the topic.

KP-Connect Pro is the keystone in Komori’s concept of Connected Automation. It helps maximize productivity for printing companies and, by linking various printing processes, enables visualization, streamlining of production flows and automation. Komori showcases the innovative solutions made possible by Connected Automation for creation of smart factories at the China Print 2021.

In the Exhibition Space, virtual.drupa 2021, Heidelberg is giving presentations about product innovations in the commercial, label, and packaging segments. One highlight is the enhanced Push to Stop concept for autonomous printing with end-to-end solutions, which takes the Smart Print Shop to a whole new level. Heidelberg is demonstrating completely automated offset production – from job acceptance all the way through to postpress, including fully automatic plate logistics. Komori will present at the event, its “Connected

Automation” concept through two sessions, commercial printing and package printing that brings automation to the pressroom. At the packaging session, the highlights include new technologies that pursue “reduction of makeready time for package printing”.

Commercial session will include the high-speed stable operation of light stock by the advance model and the “touchless” automation technology. Komori introduces three technologies here. DuPont will introduce new Cyrel EASY R and Cyrel FAST 3000 TD at the event.

H+H GmbH & Co. KG is unleashing a completely new folding dimension in the multi-plate sector in the shape of the M9. The implementation with up to 24 automated buckle plates and automated foldrollers allows the set-up time to be reduced from several hours to a few minutes.

Xerox is leading the way with its innovative new Adaptive CMYK+ kits. Vineet Gehani, Director - Technology and Channels, Xerox India, speaks about how the pandemic impacted the Printing industry and how Xerox innovations help customers and channel partners.

Canon India has maintained its leadership for 5 consecutive years in the laser copier segment, ending 2020 with a 30.7% overall market-share. Siegwerk has strengthened SEA and India Process Management & Consulting teams. Siegwerk has also launched a realtime tracking feature at Customer Portal for India. It offers world-class e-commerce solutions for Indian customers with 24 x 7 live ordering and tracking features.

Find all this along with our regular updates about the latest happenings from around the world of printing, packaging, publishing, signage and other related segments. Enjoy reading!

- Jasvinder Singh, Sub-editor

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April 2021

Komori at China Print 2021 Smart Factory realized by Connected Automation.

Drastic changes in the social and economic environment in recent years have demanded similar transformations in the printing industry. In particular, the degree to which productivity can be raised and profits generated has become a critical issue for printing companies. To solve this problem, innovation through DX - Digital Transformation of the entire production process is the key.

KP-Connect Pro is the keystone in Komori’s concept of Connected Automation. It helps maximize productivity for printing companies and, by linking various printing processes, enables visualization, streamlining of production flows and automation.

Key Notes : > Connected Automation is Komori’s approach to seamlessly connecting individual processes to create smart printing factories. > KP-Connect Pro integrates and manages management information systems (MIS), prepress, press, postpress, which are divided among individual systems. > With more and more customers adopting Connected Automation, both in Japan and overseas, the digital transformation (DX) of printing companies is already underway.

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Connected Automation is Komori’s approach to seamlessly connecting individual processes to create smart printing factories. The central piece of software, KP-Connect Pro integrates and manages management information systems (MIS), prepress, press, postpress, which are divided among individual systems. With more and more customers adopting Connected Automation, both in Japan and overseas, the digital transformation (DX) of printing companies is already underway.

middleware (MES - Manufacturing Execution System) that promotes digital transformation of the printing industry. KP-Connect Pro is the keystone in Komori’s concept of Connected Automation. It helps maximize productivity for printing companies and, by linking various printing processes, enables visualization, streamlining of production flows and automation.

Allowing various devices to be linked via an open platform helps to remove bottlenecks in various MIS, prepress, press and postpress processes, and can drastically accelerate creation of smart factories.

Additionally, KP-Connect connects customers with Komori, allowing for a range of services to improve and support operations.

Features “Visualization”

KP-Connect Pro is an open platform system that allows customers to connect to various manufacturers and vendors. In other words, customers can freely combine not only existing but also new devices.

Additionally, press automation that links Komori machines can drastically improve productivity by optimizing each press’ production schedule or by minimizing the amount of hands-on involvement from operators. The newly announced Lithrone G advance series was developed for just this purpose, and provides one of the world class ROI. Designed to maximize the effects of press automation, visitors can witness demonstrations of the presses in action.

Experience the innovative solutions made possible by Connected Automation for creation of smart factories, at the China Print 2021 Komori booth.

KP-Connect Pro Smart Factory Middleware (MES Manufacturing Execution System) KP-Connect Pro is a revolutionary piece of

• •

• •

Real-time creation of operating records for all presses and finishing equipment Check production status from anywhere over the cloud/Visualize production status in realtime using large-format signage “Streamlining of production flows” Simple all-process scheduler/automatic press scheduling An open platform through alliances with various MIS, prepress*1 and postpress manufacturers and vendors

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“Automation” •

• • •

Prepress automation, for automatic creation of RIP jobs and output of printing plates synchronized with printing schedules Automation of makeready tasks for Komori offset printing presses Linking of postpress processes Production control data can be displayed and starts/finishes can be logged via iPad

LITHRONE G40 advance - 40” Offset Printing Press The Lithrone G advance series are developed highly advanced Lithrone sheetfed offset presses built to provide customers with a world class ROI (Return on Investment). The press features three major advancements: • Major improvements in the high-speed stability of the feeder and delivery, which provide the basic performance of a press.

• Improved suitability for high-speed, long-run printing, while the performance of Komorimatic, which is a key to high print quality, is unchanged.

• A dramatic reduction of touchpoints by use of a self-learning function and a new control platform for linkage of highlevel printing systems.

To better facilitate Connected Automation, integration with KP-Connect Pro middleware has been further strengthened. Productivity and operability has been drastically improved through automatic operation that removes the need for hands-on intervention from operators, and through use of presets for high-level automation of job changeovers.

Smart Color technology Changing colours for special colour inks is a major source of production bottlenecks when printing packages. Smart Color Komori developing is a revolutionary solution capable of covering a wide colour gamut without changing ink.

This technology uses seven colors of ink (CMYK + orange, green and violet) to

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reproduce a variety of colours through dot printing. Reproducing colors in this way requires a high level of dot reproduction accuracy. In other words, Smart Color is only made possible through the Komorimatic dampening system, which minimizes as much water as possible from ink without allowing it to emulsify.

changed simultaneously for all colors using their own dedicated driving force. With the A-APC, plate changing can be completed in 1 minute 25 seconds regardless of how many plates are changed. This labor-saving design greatly reduces makeready time, becoming more effective as the number of plates increases.

Smart Color will be an innovation that revolutionizes productivity for package printing by eliminating colour changing.

Features • •

Features •

•

Automatic configuration and execution of jobs through linking of KP-Connect Pro and KHS High-performance Inking System Special color reproduction through dot printing that relies on smart color technology

LITHRONE G37P advance - 37” Convertible Perfecting Offset Printing Press The Lithrone G37P advance is a compact perfector that carries on the design concepts of the advance series while meeting twosided printing needs.Through optimal printing size and two-sided one-pass printing, the LITHRONE G37P produces an effect in particular at 16-page A4 printing. The G37P achieves a world-class ROI, receiving strong feedback from customers, with one customer stating “we maintain top speed for the press at all times, quadrupling productivity compared to our previous one-sided press.”

-Parallel Makeready Job changeover is fast due to the Asynchronous Automatic Plate Changing System and simultaneous processing of parallel controls (blanket cleaning, preinking and air/plate registration presets).This minimizes changeover time and reduces paper waste during start-up printing.

-A-APC (Asynchronous Automatic Plate Changing System) Each unit is equipped with a plate changingdedicated motor, allowing plates to be

•

Automatic distribution of job data by KPConnect Pro simplifies operation Uses process-less printing plates. Highspeed H-UV L (LED) two-sided printing Links with MBO K80 high-speed folding machine (signature linking through KPConnect Pro)

Digital Solutions In this exhibition, demonstrations will be carried out virtually using video. Experience Komori’s latest digital solutions, the Impremia NS40 and the Impremia IS29s.

Impremia NS40 - 40” Sheetfed Nanographic Printing System It is a new B1-size digital press to pioneer new business fields, utilizing Komori’s full range of offset technologies. The new digital press, with the impressive productivity and profitability needed to expand customers’ businesses, meets growing demand for short and medium runs of many different printed items and for immediate turnaround on jobs such as packages, displays and POPs. Supported by Komori’s previously amassed technologies, and with unique designs such as use of image transfer blankets, the press achieves B1 print speeds of 6,500 sph. As a “digital offset” press, the NS40 is the peak of digital presses and is made possible only by Komori.

Impremia IS29s - 29” Sheetfed UV Inkjet Digital Printing System The Impremia IS29 professional-spec UV inkjet digital printing system has evolved once more—now introducing the advanced Impremia IS29s. In addition to the full range of highly-received basic features—such as suitability with a wide range of printing

pressideas/ commercial printing

stocks and sheet thicknesses, stable high print quality thanks to its superior tone reproduction and register accuracy, and instant curing/one-pass double-sided printing for immediate finishing—a variety of options to further increase usability and create added value are also available. The Impremia IS29s pushes the boundaries of digital printing, meeting the needs of not only commercial printing, where short runs of many different printed products and quick turnaround are required, but also those of package printing, with increased productivity and efficiency.

PERFECTOR 40 - 40” Convertible Perfecting Offset Printing Press With exceptional quality, and stable two-sided one-pass printing at speeds of 13,000 sheets per hour, the Perfector 40 is the perfect press for a variety of single-colour, twosided jobs. While demand for multicolored printing continues to rise, Komori developed this press to meet the persistent demand for single-colour printing of items such as dictionaries, paperbacks, study aids, user manuals and drug inserts.

It provides superior print quality, eliminating common issues faced by two-sided machines. Designed with Komori’s amassed expertise in machine safety, durability and operability, and with service and support, the press can be relied upon for years to come.

Features • •

High-speed, thin paper printing Stable quality for coated/high-quality paper

MBO K80 - B1 size Combi Folders MBO K80 is the folder with high folding precision due to high operating speed and robust construction. Slitter adjustment and changing can be performed quickly and accurately outside the machine. It supports one-person operation.

MBO GmbH & Co. has joined the Komori Group, allowing for postpress automation by linking with KP-Connect Pro. Linking with KPConnect Pro allows for automation of folding information and progress management for processes up to and including postpress via the Datamanager 4.0 interface. One of the highlights this time is that saving labor for simple tasks by the CoBo-Stack, MBO’s automatic paper stacking robot.

MBO CoBo-Stack palletizing robot A work-saving piece of equipment, the robot arm automatically stacks signature bundles counted by the stacker onto pallets.

Features • •

•

16-page folding of books and images printed on the Lithrone G37P advance Creation of job information presets using KP-Connect and Datamanager 4.0 Automatic pallet loading using MBO CoBo-Stack

significantly increasing converters and PSPs profits.

The Scodix Ultra 1000 digital enhancement press produces unmatched quality – on time and on budget- all on one press platform.

The Scodix Ultra 1000 supports up to 7 Scodix applications including variable data enhancements.

Features -The substrate printed by Komori Lithrone G40 advance with Hi-Res graphic in CMYK and finished on demand by Scodix Ultra 1000 digital enhancement machine.

-7 applications can be done by Scodix Ultra 1000, here demonstrated the application of foil to foil, sense on foil and crystal.

-Digital in line with Scodix PASTM Foil technology and Scodix sense (3D UV) will give you brilliant tactile effects plus multiple variety of combinations of Scodix applications on one press.

Corner Exhibitions Komori introduces the latest solutions from various topics: global networks, offset printing, digital printing, KOMORI-Kare and environmental initiatives. Exhibits in the offset and digital corners introduce our products and systems offering exception ROIs. View the total solutions on offer from Komori.

Scodix Ultra 1000 - Digital Enhancement Press Scodix, the pioneer and leading provider of digital print enhancement presses in Graphic Arts, brings converters and PSPs (print service providers) in commercial print, webto-print, publishing, folding carton, photo, tags, trade finishers and more, real and measurable added value to products they deliver to their customers. The company’s digital enhancement presses in conjunction with Scodix applications offer unmatched, high-quality enhancement capabilities that make prints stand out from the rest while

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Heidelberg at virtual.drupa 2021 - showcases autonomous print production with end-to-end solutions.

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is showcasing its portfolio of solutions for autonomous printing at virtual.drupa 2021, which is taking place on April 20 – 23 and is being organized by Messe Düsseldorf.

In the Exhibition Space, for instance, the company is giving presentations about product innovations in the commercial, label, and packaging segments. One highlight is the enhanced Push to Stop concept for autonomous printing with end-to-end solutions, which takes the Smart Print Shop to a whole new level.

Heidelberg is demonstrating completely automated offset production – from job acceptance all the way through to postpress, including fully automatic plate logistics. This enables commercial and packaging printers to further boost their productivity in the extremely popular 70 x 100 format.

On April 23, Heidelberg will be showing visitors to the virtual.drupa Conference Area the possible ways for print shops to become far more efficient by using artificial intelligence.

Heidelberg is presenting its portfolio of solutions for autonomous printing at virtual.drupa 2021, which is taking place on April 20 – 23.

Individual discussions on various topics can be arranged with Heidelberg experts in the Networking Plaza. Messe Düsseldorf’s Matchmaking Tool helps

bring together the ideal dialog partners based on profile, preferences, and interests.

“Despite being a virtual event this year, drupa remains an important meeting point for our industry. We are impressed by the concept and are looking forward to making a lot of new contacts, and also to seeing both new and familiar faces,” says Ludwig Allgoewer, Head of Global Sales and Marketing at Heidelberg. “virtual. drupa is just one of a number of customer events this year. In March, we started the HD4YOU digital webinar series. In June, we are taking part in the China Print trade show in Beijing and accompanying this with a digital customer event in Europe. And following the summer break, there will be another Innovation Week at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site, which our customers will hopefully be able to attend in person this time round,” he adds.

Key Notes : > Conference presentation on April 23 outlines opportunities offered by using artificial intelligence at print shops. > Experts on hand for individual discussions. > Preparations underway for further customer event.

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The 2020 generation Speedmaster XL 106 has everything that is needed to systematically harness the high performance levels of this press. Further smart assistance systems and artificial intelligence take user navigation to a whole new level.

pressideas/ commercial printing

Komori participation in the virtual.drupa Komori supports virtual.drupa, the largest trade fair for the printing industry, now online.

Drastic changes in the social and economic environment in recent years have demanded similar transformations in the printing industry. In particular, the degree to which productivity can be raised and profits generated has become a critical issue for printing companies. To solve this problem, innovation through DX - Digital Transformation of the entire production process is the key.

capability. These sessions will be conducted in 30-minute format.

packages. To solve this problem, Komori proposes two solutions.

Commercial session: 22, April 8:40- (UTC: +1)

Connected Automation is Komori’s approach to seamlessly connecting individual processes to create smart printing factories.

The central piece of software, KP-Connect Pro integrates and manages management information systems (MIS), prepress, press, postpress, which are divided among individual systems. With more and more customers adopting Connected Automation, both in Japan and overseas, the digital transformation (DX) of printing companies is already underway.

First, the automation by KP-Connect Pro through press automation that links Komori machines and postpress automation that links Apressia CTX132 and MBO K80; second, Parallel Makeready technology that drastically reduces preparation time.

The A-APC (Asynchronous Automatic Plate Changing System), blanket washing, and pre-inking are performed in parallel and allow for quick start-up; third, real-time concentration and register adjustment by in-line quality inspection system, and Autopilot that self-judges print quality. These enable the shortest and touchless production possible.

First is Parallel makeready for package printing. Ink roller washing can be performed simultaneously in addition to plate change and blanket washing. Second is the Smart Color technology Komori developed. This is a revolutionary solution capable of covering a wide colour gamut without changing ink.

Reproducing colours requires a high level of dot reproduction accuracy. In other words, Smart Color is only made possible through the Komorimatic dampening system, which minimizes as much water as possible from ink without allowing it to emulsify. Smart Color will be an innovation that revolutionizes productivity for package printing by eliminating colour changing.

KP-Connect Pro is an open platform system that allows customers to connect to various manufacturers and vendors. In other words, customers can freely combine not only existing but also new devices.

Experience the innovative solutions made possible by Connected Automation for creation of smart factories, at the virtual. drupa Komori booth.

Conference area In the Conference area that requires preregistration, visitors will experience a number of Komori products commencing with Lithrone advance series that provide high ROI based on the automation technology that maximize productivity in the online session format. Komori will present the “Connected Automation” concept through two sessions, commercial printing and package printing that brings automation to the pressroom. There will be core solution for the smart factory, the MES – Manufacturing Execution System “KP-Connect Pro”, the world class ROI printing presses “Lithrone GX/G advance” and the 40-inch digital printing system “Impremia NS40” that has many advanced features like seven colour

The highlights of this session include the high-speed stable operation of light stock by the advance model and the “touchless” automation technology. Komori introduces three technologies here.

Productivity and operability has been drastically improved through automatic operation that removes the need for handson intervention from operators, and through use of presets for high-level automation of job changeovers.

Packaging session: 20, April 8:40(UTC: +1) The highlights include new technologies that pursue “reduction of makeready time for package printing”. Changing colours for special colour inks is a major source of production bottlenecks when printing

Other options such as the replaceable ink fountain system and the anilox roller changer can be available for more efficient colour change.

Thus, by eliminating production bottlenecks, our solutions achieve higher print quality and more efficient, higher productivity, even in package printing, which is becoming increasingly diversified and small-lot.

At the Komori Exhibition Space, visitors will get the latest information on the product line and solutions of Komori group.

Networking plaza The Networking plaza is a completely new project that allows visitors to communicate online with Komori personnel of each country and region.

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Rotolito installs innovative technologies from Meccanotecnica Rotolito, one of the largest printers and binders in Europe and a long-standing partner of Meccanotecnica and Solema, is now ready for the future in book production.

Rotolito was established more than 40 years ago in Cernusco sul Naviglio near Milan, thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of Paolo Bandecchi, current President and CEO. From a small company of eight employees with just one printing press to produce the famous Italian comic book Diabolik, it has now grown to become one of the largest printers and binders in Europe with the best technologies for printing and finishing.

“We believe that, when a publisher entrusts a book to Rotolito, it’s like if he is giving us his creation.

This is why we provide our customers with our most advanced skills and printing technologies.”

- Emanuele Bandecchi, Rotolito

Key Notes : > Rotolito needed to retool one of their gathering and sewing lines with a more modern and efficient solution.

Over the years, numerous acquisitions allowed Rotolito to expand its activities, diversify the production and meet the changing demand of its international customers.

One of the most important developments includes the acquisition of Nava Press in 2014: a historic Milanbased company with in-house expertise and facilities to provide printing services to luxury, fashion, and design industries and professional consultancy.

Further milestones are the acquisition of Canale in Romania in June 2020 and, most recently, the merger of Inprint - Litorama announced at the beginning of 2021. This company is specialized in commercial and editorial printing with a fleet of rotary and sheetfed presses, including one for very large formats.

Rotolito now produces, in its ten production sites, a wide range of products: fashion and sports magazines, catalogues, flyers for large-scale distribution, and books for all sectors of publishing, in both colour and black and white.

“We believe that, when a publisher entrusts a book to Rotolito, it’s like if he is giving us his creation.

This is why we provide our customers with our most advanced skills and printing technologies,” says Emanuele Bandecchi.

“Our strengths are the in-house bookbinding departments that make us completely autonomous

> The Multiplex gathering and sewing line (connected to Solema’s palletizer Mini-Pluton) with two asterPRO/52 book sewing machines proved to be the right solution. > For every book produced, one machine cycle is saved – allowing book sewing without lock stitch; the Mini-Pluton automates palletizing.

The whole line is managed by only two operators.

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Mr. Emanuele Bandecchi, Sales & Marketing Director of Rotolito Graphic Industries, in the background the Multiplex gathering and sewing line and the palletizer Mini-Pluton

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Rotolito headquarters in Pioltello near Milan (Italy)

in production and able to meet delivery times. We have finishing lines dedicated to digital printing and lines for the production of thread-sewn or perfect bound books, both hardcover and softcover.”

Challenge We produce every year millions of books, it is therefore very important for us to keep our competitiveness in the market and offer large and small publishing houses the best possible service. For this matter, we needed

to retool one of our gathering and sewing lines with a more modern and efficient solution.

Solution The Multiplex gathering and sewing line with two asterPRO/52 book sewing machines featuring the Full Cycle Technology proved to be the right solution. The highly automatic line is also connected to Solema’s palletizer Mini-Pluton.

Results The new asterPRO/52 book sewing machines, integrated into the Multiplex gathering line, feature the Full Cycle technology. Thanks to the new patented system, for every book produced, one machine cycle is saved. This increases efficiency by allowing the sewing of books without the lock stitch. The Mini-Pluton by Solema, connected downstream automates the palletizing process, reducing labour costs.

The whole line is now managed by only two operators.

Key Figures During a year, Rotolito produces 40 million thread-sewn hardback books, 35 million thread-sewn paperbacks, and 100 million perfect-bound products.

Business benefits • • • • •

Mr. Emanuele Bandecchi, Sales & Marketing Director of Rotolito Graphic Industries

Highly reliable binding (thread sewing) Revenue increase (more productivity) Cost savings (higher efficiency and integrated processes) Ease-of-use (aster machines) Sewing quality (no thermal fusion)

April 2021

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pressideas/ commercial printing

M9 – the new folding dimension from H+H Industrialised folding with up to 24 buckle plates.

H+H GmbH & Co. KG is unleashing a completely new folding dimension in the multi-plate sector in the shape of the M9.

The implementation with up to 24 automated buckle plates and automated foldrollers allows the set-up time to be reduced from several hours to a few minutes; by up to 95% depending on the folding sequence and application type. This ensures that the machine pays for itself within the shortest possible time. Further time-saving features such as the patented slitter shaft cassette, which is also very successfully integrated into MBO folding machines, also increase productivity to the highest possible level. The M9 revolutionises your production of pack inserts!

The M9 is designed for a working width of up to 60 cm (23 5/8”) and is suitable for the production of pack inserts for a wide range of fields, such as the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food and agricultural industries.

Here, it is setting a new standard that simply didn’t exist before. A further potential application is the production of multi-folded product information leaflets that can be enclosed with small electrical devices, for example.

The M9 is equipped with either 10, 12, 16, 20 or 24 buckle plates. An optional automation package is available. This allows the buckle plates and foldrollers to be adjusted automatically via the touchscreen on the M1 Advanced machine control. In addition, recurring jobs can also be stored. In this way, the set-up time, which can be several hours in machines with this many buckle plates, can be shortened to a few minutes.

The slitter shaft cassette also contributes to reducing the set-up time. These can be removed sideways out of the folding unit.

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The M9 is the leading automated folding concept from H+H.

Perfect access is provided to all tools, and they can be changed and set up in an ergonomic working position. The cassette also has two slitter shaft pairs.

The sheets can be fed in either with a continuous feeder or a pile feeder. The alignment path is extra long at 1.8 m (70”) and has an additional belt guide on the right-hand sheet side. This provides optimum sheet alignment. Before the infeed into the foldrollers, there is an integrated sheet ejection system to remove any double sheets. An optional camera system can be installed on the register table for reading codes.

A further option is to extend the outsert line.

Various crossfold designs and parallel knife folding units cover virtually every folding option. Products can be sealed either using a cold glue system or a sealing labeller.

The SmartPACK100 is used to check the folded outserts against all relevant quality criteria with a camera system. Imperfect products are ejected into a lockable container. This avoids products being intermixed. The automatic filling of the trays with the folded pharmaceutical pack inserts completes the perfect production line. As an option for the SmartPACK100, the M9 can also be operated with the manual XP-D250 delivery.

Extensions for the M9 The M9 is equally suitable for parallelfold and crossfold operations. It offers modular expansion options to suit the application in question.

The M9 has an integrated conveyor that permits multiple-up production.

Inserts produced in multiple-up production, for example, can be pressed out perfectly using the optional PP600 belt press.

The slitter shaft cassette can be used to set the tools to a more comfortable ergonomic height.

pressideas/ commercial printing

OPA holds Annual Churning Meeting 28 members attended two day meeting evaluating the progress of association and planning the future activities.

The annual Churning Meeting of Offset Printers’ Association (OPA) was held at Gaj Retreat located 72 kms from Ludhiana. This annual meeting is organized at a remote place, to evaluate the progress of association and to plan the future activities. 28 members attended this two day subsidized meeting, fifty percent cost per person was borne by the OPA. After collecting opinion of all the present, the possibilities of implementation and necessity are discussed on second day, so that OPA can serve better for the growth and development of the association in particular and printing community in general.

Welcoming members, Prof. Kamal Chopra appreciated the gesture of the members for participating in the Churning Meeting.

He appreciated the dedication of office bearers, especially executive members for attending the core committee meeting every Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. for the service of printers in general and members of OPA in particulars. Prof. Chopra said, printing is changing and today we have already started feeling the change. But not only the printing all industry or infrastructure is going to change. Printing and Packaging is an intermediate industry dependent on other industries.

He said, “These are the tough days when, on the one part, work is slow, and on the other, the cost of raw material is increasing day by day, without any proper notice. It is high time to take notice of these facts, not only the cost of raw material but cost of transport is touching new high thus it is becoming impossible to compete the local players of different locations of the country. We have to plan for providing solutions to the industry located near to us to be competitive and avoid the avoidable transport costs. At the one end we are noticing greater competition and on the other there is slump in the market. The packaging market size of the area is not much, and above that, bigger players of the country are also trying to capture even this small market. Definitely the production is increasing, but it is essential to know if the demand is also increasing. It is necessary to look at the present and ongoing requirements of the market, because due

to transport cost it may not be possible for us to remain economic while sending the goods beyond 30 to 35 kilometres, in future.

It is therefore that at the association level, we are going to conduct a survey about the requirements of the printing and packaging goods in the approachable market. We are going to engage a good company for the purpose to let us know the present requirements and the growth of the market within next 10/15 years.”

GS further said that another topic of concern noticed by the association is financial and family management. Both these are hot topics and serious issues, almost every one of us require the proper guidance on these subjects. It is decided to engage some experts of the subject and organize one to one meeting for the available solutions for family management and financial management.

Mr. Mandeep Singh who was attending the meeting as an observer, appreciated the ideas and concepts of OPA and said, “I am a hosiery manufacturer. Though I am a member of many trade organizations, but such vision

is missing in almost all the associations.” He expressed his interest to become a member of OPA. Concluding the two day marathon meeting, GS said, “The points raised during this meeting are well taken and we will plan the action(s) accordingly. He also highlighted that OPA is restructuring the official website of Offset Printers Association, the members will have many facilities available at the new website. While promoting the networking there will be a tab to declare your spare capacity – available or required – so that members can use the available spare capacities of another member. There will be link for the available machinery engineers, mechanics and spare part dealers. Besides, a member can post the vacancy available with him. All these services will be allowed to members without any cost.”

He termed the problem of increase in prices as a challenge urging all in the industry to take on the challenge. “We must apply our mind to produce at most economical rates and get maximum price for our production,” he concluded.

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technotrans starts the 2021 financial year with revenue growth Revenue of € 52.8 million is 1.3 % above pre-Corona 2020 level; Group operating profit (EBIT) rises by 63.2 % to € 2.9 million. technotrans SE has made a positive start to the 2021 financial year despite the continuing challenges posed by the Corona pandemic.

In the first three months, a consolidated turnover of € 52.8 million was achieved.

With the increase of 1.3 % compared to the same period of the previous year, this even exceeded the pre-Corona level. Consolidated EBIT increased substantially by 63.2 % and reached € 2.9 million (previous year € 1.8 million). The EBIT margin of the group improved significantly from 3.4% to 5.4%. The Board of Management confirms its forecast for the 2021 financial year of consolidated revenue of € 195 to 205 million with an EBIT margin between 4.5 and 5.5 %.

“With flexibility and innovation, technotrans has found the right answers to the ongoing pandemic-related challenges. We are very satisfied with the business performance in the first quarter under the given general conditions. The structural measures already introduced last year and the strategic realignment ‘Future Ready 2025’ are having an effect. We are right on schedule,” says Michael Finger, Spokesman of the Board of Management of technotrans SE. The group was able to meet all its financing requirements for the first quarter from its operating business. Accordingly, technotrans generated a positive free cash flow of € 4.9 million, a sharp improvement on the negative prior-year figure of € -2.1 million.

In the Technology segment, revenue of € 38.9 million was almost at the previous year’s level. After the pandemic-related slump in the second quarter of the previous year, revenue in this segment has now risen for three quarters in a row. The Technology segment’s share of revenue remained almost unchanged at 74% (previous year: 75 %).

The segment EBIT developed very positively.

Compared to the previous year, it improved by around € 1.0 million to € 0.8 million.

This was reflected in a positive segment margin of 2.1% (previous year: -0,5 %). The Services segment generated a turnover of € 13.9 million. Compared to the previous year’s value of € 13.1 million, it recorded

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an increase of 6.2 %. This shows the moderate relaxation of Corona-related travel restrictions. The segment EBIT increased by € 0.1 million to € 2.1 million. Segment return reached 14.9 % (previous year: 15.2 %).

The target markets according to the group strategy “Future Ready 2025” developed positively in the first quarter, as expected.

Healthcare & Analytics realised an increase in revenue of more than 40 %, driven in particular by sales of cooling systems for analytical equipment and baggage scanners.

The newly created Energy Management segment (electromobility, high-power charging stations, data centres) generated growth of more than 10 %, especially in rail transport, due to the increasing demand for temperature control devices for traction batteries, so-called Battery Thermal Management Systems (BTMS). As a building block for future growth, technotrans also acquired two significant series orders via BTMS for electric trains in Europe in the period under review, with a medium-term order volume in the seven-figure range.

The focus market Plastics also recorded double-digit sales growth of around 10 %.

Here the technotrans engineers scored with a newly developed generation of temperature control units. Positive impulses were also generated by the film extrusion business, among other things due to the increased demand for packaging for medical and hygiene products.

Revenue of €16.8million was achieved with customers in the printing industry, being 13.1% below the previous year. The pandemic-related investment restraint continued and could not be compensated by the moderately increasing service business.

In total, the Print segment’s share of group revenue fell by 5.3 percentage points to 31.7%.

The structural measures already implemented in the previous year showed first successes in the reporting period, both on revenue and profitability side. All other steps initiated on the basis of the “Future Ready 2025” strategy for the 2021 financial year, such as the merger of individual group companies, are on schedule.

The Board of Management confirms its forecast of achieving consolidated revenue of between €195 million and €205 million in the 2021 financial year with an EBIT margin of between 4.5 and 5.5 %.

“Following the positive start to the year for the technotrans group, we are optimistic and confident about the rest of the year. We will continue to consistently drive forward the ‘Future Ready 2025’ strategy,” says Michael Finger.

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Koenig & Bauer expects 4% organic revenue growth With a solid order backlog of more than €630m Koenig & Bauer expects to achieve organic revenue growth of around 4% and break even at the EBIT level in 2021.

The Koenig & Bauer Group achieved revenue of €1.0bn in 2020 (2019: €1.2bn) despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 17.4% decline in revenue reflects the measures adopted by governments worldwide in 2020 to halt the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Travel restrictions in particular hampered international sales activities as well as order and project execution. Service business accounted for about 30% of the Group’s revenue in 2020 against the backdrop of the pandemic. The 14.6% decline in order intake to €975m (2019: €1.1bn) is also due to Covid-19related constraints on global economic activity and customers’ reluctance to invest in view of reduced forward planning visibility.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to €-68m in 2020, compared to €70m in the previous year. The Group net loss of €103m (2019: Group net profit of €52m) translates into a loss per share of €6.27 (2019: earnings per share of €3.15).

Dr Andreas Pleßke, Chief Executive Officer of Koenig & Bauer AG, explains: “Looking at order intake, we can see that the Koenig & Bauer Group held up better in the difficult year of 2020 than our industry as a whole. Despite all due caution given the still very uncertain economic conditions, we take this as a sign that we are focusing on the right end and future markets with our range of presses and services. For example, corrugated-board printing could experience a significant boost in the coming years given the growth in e-commerce.

Packaging printing for food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, for example, is also proving to be an intact and growing market. Koenig & Bauer has expanded its Radebeul facility, turning it into a global customer experience centre to demonstrate the performance of our presses to customers in these sectors as effectively as possible.

The customer experience centre presents networked solutions for packaging production featuring innovative printing technology, flatbed and rotary die cutters, folding-box gluers and fully automated material flows. We are convinced that we will

strengthen and further expand our market position not only in the area of packaging printing.”

Covid-19 also leaving clear traces on the individual segments At the level of the individual segments, the Covid 19-related burdens and the provisions recognised for the measures defined in the “P24x” efficiency programme were also clearly evident in the decline in order intake, revenue and EBIT in 2020.

Order intake in the Sheetfed segment declined by only a moderate 5.5%. In 2020, this segment achieved growth in mediumand large-format sheetfed offset presses and folding-box gluers, which were primarily ordered by customers in the packaging printing sector. In the fourth quarter, the Sheetfed segment recorded order intake of €178m, thus exceeding the previous year’s figure (Q4 2019: €166m).

In the final quarter of 2020, the Digital & Webfed segment successfully commissioned the first CorruFLEX system for the production of high-quality printed packaging at corrugated cardboard printing company THIMM’s plant in Romania. This means that all three Corru models for direct corrugatedboard printing have now been successfully placed on the market.

In the Special segment, Banknote Solutions, Kammann and Coding reported lower order intake in 2020 in view of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. MetalPrint, on the other hand, recorded an increase in order intake in 2020.

Well equipped for the future: the Koenig & Bauer management team with Dr. Andreas Pleßke as the new board spokesman

from €-52m in the previous year to €-24m in 2020.

Slight organic revenue growth and break-even at the EBIT level expected for 2021 Koenig & Bauer anticipates slight growth in business in 2021. It projects slight organic revenue growth of around 4% to €1.07bn in 2021. On the earnings side, it expects to break even at the EBIT level in 2021 following the successful launch of the “P24x” efficiency programme and the planned savings effects.

Dr Stephen Kimmich, CFO of Koenig & Bauer AG: “The order backlog of more than €630m provides solid underpinnings for our forecast for the Koenig & Bauer Group in 2021.

With the efficiency measures under “P24x”, we have also laid important foundations for improving our profitability. In 2021, this should already allow us to break even at the EBIT level. After the completion of the four-year efficiency programme, we hope - as stated in autumn 2020 - to achieve revenue of €1.3bn and an EBIT margin of at least 7% and to reduce net working capital to a maximum of 25% of annual revenue.”

The Koenig & Bauer Group’s cash flow from operating activities turned positive in 2020, coming to €12m (2019: €-8m). Net working capital fell from €349m in the previous year to €344m. Free cash flow improved significantly

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digital printing

Xerox leading the way with its innovative new Adaptive CMYK+ kits Vineet Gehani, Director - Technology and Channels, Xerox India, speaks about how the pandemic impacted the Printing industry and how Xerox innovations help customers and channel partners.

A difficult year gone by. How has Xerox addressed the situation of the market during the year?

Vineet Gehani: Xerox has always focused on

Xerox’s innovative Adaptive CMYK+ kits can transform a four-colour Xerox Versant 180 Press into an 11-colour Beyond CMYK press capable of creating a million colour hues and shades by adding gold, silver, white, clear and fluorescent colours of yellow, magenta and cyan.

Key Notes : > Xerox – in a better position due to their diverse portfolio and cloud-enabled services. > Their unique suite of products, software, services, and apps has helped their customers extend desktop experience from the workplace to the home office and beyond. > The Adaptive CMYK+ Kits allow print providers to offer higher value embellishment solutions in gold, silver, white and even fluorescent without a significant investment.

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building new technologies and further improving existing ones to help organizations solve their workplace challenges. While the pandemic impacted the entire market last year, we considered it an opportunity to innovate and help our customers and channel partners face business-related issues.

The health crisis pushed the companies across sectors to adopt remote working and subsequently plan for calling the workforce to offices once lockdowns were lifted. This accelerated the demand for digital solutions to enable collaboration between the remote workforce, ensure high productivity and security. We addressed the situation by helping our customers build resilience by digitizing data, securing it in the cloud, and automating workflows. While businesses faced severe disruption all over, we were in a better position due to our diverse portfolio and cloud-enabled services.

How has Xerox supported its customers during the challenging times of Covid-19 and how much has the situation improved?

Vineet Gehani: During this challenging time,

Xerox focused on unravelling the positives for our customers and leading from the front. In our case, that positive has been digitization and the knowledge that we can help our partners and customers transform their businesses – and to an extent, ensure against such situations – through technology.

We supported our customers through consultation related to the rise of the hybrid worker, prominence of employee health and safety, and increased collaboration requirements. Our unique suite of products, software, services, and apps has helped our customers extend desktop experience from the workplace to the home office and beyond.

To help our customers in print production domain, Xerox propelled the major breakthrough for the industry – going beyond CMYK. Xerox took the lead in the space with the Iridesse Production Press.

Last year, we also announced Adaptive CMYK+ Kits that allow print providers to offer higher value embellishment solutions in gold, silver, white and even fluorescent without a significant investment.

With markets now getting back to normal, we have seen an uptick in business activities and transactions.

Digital Printing seems to have emerged as a preferred option in some sectors

pressideas/ digital

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complex processes less resourceintensive.

Focus not just on productivity—but on agility.

Security management underpinning all of these areas.

We are working toward a gradual but sustained recovery throughout 2021 as various vaccination programs roll out and the economy starts feeling the positive impact of this. We are poised to drive this forward with our offerings and solutions.

of print demand, particularly for reduced budgets resulting in shorter runs during 2020. How has Xerox benefitted from this situation and what are your plans to further this requirement in 2021?

Vineet Gehani: Print providers have delayed the high-capital investments due to ongoing uncertainty and reduced profits in the last year. Digital printing is cost-efficient and provides the agility to produce short-run outputs. It also delivers high-quality colour and an opportunity for print providers to increase their profitability. Hence, Xerox have long foreseen the trend of increased popularity of digital printing even prior 2020.

In this context, Xerox offers an industryleading portfolio of digital printing devices for our customers’ requirements.

We believe the success of our customers to be the parameter of our own progress.

Even before the pandemic, Xerox has been focusing on digital printing through the launch of Iridesse digital production press in 2019. During the uncertain market situation last year, our focus was to help our customers sustain their businesses. To enable them to fulfil the demand for digital print, Xerox products – like Iridesse, Versant 280 and Versant 4100 digital presses – provided our customers with the necessary capabilities. We also provided extensive training and support to our customers to help them tap all possible revenue streams through new tasks.

To enable our customers gain entry into the high-value digital print enhancement market,

Xerox also launched its innovative Adaptive CMYK+ kits that can transform a four-colour Xerox Versant 180 Press into an 11-colour Beyond CMYK press capable of creating a million colour hues and shades by adding gold, silver, white, clear and fluorescent colours of yellow, magenta and cyan. The Adaptive CMYK+ Kit has empowered print providers with the ability to produce higherquality prints without significant investment.

Xerox products and services have helped in fulfilling all customer requirements and this, in turn, has helped our brand grow. As we proceed in the year 2021, we will continue to support and add value to our customers and establish long-term relationships. We are open to new opportunities and will work to grow the brand while taking our customers along.

When do you see the industry going back to full scale and comfortable investment for expansion in digital?

Print Enhancement and value addition is the most sought-after development in digital presses. How do you see this improve the demand in the market and in which segments of applications do you see this being promoted the most?

Vineet Gehani: The digital enhancement of print is projected to be a $25 billion market globally. Digital print enhancements have ushered in added capabilities to print a new range of colours, specifically metallic and whites, while also increasing quality and flexibility. Coatings, metallics, white inks, spot colours and gamut extenders are some of the digital print enhancements that are revolutionizing the printing industry.

The appeal of digital enhancements is the intriguing design options that makes the visual more impressive. This can help in attracting attention, amplifying content and captivating the audience. Digital print enhancements can contribute significantly in diverse segments like marketing collaterals, brochures, business cards, signage – producing extraordinary results to help customers cut through the clutter.

Vineet Gehani: Printing industry, while impacted severely due to the pandemic, is slowly picking up the pace. We are going through an exceptional time that has challenged us to be better and demonstrated that we can only improve this situation when we work together.

Digital print enhancement is a high-value market where demand is continually increasing. Offering these enhancements can provide a competitive advantage as well as an opportunity for premium prices for the output.

Our customer conversations in recent months have revolved around addressing few common priorities: • Workplace technology that helps people do their job no matter where they are.

• Access to the content and data that powers business-critical workflows.

• Analytics and automation that make

How is Xerox leading the way with its innovative new Adaptive CMYK+ kits?

Vineet Gehani: While digital printing offers substantial benefits over offset printing, everyone is looking for more - something special that can make their print stand out.

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pressideas/ digital

Xerox Iridesse was the first xerographic digital press outfitted with Colour FLX technology that layers CMYK with up to two Speciality Dry Inks in a single press.

Now, Xerox has brought its innovative Adaptive CMYK+ Kits that can transform a four-colour Xerox Versant 280 Press into an 11-colour Beyond CMYK press capable of creating a million colour hues and shades by adding gold, silver, white, clear and fluorescent colours of yellow, magenta and cyan. The Adaptive CMYK+ Kit is a ground-breaking innovation from Xerox as it empowers print providers with the ability to produce higher-quality prints without significant investment.

How is it providing greater options for professional print providers and designers?

Vineet Gehani: The Xerox Adaptive CMYK+ Kit ensures that designers have more freedom to imagine, create and bring ideas to life. Using white toner, it is possible

now to design and print on dark substrates such as black or dark blue for higher a contrast between fonts and images. Clear toner enables the designers to emphasize photos and images with a spot clear to draw greater attention.

With the advantages of digital embellishment options, there exists a wide range of highvalue opportunities for print providers. Xerox Adaptive CMYK+ Kits can help meet the demands with swap-and-go simplicity and effectively double the versatility of the print hardware.

How it helps in increasing profits and delivers higher margins without needing new press?

Vineet Gehani: Customer expectations are changing when it comes to printing labels, business cards, book covers, marketing collateral and gift boxes, among others. This demand directly translates into an opportunity of more high-value jobs for print providers.

Earlier, this required a considerable investment in a digital press that could achieve the needed versatility. However, Xerox Adaptive CMYK+ Kit gives the print providers the ability to simply switch toners in their existing digital press to print more colors and enhancements. In three simple steps—and under 15 minutes—you can remove CMYK toner set and replace it with exciting embellishment opportunities created with gold, white, silver, and clear toners.

Print providers can easily convert, enhance, and print more volumes with superior quality without needing to invest in a new press.

They can gain an affordable entry into the high-value print enhancements market without sacrificing short-run digital printing.

Konica Minolta wins BLI 2021 A3 Line of the Year Award Also wins BLI Color Consistency Award for A3 and A4 devices (2021-2023), and BLI Winter 2021 A3 Pick and Outstanding Achievement Award.

Konica Minolta has been conferred with a series of awards by Keypoint Intelligence.

Keypoint Intelligence is built upon two brands: Buyers Lab and Info Trends. Both brands have deep histories and strong presence in the document imaging industry.

The brand, Konica Minolta, has won the BLI 2021 A3 Line of the Year Award for its skillfully crafted MFPs that ensure the highest level of personalization, reliability, and consistency in both performance and usability.

It has been also recognized as the Most Color Consistent A3 Brand (2021-2023) for its A3 devices, including the new bizhub i-series, which provides consistent prints in terms of various aspects, be it business graphics, photo images, or any other output type. Last but not the least, it has also bagged the BLI Winter 2021 A3 Pick and Outstanding Achievement Award for bizhub i-series printers that are highly reliable and easy to use from a walk-up, workstation, and from a service perspective.

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The brand has also won the BLI 2020 Pick Award for Outstanding Workflow Automation Platform for Dispatcher Phoenix 6. The device enables businesses to automate all their document-centric workflows, ramp up productivity, accelerate processes, cut costs, eliminate mistakes, secure sensitive information, and comply with corporate and government regulations. The machine is designed to cater to the needs of educators, law offices, healthcare providers, government institutions, general business, and much more, hence saving their time from processing documents and rather focus on core responsibilities.

Kuldeep Malhotra, Vice President & Director Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt Ltd said, “Since our inception, we at Konica Minolta have strived to manufacture and deliver the best-in-class printing solutions to our customers using state-of-the-art technologies. On the back of in-depth R&D, we have always kept customers at the forefront and accordingly develop devices

that can address their problems in the most convenient, accessible and affordable manner. The series of awards underlines our efforts to provide the best products in the market while ensuring the highest level of consistency, reliability, personalization, and security. We will continue to follow an agile approach and keep innovating further in sync with the changing market dynamics and evolving customer needs, and endeavor to serve customers more seamlessly in the coming months/years.”

pressideas/ digital

Canon India leads the A3 & A4 Laser Copier Based MFP segment for 5 years in a row Canon India continues to maintain its leadership for 5 consecutive years in the laser copier segment, ending 2020 with a 30.7% overall market-share.

Latest results from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, 2020 Q4 ranks Canon India#1 in the A3 & A4 laser copier-based MFP (multi-function printer) segment for the fifth consecutive year in India. This achievement is a testament of Canon’s continued market leadership and commitment to the printing industry.

As per the IDC report, Canon India ended 2020 as the market leader with a 30.7% overall market share, 30% market share in the mono segment and 35.4% in the colour segment. With this result, Canon India

retained its market leadership for the fifth year in a row in the overall, mono and colour A3 & A4 Laser Copier Based MFP segment.

(With consideration of speed range up to 75 ppm (A4 Mono Speed) for Mono Segment and up to 60 ppm (A4 Colour Speed) for Colour Segment.)

“Achieving #1 market-share in the A3 and A4 Laser Copier Based MFP segment for five years in a row is a great honour for each one of us at Canon. Despite the turbulent situation across the world in 2020, we are thankful to all our partners and customers for their trust and faith in the Canon brand.

Technological innovation and service support are the key pillars that have helped us to delight our customers always and have helped us reach this pinnacle of success,” said Mr. K. Bhaskhar, Senior Vice PresidentBIS Segment, Canon India.

technology and building commercially viable products for our customers.”

With their range of A3 and A4 MFP’s, Canon is able to reach a broad spectrum of customers from large enterprises to small businesses. To be recognized as the market leader in all 3 segments showcases Canon’s ability to benefit a wide variety of customers through its high-quality solutions. The company recently expanded its state-of-theart MFP range through the introduction of the imageRUNNER1643i, imageRUNNER1643iF and imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX MFP series.

He further adds, “New models launched under our flagship line-up of imageRUNNER are helping our customers embark on their digital transformation journey while optimizing operational costs and productivity.

Being market leaders in the A3 and A4 MFP laser copier categories only strengthens are resolve to bring more evolved products to the market and clearly goes to show our commitment towards investment in

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digital printing

Creating Print Workflow Integration Success: Strategy, Assessment and Connection - By Todd Bigger, VP of Print, Eastman Kodak Company When was the last time you reviewed your workflow?

Not only a look at the modules and features, but the integration points that make it possible to share data and update business systems. Even a cursory look will tell you that those integration points are essential to the health of the business, which is why reviewing the current state of your workflow integration, and your options for creating an end-to-end workflow that shares data across the business is essential to longterm growth.

Your integration investigation may uncover more than incomplete projects. It may uncover multiple software products intended to accomplish the same tasks. It isn’t uncommon to find multiple web-to-print and digital storefront variations alongside elements of estimating, scheduling, inventory management, and shop floor data collection tools from partially installed suites and departmental acquisitions meant to solve specific challenges. Tools may be sitting on dedicated appliances and servers, while others may sit in the cloud.

Looking at Your Workflows

The Kodak team evaluates the existing environment, builds a plan to ensure that data flows between the business and production systems, and quotes a price to deliver a complete end-to-end business system.

Key Notes : > The PRINERGY on Demand Business Solution – meeting integration requirements. > With Microsoft and PrintVIS forming a solid infrastructure with Prinergy, there is no need to hire an army of integration contractors or IT experts. > One vendor. One solution. Complete integration.

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Do you have an integration strategy? The best practice is to define and document your approach to integration and test every project against those integration policies. You should define the requirements for data exchange so that all processes share data in real time. In a typical integration project, there may be hundreds of elements to consider, custom code to be written to cross application boundaries, APIs to be updated, and SDKs to be integrated, all needing project management and testing.

When multiple tools exist, they each work in their own way. They format the data they gather and pass in ways specific to their architecture. Two different webto-print environments can be gathering specifications and passing them using parameters with different names. Different products may use different naming conventions for how files are stored, and profiles are maintained. Every variation is a pain point. This is the path to directories filled with custom code that may not be aging gracefully, and which must be maintained and reviewed with every software update.

Working without a strategy is like a meeting without an agenda. We all gather around a table and start talking about what we think is important. Processes, pain points, bottlenecks and ideas all compete for mindshare. At the end of the meeting there are a few action items that update processes or solve pain points.

When there are multiple locations, the impact is magnified. People spend time resolving the differences, or they write custom code to try to normalize them. Don’t be surprised to find that some elements of essential business information are kept in private spreadsheets and re-keyed into primary business systems. To position for growth, this is a great time to look for a true end-to-end workflow that doesn’t rely on custom code, proprietary appliances and servers, or teams of professional services contractors with limited knowledge of the products, all working to a budget. This is the time to look for a single partner with a comprehensive solution and a team ready to create your integration success.

Even if you have defined a strategy, a look at your current integration state may uncover gaps. You may find that the work needed to create seamless integration isn’t done. Look for partly installed workflow suites, islands of custom code (usually undocumented), and incomplete integrations. You may find data feeds that should be connected are missing, causing team members to manually enter needed data or to make decisions without relevant data. Incomplete integrations can stem from running out of professional services budget, inability to find integration resources, or difficulties in working with legacy blocks of code. The result is partial integration that never realizes the promise of operational efficiency. Even in a JDF-certified workflow, if the integration points aren’t connected, data cannot flow and inform, so you won’t realize the benefits of true integration.

pressideas/ digital

Successful Integration Planning Integration is more than connecting multiple solutions. Simple connections may not adequately support the workflow architecture.

The best practice is to ensure that all systems of record can share data, so look for solutions that provide seamless, end-to-end business integration, not just production shop integration.

The PRINERGY on Demand Business Solution is the only solution is the market that meets these integration requirements.

With Microsoft and PrintVIS forming a solid infrastructure with Prinergy, there is no need to hire an army of integration contractors or IT experts. The Kodak team evaluates the existing environment, builds a plan to ensure that data flows between the business and production systems, and quotes a price to deliver a complete end-to-end business

system. One vendor. One solution. Complete integration.

Another advantage is the platform, which is cloud based for flexibility and scalability.

Working with the Microsoft platform provides integration with both Microsoft 365 and Teams, two of the most widely used business tools. It also brings PowerBI to the integration, ensuring that every member of the team has access to the dashboards needed for both simple and complex business decisions. Going forward, the data locked inside MIS and ERP systems is freed to work for the entire business bringing operational efficiency to every department.

With PRINERGY on Demand you are connected today and tomorrow. By building on the industry-leading Microsoft platform, even as new features are added, the

connections remain constant. The result is reliability. Sales teams know that their data is accurate, estimations are based on current costs, and discount rates are optimized for the business. Production management has the information they need for task and machine scheduling, and inventory replenishment. Management has the overview they require and the ability to do deep dives by department as they look for growth opportunities. The result is an empowered, integrated workflow, where every function connects to future-proof your business.

Todd spoke in detail at Kodak’s web session at virtual.drupa on April 20. The session titled: A single Platform Workflow Solution: One Vendor. One Workflow. Fully Managed.

Slovenia Post expands with two Ricoh Pro VC40000s Slovenia Post expands into books, brochures and elevated production with two Ricoh Pro VC40000s.

Just six months after setting up a new print production operation in Zagreb, Croatia, with a Ricoh Pro VC40000 high speed continuous feed digital colour press, Slovenia Post has invested in a second system in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The nationally owned operation chose the Ricoh technology, combined with software and finishing capabilities, to introduce its transactional and variable data printing expertise into the Croatian market. It also took the opportunity to move into books and brochure production. The Pro VC40000’s mix of cost effective quality, productivity and media flexibility was key to the decision.

Equally important was the relationship Slovenia Post formed with Ricoh and its regional representative Eurocop.

“We wanted to establish a presence in Croatia and worked together with Ricoh and Eurocop on a complete end to end solution that initially focused on allowing us to easily switch from variable data printing to transactional print,” explains Vili Hribernik, Slovenia Post’s Managing Director: “Then we were shown how the quality achievable and the range of media available would be ideal for books and brochures. We were even supported in subsequently winning a

multimillion book order with a national school book provider. It will go a long way to helping us obtain a fast return on investment.”

The installation of the first complete end to end system was so successful that an identical solution was chosen to replace a seven year old continuous feed line in Ljubljana. After first elevating the production of transactional and variable data print it will help Slovenia Post establish new business in books and brochures in its home territory.

Adds Vili Hribernik: “We were given extensive help to identify all the elements we needed to create a complete solution that fits us, our workload and is responsive to our clients’ needs. The installation in Zagreb went so well and has achieved such positive results that we wanted to replicate that in Ljubljana.

We were supported every step of the way and that gave us the confidence to implement our ambitious plans.”

Clive Stringer, Director Continuous Feed and High End Software Sales, Ricoh Graphic Communications, Ricoh Europe, comments: “Relationships are vital. Slovenia Post was confident enough to rely on Ricoh and Eurocop to invest in the Pro VC40000 to elevate the production quality and expand into new markets. Then, just six months later, based on how well the installation had gone, it chose to enhance its Ljubljana operation with the same technology. We are proud to have helped Slovenia Post take such a bold step in these challenging times and we will continue to support it as it maximises the opportunities now available.”

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Sustainability that Pays: Kodak’s commitment to its customers and our planet

By Jim Continenza, Kodak’s Executive Chairman and CEO. The past year reinforced in a profound way the irreplaceable value of people and our planet. There’s no greater way to show my appreciation than to be conscious and caring stewards of our communities, our countries, and, for executives like me, our companies. That’s a responsibility that I take very seriously.

Automation and integration save money by reducing waste, maximizing ink utilization, and eliminating costly manual errors. Together, they serve as the catalyst for data insights that provide printers with operational trends, efficiency opportunities and new areas of revenue potential.

Key Notes : > Kodak offers a full range of customerfocused products designed to deliver on the promise of “Print that Pays.” > Now more than ever, customers are seeing that sustainable, resource-efficient solutions also pay. > Sonora plates enable print industry save 3.74 million liters of plate developer, 29 million kWh of electricity & 468 million liters of water per year.

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I developed a deep appreciation for nature as I grew up in the land of 10,000 lakes, Minnesota. My passion for the environment sprang from being outdoors, marveling at nature, hiking, camping, fishing, snowmobiling and water sports. Its roots go deep, feeding my desire to protect this planet and to do what I can to influence others to do the same.

The Kodak difference As CEO of Kodak, I work to instill the value of sustainability across our company, from R&D to manufacturing to sales and service. We offer a full range of customer-focused products designed to deliver on the promise of “Print that Pays.” But now more than ever, our customers are seeing that sustainable, resource-efficient solutions also pay.

For us that means saving massive amounts of water and energy, reducing chemical use and waste, and thinking about what we produce and how it’s made, cradle to grave.

Today’s market offers printers a proliferation of

competing devices. My goal is to deliver solutions that are not only superior to other alternatives, but also backed by an unwavering company-wide commitment to preserving our environment. It is clear our customers and the public are becoming more aware of the imperative, and I believe it’s simply the right thing to do.

As an industry pioneer with deep knowledge of material science and thousands of print-related patents, Kodak will continue to innovate – especially when it comes to sustainability.

I believe that if a small organization can make a small difference, a big business like ours can make a huge difference.

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Walking the talk What we do today and tomorrow is how we’ll be measured, and all of us bear that responsibility. Here are some of the ways that Kodak operations are aligned with sustainability:

Process-free printing plates Kodak was first to successfully commercialize a printing plate that requires no processing chemicals, while also saving water and energy versus conventional processed plates. Our KODAK SONORA Process Free Plates are in use by over 5,000 printers worldwide. We estimate that by using cost-saving SONORA plates instead of processed plates, the print industry is also saving: • 3.74 million liters of plate developer per year • 29 million kWh of electricity per year • 468 million liters of water per year That also means no more spent chemistry, wastewater, chemical containers, disposal, shipping and storage costs. That’s something that would make Mother Nature smile.

In addition, because there’s no processing variability, printers benefit from more consistent and stable plates that reduce time, waste, and cost in the pressroom. Our customers are helping their bottom lines while reducing their environmental impact.

Sustainable inks Kodak’s award-winning water-based inks are more sustainable than conventional solventbased inks. They contain several naturally occurring substances and do not contain PVC or phthalates, making them safer for printers, consumers, and the environment.

In addition, because they are water-based, no harsh chemicals are required for cleanup.

This keeps potentially harmful substances out of our waste stream and water supply.

Our printer control software features ink optimization capability, which reduces the consumption of CMY inks by applying a Gray Component Replacement (GCR) algorithm while ensuring the widest possible colour gamut. In fact, not only are the colours virtually indistinguishable from offset lithography in print quality and reproduction consistency, the inks are safe for applications such as food packaging and personal care products.

Inkjet printers like our industry-leading KODAK PROSPER Presses are inherently more efficient and produce less waste because they can print for an audience of one with zero make-ready and no need for overprints to inventory. That’s sustainability that pays!

Workflow software Sustainability is not only about resource efficiency, it’s also about ensuring a successful and profitable future. A platformcentric approach to automation is not a luxury, it’s a prerequisite for relevance in years to come. Automation and integration save money by reducing waste, maximizing ink utilization, and eliminating costly manual errors. Together, they serve as the catalyst for data insights that provide printers with operational trends, efficiency opportunities and new areas of revenue potential.

Digital, end-to-end transformation is the key to sustainability. KODAK PRINERGY On Demand is the industry’s only single, smart, and secure end-to-end software platform for an entire print organization, designed for sustainable growth.

Planet-friendly programs Beyond saving water and energy, in addition to reducing carbon and chemistry, we’ve put measures in place to reduce waste in our operations and manufacturing and supply chains. At Eastman Business Park, we collaborate with 30 companies and organizations on a solvent recovery program.

In addition, our suppliers know that to earn Kodak’s business, they have to step up with more eco-friendly products and more

sustainable operations.

Top to bottom mindset According to a 2019 report from the Environmental Defense Fund, 9 in 10 business leaders said consumers would hold them accountable for the environmental impact they make through their business.

The reality is that our customers care, so we and those with whom we work must also care. At Kodak, sustainability is inherent in our culture and backed by board-level support. We’re listening!

Looking ahead When I became CEO of Kodak, I brought a vision for what this company could be, informed by experience and inspired by my personal values. My conviction that people will do the right thing is unshakeable. I believe that as humans we are all connected, regardless of belief or boundary. Kodak has long been a leader, embodying the spirit of American innovation. With our sustainability programs, greener processes, and likeminded employees, we’re showing the way again.

My home state of pristine rivers and lakes is also known as the North Star State. My own guiding star in business has been aligning company goals with what’s right for the planet, an approach that’s essential to the development of environmentally sustainable practices. As we continue to innovate in materials, processes and software, delivering on the promise of “Print that Pays,” the sustainability imperative will always be our true north compass point.

Environmental friendly custom digital labels When you think of digital printing for your custom labels you are thinking for environmental benefits apart from others.

“By choosing Digistik and digital to print your labels you are joining hands with us to go green on the world earth day,” says Harish Gupta, MD, Sai Com Codes Flexoprint.

“So let’s join hands and save the planet,” adds Sumit Malhotra, Vice President Operations, Sai Com Codes Flexoprint.

Digistik is a Digital unit of Sai Com Codes Flexoprint Pvt. Ltd. For more information visit: www.digistik.in

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Excellent detection of V-Shapes as polypropylene for waste management Convenient single-dose packaging from V-Shapes, enabling dispensing of product with a single hand, is now proven more sustainable than ever.

V-Shapes, an innovative supplier of vertically integrated products and services for convenient, hygienic and sustainable single-dose packaging, and TOMRA, a producer of customized sorting solutions, has confirmed V-Shapes’ single-dose sachets as being constructed of polypropylene and easily detected in the waste stream for proper sorting.

V-Shapes sachets are a brand-new way to safely, affordably and sustainably deliver singledose products, from hand sanitizer to honey and more that can be easily opened with only one hand. These recyclable single portion sachets can be printed on the top and/or bottom sides in multiple languages with customized brand messaging and use instructions.

These unique sachets are constructed with material from a variety of sources, including V-Shapesdeveloped materials as well as substrate provided

by Sihl GmbH that is specifically designed for recyclability and ideal for use with digital inkjet printing. The result is V-Shapes recyclable material that is also compatible with SIHL ARTYSIO recyclable functional flexible packaging films for aqueous inkjet printing, providing multiple choices for sachet configuration. Sihl not only offers a special coating that works with water-based inkjet inks, but also a multifunctional top film that, in addition to excellent printability with aqueous inkjet, also has great sealing properties to provide the best protection during the shelf life period with barrier properties matched to the product being filled.

Key Notes :

In addition to the TOMRA verification of detectability, the independent auditing company Interseroh has confirmed the excellent recyclability of the V-Shapes ‘Made for Recycling’ polypropylene packaging used to create V-Shapes sachets.

> Constructed with material from a variety of sources, including V-Shapes-developed materials as well as substrate provided by Sihl GmbH. > Specifically designed for recyclability and ideal for use with digital inkjet printing.

“At V-Shapes, we offer a wide range of substrate types for our single-dose sachets, depending on customer needs and the product type being filled,” said Jesper Gustavsson, Business Development & Founding Partner, of V-Shapes. “We are especially pleased to be able to offer our customers a recyclable polypropylene sachet based on materials recently

developed by V-Shapes which have been shown to have excellent industrial recyclability by a number of certifying organizations, including most recently sorting verification by TOMRA and certification of the SIHL media by Interseroh.”

V-Shapes sachets are a brand-new way to safely, affordably and sustainably deliver single-dose products, from hand sanitizer to honey and more that can be easily opened with only one hand.

These recyclable single portion sachets can be printed on the top and/or bottom sides in multiple languages with customized brand messaging and use instructions. They represent a new and innovative way to distribute single-dose liquid and powdered products. Up to 98% of packaged product can easily be dispensed using just one hand, resulting in little product waste and no mess or spillage. V-Shapes provides its vertically integrated ALPHA and PRIME converting/filling systems to converters/fillers/brand owners around the globe who can then add these innovative sachets to their offerings. Beginning with a roll of substrate, ALPHA and PRIME vertically integrated solutions create the V-Shapes patented opening solution with a pre-cut of the semi-rigid material, followed by exact dosing of product, sealing and cutting to form customized filled sachets at up to 300 units per minute. Sachets can also feature branded printing on one or both sides. The compact

> Recyclable material also compatible with SIHL ARTYSIO recyclable functional flexible packaging films for aqueous inkjet printing, providing multiple choices for sachet configuration.

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V-Shapes single-dose sachets can be opened with a single gesture using one hand

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footprint of this converting/filling equipment means it can be conveniently operated in spaces as small as 25 square meters, using a single operator, and deliver a robust return on investment for packaging converters/ fillers. The specific sachet materials tested by TOMRA were constructed of a V-Shapes developed semi-rigid material for use on the bottom of the sachet and a V-Shapes developed flexible polypropylene monopolymer for use on the top layer that includes a thin inner liner of aluminium oxide to establish a barrier to prevent migration of contaminants into the contained product.

Precut sheets, rather than assembled product, were used in the verification process.

V-Shapes single-dose sachets can be opened with a single gesture using one hand

“We were satisfied with the detectability of V-Shapes sachets constructed from V-Shapes-developed monopolymer polypropylene and the ability for the sachets to be accurately detected in the waste stream using our near infrared (NIR) light detection system,” said Charlotte Glassneck, Manager Plastics Applications, at TOMRA. “Even the smallest V-Shapes polypropylene sachets, which are available as small as 40 x 50 mm and 40 x 80 mm, are detectable as they are sorted in the waste stream using our detection equipment and can be accurately sorted in the industrial recycling process.”

“For purposes of recycling, the V-Shapes sachets are considered rigid materials; industrial recycling centers have difficulty recycling flexible materials,” said Sven Dobler, Senior Vice President of Orlandi, Inc., an early adopter of the V-Shapes solution.

“We believe the ability to guarantee the V-Shapes 100% polypropylene sachets

Vertically integrated PRIME single-lane converting/filling unit.

detectable as per the TOMRA tests will be a significant boost to our business and drive conversion from flexible singleunit packaging to the V-Shapes solution.

The concern about waste and consumer consciousness about sustainability are barriers to the adoption of conventional flexible single-unit packaging, and our highend cosmetics brands are eager to include this packaging concept in their offering for a more circular economy approach.”

‘designed for recycling’ substrate, combined with the efficiency and cost savings associated with our vertically integrated ALPHA and PRIME converting/filling units, offer a revolutionary way of meeting those needs.”

“Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, brands, retailers and operators of largeaudience venues such as sports arenas, airports and theme parks have expressed a growing interest in a more sustainable, hygienic and convenient way to dispense products in precise single-dose measures,” said Christian Burattini, CEO of V-Shapes.

“These sachets, constructed of V-Shapes developed monopolymer polypropylene

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Pragati boosts print quality with another inspection system from Baldwin After positive results with India’s first Offline Proofing & Inspection system, adds inline Guardian PQV 100% Print Inspection technology from Baldwin Vision Systems.

Pragati Graphics and Packaging, one of India’s top packaging companies, has taken another step ensuring perfect print quality to its customers and brand owners. After positive results with Baldwin Vision Systems’ Guardian OLP Offline Proofing & Inspection, Pragati increased their print quality capabilities by adding the inline Guardian PQV 100% Print Inspection.

“After speaking about the performance of the inline Guardian PQV system with Shreedhar Labels, we saw the potential to improve our print quality and our productivity even more.

We are now very pleased to see the benefits and efficiencies of connected communication between the two systems—offline and inline.” – Rajesh Nema, Pragati Graphics and Packaging

Key Notes : > Guardian PQV – can inspect all types of materials and substrates. > Enables printers to eliminate every defect with a more efficient, accurate, dataconnected workflow. > Besides helping the operators find and remove even small defects quickly, it also helps monitor the processes to prevent defects from occurring in the first place.

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Guardian PQV, which can inspect all types of materials and substrates, enables printers to eliminate every defect with a more efficient, accurate, data-connected workflow. The system provides unique ‘Object-Based Inspection’ throughout the entire printing process—ensuring tighter tolerances and fewer false defects. Areas of interest on the printed substrate can be defined for enhanced or reduced levels of inspection. Operators can easily spot errors and make adjustments in real time, as well as manage defects throughout the entire process.

Defect positions and images are recorded and can be accessed at multiple post-press processes.

“Besides helping our operators find and remove even small defects quickly,” says Mr. Rajesh Nema, Pragati’s Executive Director, “the Guardian PQV system is also very powerful in helping monitor our processes to prevent defects from occurring in the first place.”

Mr. Nema continued, “We have been very happy with the increased productivity achieved after installing the OLP offline inspection system. After speaking about the performance of the inline Guardian PQV system with Shreedhar Labels, we saw the potential to improve our print quality and our productivity even more. We are now very pleased to see the benefits and efficiencies of connected communication between the two systems—offline and inline. We are the first company in India to use the two technologies in this way.” Shreedhar Labels of Ahmedabad achieved a ‘zero rejection’ level of print quality after installing India’s first Guardian PQV inline technology in February of 2021.

Raj Rana, Regional Sales Manager for Baldwin Vision Systems, comments, “Pragati Graphics and Packaging is at the leading edge of delivering the highest print quality for their customers. Their eagerness to deploy the latest technology puts

Mr. Rajesh Nema, Pragati’s Executive Director, assigns important ‘areas of interest’ with the inline Guardian PQV 100% Print Inspection technology.

them in a good position to refine efficiency of their operations and increase profits.”

Pragati Graphics and Packaging, Indore, is well known for delivering top print quality to many of the world’s largest brands, and has a strong reputation as a pioneer in the introduction of new technologies to the Indian print market.

The Vision Systems business unit of Baldwin Technology Company is one of the world’s leading innovators of advanced colour and inspection technology for the printing industry. Baldwin Vision Systems sells its automated control systems in more than 100 countries, and maintains a worldwide network of sales and service operations.

Guardian PQV 100% Inspection provides unique ‘Object-Based Inspection’ throughout the entire printing process—ensuring tighter tolerances and fewer false defects.

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Contamination 10-fold higher following hand drying with jet air dryers Pilot study demonstrates that hand drying method can have a significant impact on transmission of microbes from hospital toilets to wards.

A pilot study to investigate whether microorganisms that remain present on poorly washed hands can be transferred beyond the washroom environment to clinical and patient areas has found that drying hands with paper towels as opposed to jet air dryers results in lower rates of virus contamination on hands and clothing. The consequences of these different rates of contamination remaining on hands after drying were measured by sampling a series of surfaces to determine the extent of transmission of a virus beyond the washroom.

The study, peer reviewed in the latest issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, was performed in a washroom in Leeds General Infirmary (UK) used by staff, visitors and patients. It was spaced over a 5-week period and investigated virus transmission beyond the washroom to surfaces in the hospital’s public and clinical areas.

A bacteriophage (a specialised virus that is harmless to humans) was used to represent microbial contamination following two types of hand drying: one using paper towels, and the other using jet air dryers. Volunteers sanitised their hands before immersion in a liquid containing bacteriophage; they did this twice, once with each hand drying method.

Hands were shaken three times to remove excess liquid before drying. Volunteers also wore plastic aprons in order to be able to measure body/clothing contamination during hand drying.

All surfaces and samples investigated had bacteriophage contamination above the limit of detection following jet air dryer use. Contamination following hand drying with paper towels occurred on only 6 of 11 surfaces. For instance, simulated use of a hospital phone for 10 seconds resulted in detectable contamination following hand drying with jet air dryers. Trunk and clothing contamination was significantly higher following jet dryers use, compared to paper towels. On average, the levels of contamination of surfaces following hand drying with jet air dryers were 10-fold higher

than with paper towels.

The researchers – Ines Moura PhD, Duncan Ewin BSc, and Mark Wilcox MD – sampled the palm and fingertips immediately after drying to measure baseline hand contamination levels before environmental sampling. Volunteers then walked from the washroom on a pre-set route that included public and clinical areas. Samples were collected from environmental surfaces following contact with hands or apron. A stethoscope was placed around the neck, leaving the chest piece and earpiece in contact with the apron for some 7 minutes.

Volunteers also crossed their arms across their chest for 2 minutes and then rested them on the arms of a chair for 3 minutes.

Each surface was swabbed with a spongestick moistened with neutralising buffer, and surfaces were disinfected with chlorine wipes both before and after sampling.

• The findings suggest a higher potential for microbial spread through the hospital following jet air dryer use – likely due to the increased risk of splattering on users. This is concerning because objects and surfaces can serve as reservoirs for microorganisms and be acquired via hand contact. The significantly greater contamination of items in close contact with healthcare professionals and patients – such as phones and stethoscopes – following jet air dryer use is particularly concerning. Minimising the potential for microbe dispersal is a fundamental principle of infection prevention.

This study showed that the microbial contamination of the user’s hands or trunk following jet air dryer use was directly and indirectly transferred onto surfaces via hand, clothing or skin contact.

The pilot study findings question the use of jet air dryers in a hospital setting, and support the recommendations of German hospitals and the French SF2H that paper towels should be the prescribed method of hand drying in healthcare settings.

•

several hours and on surfaces for several months. They can be acquired at a high rate through contact with environmental surfaces. The hand drying process is essential in minimising the risk of pathogen spread as residual hand moisture is associated with increased microorganism transfer from hands to surfaces.

Previous studies have already established that risk of environmental bacterial contamination was lower when paper towels were used as the method of hand drying. There was less droplet and/or microbe dispersion, and consequently lower levels of toilet surface contamination.

The researchers recommend that future studies should focus on a greater number of volunteers and potentially also include an investigation of the handwashing process prior to hand drying, exploring how the method and length of hand washing may affect the degree of bacteriophage transfer and surface contamination.

ETS is the European Tissue Paper Industry Association. The members of ETS represent the majority of tissue paper producers throughout Europe and around 90% of the total European tissue production. ETS was founded in 1971 and is based in Brussels.

Notes: • Pathogens can persist on hands for

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Cosmetics Packaging without microplastic pollution by Sulapac Sulapac’s ground-breaking innovation – now package water-based products with a new bio-based barrier that biodegrades without leaving permanent microplastics behind. compelling portfolio of different sized jars for both oil and water-based cosmetics. They also give support throughout the process, a turnkey solution.

The beauty and personal care industry is worth over $500 billion a year and the market is expected to grow annually by 4.75%.

Accordingly, the forerunners have eagerly been looking for sustainable packaging solutions. While around 90% of the cosmetics market consist of water-based emulsions, there has not been an alternative for waterbased products that biodegrades without leaving permanent microplastics behind.

Now, Sulapac has invented a patent-pending material for them.

Apart from being fully sustainable, the Sulapac barrier fits industry standard requirements – acceptable weight loss for cosmetic packaging is typically below 3%.

The Sulapac Barrier measured a loss 1.3% in a Sulapac 4-part jar with emulsion in 40°C, over 12 weeks.

In fact, the test results have been fantastic.

“I’m excited that we managed to create a sustainable barrier that is suitable for water-based products! The development and extensive testing took longer than we anticipated, but now it’s finally official. We are pleased to offer a real game-changer to our customers together with the industry leaders like our Preferred Partner for Cosmetics, Quadpack,” says Dr. Suvi Haimi, CEO and co-founder of Sulapac.

The complete package At present, Sulapac is also announcing a new flexible material designed for thin-walled jars with excellent impact strength. It has low carbon footprint based on eco-design, climate conscious raw materials and cost-efficient, high-volume manufacturing.

Combined with the Sulapac barrier, the company’s trusted partners provide a

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“The new barrier developed by Sulapac allows us to continue to offer sustainable innovations that meet and exceed market demands. From new capacities to cuttingedge technical solutions, Quadpack is happy to provide an ever-growing product range in Sulapac material to all beauty brands,” says Pierre Antoine Henry, Head of Categories at Quadpack, Sulapac’s Preferred Partner for Cosmetics.

Sulapac has made sure that the switch from conventional plastics is as easy as possible.

The drop-in solution material can be mass produced with the existing plastic machinery.

What’s more, its natural appearance and haptic feel make it stand out. Sulapac is beautiful, functional and sustainable, just like nature.

Currently, the ideal way to recycle a product made of Sulapac material is via industrial composting. It biodegrades without leaving permanent microplastics behind. Mechanical and chemical recycling are also viable options, and Sulapac is developing a closedloop system. The Take Back Sulapac pilot will be launched in the near future.

Now, Sulapac is looking for forerunner cosmetic brands to join its mission to save the world from plastic waste.

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Cosmo Films Launches 100% Opaque Synthetic Paper CSPR-2 (M) O BTC is a non-tearable and co-extruded Paper designed for dangler application.

Cosmo Films has introduced 100% Opaque Synthetic Paper (OSP) which is specially designed for a dangler application. A non tearable, co-extruded , white opaque, and both sides matte coated film which resembles paper in appearance is best suited for outdoor applications where printing is done on both sides and requires 100% opacity. With remarkable moisture resistance, this white opaque paper yields superior ink adhesion and exceptional colour reproducibility.

Matteness on both sides of the product makes it appear similar to paper and offers an excellent print quality and true color output. Its print receptive coating allows it to print on both sides by Conventional & UV offset, UV & water-based flexographic, thermal transfer, and screen & letterpress printing processes.

On the product launch, Mr. Pankaj Poddar, CEO, Cosmo Films Ltd. said, “With boundless uses in Commercial Printing, Retail & Packaging, Tags & Labels, Identification and Credentials and Outdoor Displays and Signages, CSP can create a niche for itself as a weather-proof replacement for paper in applications where durability and longevity is desired. Cosmo Films Ltd. is the leading market player in India, and with this launch we aim to grow in the Indian as well as International markets.”

resistance with excellent lay flatness. The product is available in 75, 95, 120, 150, 175, 195, 215, 275, 330, 375 and 430 microns.

It has a truly versatile range of applications such as Commercial printing: Maps, calendars, posters, recipe books, instruction manuals etc., Tags and Labels: Chemical drum labels, airport transfer tags, track

and trace labels etc., Retail and Packaging Segment: POP graphics, carry bags etc.

Identification and credentials: visiting cards, ration cards, land documents, birth and merit certificates etc. and Outdoors: Tree tags, train station and airport signages, displays etc.

Cosmo Synthetic Paper is an innovative BOPP-based synthetic paper resembling traditional pulp-based paper in all aspects.

It is printable with all available technologies including but not limited to wet and UV offset, wet and UV flexo, letterpress, screen, thermal transfer and most digital toner technologies. With a matte paper like finish, it is non-tearable, has moisture and chemical

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MPS to reveal new corporate vision and brand identity - Unleashing full performance potential with ‘Connect to Grow’.

Following needs and market developments in the label and packaging industry, MPS is set to launch a new corporate vision and brand identity. With ‘Connect to Grow’ as its new brand promise, MPS enables customers to unleash the full potential from their printing presses to gain maximum performance and maximum return on investment.

Atze Bosma, CEO of MPS: “Label- and flexible packaging printers nowadays face a rapidly changing market with increasing pressure on price and higher demands on quality and flexibility. At the same time, they must cope with different printing techniques, more changeovers, and a growing shortage of experienced operators. Whether printers are using a flexo, offset, or a digital hybrid printing press, they strive for maximum performance and maximum return on investment. This requires expertise, use of unbiased data, real-time data from the actual printing press.”

Beyond the Machine Bosma continues: “In the label and flexible packaging industry, printers rarely collect unbiased, real-time data from the actual printing press. This information is valuable; many machines run much less than what they can. In practice, we see relatively low printing speeds, high waste levels, and long job changeover times.”

“Our mission is to enable MPS customers to unleash the full potential out of their MPS presses.

It is about running robust, reliable, highly qualified and highly automated printing presses ready for 24x7 operations. And, we enable customers to achieve the best performance and maximum return from their MPS machine.

Together we look

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beyond the machine by addressing all aspects involving the printing press.”

‘Grand Prix of Performance’ virtual event on June 10th MPS invites the industry to join their virtual ‘Grand Prix of Performance’ event on June 10th. During this event, MPS will reveal their vision along with a new logo, branding and website. To learn more about performance, connectivity, and best practices in press efficiency, attendees can participate in various free seminars.

Part of the event program is the Performance Challenge: a real 8-hour production shift, running the optimal performance in producing real customer label- and packaging jobs using the pit stop strategy.

MPS Marketing Communications Manager Inge Smolders commented: “This challenge will be unlike anything we’ve shown before.

We will practice what we preach: a real production floor in our Technology & Expertise Center, running real customer jobs, including full change-over and real-time data checkups. We are excited to share our expertise in connectivity and performance

and show what Connect to Grow means to our customers.”

In addition to the performance challenge, event registrants will be able to join free seminars and expert talks, including former international Formula 1 driver and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Jan Lammers.

To accommodate a live event for all time zones in the world, there are two event sessions: • 8 - 12 AM CET / 2 PM WAST (Asia Oceania, EMEA) • 3 - 7 PM CET / 9 AM EDT (Americas, EMEA) More information about the event program and registration available at: https://www. mps4u.com/news/mps-grand-prix-ofperformance/

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XSYS Prepress remote support capabilities How XSYS Prepress is helping customers through the pandemic with remote support.

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the resilience of all parts of the packaging supply chain and introduced new challenges for manufacturers, suppliers and printing companies. As the scale of the crisis became clear, many had to re-evaluate their business structure and find new ways to support customers. For XSYS Prepress, restrictions on travel and entering customer premises brought the built-in remote capabilities of the ThermoFlexX equipment into the limelight.

Thanks to the ability to set up, calibrate and bring machines online without being on site, the company has continued with installations of its innovative and highly automated platemaking equipment no matter where in the world customers are based.

Christophe Lievens, Director of Sales at XSYS Prepress, explains, “Not only do all of our ThermoFlexX platemaking products come equipped with comprehensive remote support capabilities, the machines are also incredibly easy to use and have some very innovative automation features that really simplify the process. The evidence lies in the fact that machines have been installed by customers’ own engineers guided remotely by the XSYS team. It really is quite extraordinary.”

Repeat order for expansion In Pakistan, repro specialist Digital Process

recently took delivery of a ThermoFlexX TFxX 48 digital imager to expand capacity in its flexo platemaking department. Having invested in a ThermoFlexX TFxX 60 model just two years before, the company already knew the technology well.

“This installation was only possible thanks to our advanced remote tools, which enable us to set up and calibrate the machine without being on site.‬ There are no special tools required to check laser focus, power and beam quality as it is all built into the machine,” Yves Vanryckeghem, XSYS Prepress Technical Manager for APAC. Zain Fazal, CEO of Digital Process, says, “After we set up the ThermoFlexX TFxX 48, Yves ran all the tests and configured the machine while sitting in Singapore. He monitored the whole process and even supported us over the weekend. To be up and running in just three days during this global crisis is just amazing!”

Adding to the workflow In China, Zhengyi Advanced Flexo Graphics Co Ltd has invested in two new ThermoFlexX machines to improve its platemaking capabilities. A ThermoFlexX Catena-E UV LED exposure unit and a Catena-DL dryer/ light finisher have been installed at its facility in Dongguan; both set up by XSYS’ local

Chinese technician with remote support from Ypres, Belgium.

“The Catena-E offers great remote tools, which means we are able to check and calibrate the UV-LED power without sending anyone on site. On the Catena-DL, we can check the UV-A and UV-C intensity, and also verify the dryer temperatures, all done remotely,” explains Yves.

Easily moved with support When Graphiflex in Mexico was setting up an in-plant platemaking operation, it put its faith in an existing ThermoFlexX TFxX 48 imager, which was relocated from the repro company’s own facility. The move took place under the watchful eye of Martín Ayala, XSYS LATAM regional service coordinator and technical support for ThermoFlexX, who was able to offer remote assistance during installation.

With the machine coming online at the customer site, Martín also provided training and support to the operator to ensure that the imager was completely calibrated and production ready. He says, “Although this is a complicated process, the technical capabilities of the ThermoFlexX TFxX 48 imager meant that I could direct the engineers and the operator remotely.”

As well as savings in time and costs for XSYS customers, significant sustainability benefits can also be gained from the remote capabilities of the ThermoFlexX product family. With less need for engineers to travel, many miles are saved on car and plane journeys, helping to lower the overall carbon footprint.

“The crisis has certainly changed the way we work, but it has in no way hampered our efforts to support our global customer base,” concludes Christophe Lievens. “We are proud to help our global community of ThermoFlexX users through what is one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime.”

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DuPont to introduce new Cyrel EASY R and Cyrel FAST 3000 TD at virtual drupa DuPont, the Gold Event Partner at virtal.drupa, will introduce the Cyrel EASY R plates & Cyrel FAST 3000 TD thermal flexographic plate processor.

As part of its participation as a Gold Event Partner at this year’s virtual drupa show, DuPont will introduce its new Cyrel EASY R plates family as well as the DuPont Cyrel FAST 3000 TD thermal flexographic plate processor. These two new products will be presented in DuPont’s virtual show room.

They were also presented in a live web session on April 20th.

Cyrel EASY R is the family of new formulations that maintain the benefits of Cyrel EASY flat top dot photopolymer plates while adding on new attributes to help improve plate handling and onpress performance, especially for Flexible Packaging and Tag & Label applications. The plate family is comprised of photopolymer plates suited for thermal and solvent development and come with smooth or structured surface to provide the best match for a large variety of print conditions.

Cyrel EASY R offers increased dot robustness for high resolution, reliable longrun print consistency as well as great ink transfer and superb print quality on a wide variety of substrates.

Mr. Liming Zhu, General Manager of Jielong Art Printing, said, “The EASY R plates enabled us to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction because the EFXR plates have a great performance on dot, line and ink transfer.”

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The Cyrel FAST 3000 TD system is the latest addition to the range of solvent-free flexographic printform processors and offers superior productivity and performance while helping reduce processing costs, processing time, and environmental impact compared to existing solvent-based platemaking methods – now at plate sizes up to 50x80 inches.

By eliminating the use of solvents – including water – from the platemaking process, the Cyrel FAST 3000 TD system produces maximum-sized plates that require no drying time and can be prepared in under 30 minutes. With the same efficiency as other Cyrel FAST systems, the 3000 TD offers flexible packaging customers and other users with large-sized jobs and high productivity needs a platemaking solution that helps

reduce downtime, energy consumption, and environmental footprint.

Tucker Norton, Global Business Leader for Cyrel Solutions, said, “DuPont is very excited to showcase the many advantages of the innovative Cyrel EASY R formulations and Cyrel FAST 3000 TD processing system at drupa 2021. Although this year’s show is entirely virtual, we look forward to showing our customers and industry colleagues the powerful performance, time and cost savings, and environmental benefits of the expanded Cyrel portfolio.”

Visit DuPont’s show room and get insights into the latest technology and offerings of DuPont, including the complete Cyrel product portfolio.

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Warburg Pincus acquires majority stake in Parksons Packaging Kedaara Capital AIF 1 and Olza Holdings Limited and IIFL, fully exit their investment and founder family, Kejriwal sells a partial stake in India’s largest independent folding carton manufacturer.

Green Fin Investments B.V., an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global equity firm, has acquired a majority stake in Parksons Packaging. As part of the transaction, existing private equity investors, Kedaara Capital AIF 1 and Olza Holdings Limited and IIFL, have fully exited their investment in Parksons and founder family, Kejriwal has sold a partial stake. Ramesh Kejriwal, Siddharth Kejriwal and Chaitanya Kejriwal will continue to retain their current positions of Chairman, Managing Director and Joint Managing Director, respectively.

Parksons, founded in 1996, is India’s largest independent folding carton manufacturer with a highly diversified product portfolio and 300+ customers across consumer, food, pharmaceutical and other end-markets.

Through its 6 state of the art manufacturing facilities across India, Parksons has the capacity to convert more than 1,25,000 MT of paper board annually and serve its customers with best in class service and quality.

Being a leader in paper packaging, Parksons has consistently been at the forefront of offering innovative and sustainable packaging solutions to its customers.

Parksons has received several accolades from key customers for its solutions-oriented support, flexibility and innovation. Being awarded top 100 Great Places to Work 2020 in India, Parksons has built an excellent team of professionals and a great ethos of work culture and team spirit.

the fast-growing consumption story in India.

The paper packaging market is expected to demonstrate strong growth over the next five years, driven by underlying expansion in consumer end markets, further bolstered by secular tailwinds of sustainability and premiumization. Warburg Pincus has a deep history in backing talented management teams and looks forward to partnering with the Founder family and the management team in growing the business.”

Mr. Siddharth Kejriwal, Managing Director, Parksons, said, “We have had a strong collaborative relationship with Kedaara in our growth journey over the past 6 years and now we are excited to partner with Warburg Pincus in our next phase of growth.

Warburg Pincus’ investment in Parksons is a testament to the strong, high quality business we have built over the past two decades.

Their unique understanding of the consumer market will help us further strengthen our position as India’s leading paper packaging solutions provider.”

Mr. Manish Kejriwal and Mr. Parin Mehta, from Kedaara Capital AIF 1 said “When Kedaara invested in Parksons, it saw a high quality, market leading and scaled consumer derivative play led by a strong Founder Family. Kedaara enjoyed its strong collaborative relationship with the company and during the investment term, the business continuously outgrew the Indian packaging sector and generated significant value for all stakeholders. Parksons is today positioned to further strengthen its dominance as India’s largest folding carton packaging solutions provider.”

Mr. Vishal Mahadevia, Managing Director and Head of India, Warburg Pincus, said, “We believe that packaging is a great way to play

Credit Suisse acted as the exclusive financial advisor to the sellers and its affiliates.

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Siegwerk strengthens SEA and India Process Management & Consulting teams Siegwerk strengthens its offering of customer service solutions for increased productivity and optimized ink management for local customers in Asia.

Siegwerk has expanded its Process Management & Consulting teams in Southeast Asia (SEA) and India to further strengthen its customer service portfolio in the Asian market. The company has hired new specialists in Vietnam, India, Indonesia as well as the Philippines to get even closer to its local customers.

With its customer service solutions, Siegwerk’s offering goes beyond ink – aiming to support customers to untap process improvements and cost savings to advance sustainable company developments. “Over the last years, we have seen an increasing demand for our service solutions in SEA and India especially in regard to ink room optimization and colour management,” explains Ralf Thümler, Global Head of Process Management and Consulting at Siegwerk. “By expanding our local expertise, we now become able to serve local customers even better and further strengthen our footprint in the growth markets across Asia.”

Siegwerk’s Process Management & Consulting teams act in all relevant focus areas along its customers’ value chain – from prepress stage to further processing – and across all printing applications.

Therefore, they also support color and ink management, as well as the print set-up and finishing processes. There are three pillars of customer service solutions offered: • • •

On-Site Consulting – On-site support to improve processes in the value chain InHouse – On-site ink room management Colorwerk – Siegwerk’s Color Management Program

All related service solutions offered under these three pillars are aligned with the goal of increasing customer efficiency and productivity with improved and simplified processes. Therefore, the mutual exchange with customers’ experts is key for Siegwerk to successfully realize any kind of improvement project. Together they analyze and optimize

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the production process, determine potential savings and motivate and train staff in all workflow changes afterwards.

“Untapped potential for efficiency improvement often lies in the daily operation and in almost every ink room,” says Ralf Thümler. Here, the company’s On-Site Consulting experts can offer an outside and objective view, helping customers to identify valuable improvement potentials to increase efficiency. Alternatively, its In House experts can support and assist in ink room management to ensure the most effective organization. “The strength of our Process Management & Consulting department is that it consists of a dedicated network of highly skilled local and global experts combining diverse technical and hands-on experience,” he adds. “We offer tailor made services from one single source to concretely support the

individual needs of each customer, whether it is about optimizing the processes in a print shop, identifying possible savings, or assisting in ink preparation and ink room management, our experts are on hand to add value across the packaging supply chain.”

Print runs are getting shorter, complexity of packaging is getting higher, and more marketing initiatives are asking for shorter lead times. The improvement of set up times and downtimes have already been key efficiency drivers for years and will become more relevant in the future, making process improvements an essential enabler for longterm and sustainable company success.

OMET TV: First web series of the segment to unveil OMET TV will present important guests and interviews directed by Armando Consumo magazine.

Starting from June, 10th, OMET is going to offer an interesting novelty to its followers: the first web series of the label and packaging printing and tissue converting sectors.

OMET has always been looking for innovations for both the printing and packaging sector and the tissue one, making innovation a key factor of its competitive advantage.

It innovative ambitious project: OMET TV is a web series to be broadcasted in the next few weeks through

the company’s social networks (YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook) and the company’s website.

OMET TV is a format of 20 episodes, each one of 15-20 minutes and broadcasted every two weeks starting from June, 10th 2021. All the episodes will be available for free on the

Armando Garosci will be the conductor of OMET TV, starting from 10 June 2021.

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JK Fine Prints installs ABG RTS Sheeter VINSAK, the exclusive distributor of ABG International in the Region, has announced the installation of a new ABG RTS Sheeter at JK Fine Prints of Mumbai.

JK Fine Prints is specialists in self-adhesive label printing and is accredited label suppliers to leading companies in India and overseas. The Mumbai based Labels Printing Company is led by directors Mr. Karan Kapur, Mr. Himanshu Kapur and Mr. Rahul Kapur.

The trio has vast knowledge and experience in the self-adhesive label industry.

In the last over 30 years of its wonderful journey, JK Fine has won various accolades like, being sedex (smeta 4 pillar) approved, GMP Certified, FSC certified ISO 9001, 14001, 45001. Extremely well versed for EN71/3, low migration and all such complicated print needs like ophthalmic etc. They are also environment conscious and have applied the practices for recycling the waste. JK Fine Prints have been at the

in 20 episodes Garosci, editor in chief of the Largo

web, on-demand. Armando Garosci, editor in chief of the Largo Consumo magazine, will present the program with the participation of several guests, discussing with them the current topics and trends of the markets in which OMET is considered an international leader: tissue converting machines and printing machines for labels and packaging.

“This particular moment has stimulated us to plan and develop new forms of relationship and communication with our customers,” says Marco Calcagni, OMET Marketing & Sales Director and creator of the OMET TV project, developed in collaboration with LIUC University. “Our goal is to inform them, involve them, interest them, increase the level of service and - why not - entertain them.”

Mr. Himanshu Kapur (JK Fine Prints)

forefront when it comes to installing the latest technology. The latest addition is their ABG RTS Sheeter. ABG has long business relations with JK Fine with multiple installs of the label finishing equipment over the last 20 years.

Mr. Himanshu Kapur mentioned that they had evaluated other equipment but he selected the ABG for its accuracy in the sheeting process especially of difficult to handle filmic materials.

The RTS is a servo driven sheeter with a guillotine style cutting action; it is available in three web widths 330mm (13”), 430mm (17”) & 530mm (21”) and can cut to mark, to length or to interlabel gap with an accuracy of +/-0.15mm.

The standard machine is equipped with an electromagnetically braked unwind c/w 76mm (3”) air expanding unwind mandrel, splice table with interlocked web clamps, and servo driven infeed nip roller, guillotine cutting mechanism and a 1000mm (39”) long shingle delivery table which has an accelerator/jog function for batch separation.

The machine is controlled via a 152mm (6”) colour TFT touch screen HMI with multilingual operating instructions.

Optional equipment includes alternative unwind mandrel diameters, razor and slitting units c/w 5 sets of knives, Venturi trim extraction and a fully programmable intersheet waste trim function.

AB Graphics has been manufacturing innovative print finishing equipment for over 60 years. With a global installed base of 11000 machines over more than 2500 customers, ABG has an Indian install base of over 150 machines including the Flagship Digicon Series 2 and 3 Digital finishing, Turrets, Booklet makers, slitter rewinders, camera systems and Turret rewinders.

Mr. Ross Hollaway, Sales manager for the region, says, “We are very happy that J K Fine has reinforced their relationship with ABG with this new Kit. Along with Mr. Mohan Pailwan of VINSAK India, this sale has reinforced our team work in opening up a new series of equipment that the Indian Label printers would find very useful in expanding their product offerings.”

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Siegwerk real-time tracking feature at Customer Portal for India World-class e-commerce solutions for Indian customers with 24 x 7 live ordering and tracking features. when the consignment will be ready for dispatch. Track and Trace feature enables them to see the vehicle tracking number and a live tracking button on the portal against their order as the consignment gets dispatched. Customers will receive constant updates throughout the process.

Siegwerk, global supplier of printing inks for packaging applications and labels, has launched a new real-time tracking feature on its SAP based online customer portal.

Siegwerk India customers ordering on the Siegwerk portal can now get a state-of-the-art e-Commerce user experience and need not be worried about order delivery status. The real-time tracking feature is an addition to the complete contactless order management facility on the Siegwerk customer portal.

Customers will experience a world-class interface with live 24x7 monitoring from the time of placing the order through the delivery.

According to research estimates, the global packaging printing ink market could reach approximately $13.45 billion by 2026. Experts predict India to be a significant contributor to this figure. Due to the pandemic, in last 12 months businesses have struggled to provide seamless, contactless order delivery systems. The packaging industry is no exception. While consumers are ordering more products online, the demand for packaging materials, labels, and printing inks has seen an increasing trend.

Siegwerk’s real-time tracking feature makes the ordering process quick for customers.

Previously, customers had to spend time and manpower in painful delivery tracking methods that often resulted in reduced efficiencies and unreliable results. Delays and uncertainties in transportation made the process cumbersome. The process of tracking now takes almost zero time, and Siegwerk’s new feature makes it possible with just a click on real time basis. Once the customer places an order on Siegwerk’s customer portal, they receive a confirmation number and an order confirmation detailing the order. They also receive the details of

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Speaking on the launch, Mr. Ramakrishna Karanth, CEO Siegwerk India said, “We have constantly aimed to make our processes easy for our customers. Launching our digital customer portal was a crucial step in this direction. We, at Siegwerk, have not only adopted Digitalization as a core element of our strategy but also taken steps to digitize our customer strategy and assisting our customers into our day-to-day digital operations, digitizing the order processing interface which will lead to ease of operation, enhancement of transaction speed, and real time data on the status of orders. With many ‘firsts’ in the industry from Siegwerk, Track and Trace is yet another first-time implementation of real-time online tracking of orders.”

“Track and Trace, which is a useful feature of our Customer Portal, is first of its kind in India as far as Inks & Coatings industry is concerned. It is a value-add service & provides multiple benefits to the customer, such as Real-time visibility, Data Insights, Reducing handoffs and non-valueadded time, Predictive supplies, etc. The encouraging feedback for the dedicated

customer portal motivated us to add this pioneering Track and Trace feature to the Customer Portal,” added Mr. Ashesh Mukherjee, Vice President Sheetfed BU at Siegwerk India.

Siegwerk launched its customer portal in India last year, which is an online ordering platform for its customers in India aimed at providing a complete contactless order management facility starting from placing orders to making payments online and now adding to the delivery status too. The unique customer portal is available 24x7, 365 days to ensure a seamless order management service to customers.

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signage printing

DKSH partners with Notion Systems to introduce inkjet system solutions in China DKSH to provide marketing and sales, distribution, logistics and after-sales services for Notion Systems’ display and semiconductor related inkjet systems. from Notion Systems replace established subtractive process flows and reduce waste, energy consumption and make production more ecological and at the same time more economical.

DKSH and Notion Systems, supplier of industrial ink jet printing systems, have entered into a partnership in China. Under the agreement, DKSH will provide marketing and sales, distribution, and logistics as well as after-sales services for Notion Systems’ display and semiconductor related inkjet systems.

DKSH Business Unit Technology, a Market Expansion Services provider for technology companies seeking to grow their business in Asia and beyond, was entrusted by Notion Systems to promote their solutions for the semiconductor and electronics industries in China. The partnership will include solutions for different kind of applications in the display, semiconductor and highprecision optical 3D printing. Inkjet solutions

“We are very glad that we have entered into an agreement with DKSH in China. Our partnership fits perfectly with our strategy to expand our market position in China and Asia. DKSH not only has solid experience in the local market but also competent sales and an unparalleled after-sales services.

Together, we are an excellent choice for our customers in the industry,” says Antonio Schmidt, VP Sales and Marketing of Notion Systems.

“It is our great pleasure to introduce the new applications and inkjet system solutions in the local market through this partnership with Notion Systems. We see a great potential in display and semiconductor- related applications in China. Leveraging our extensive sales coverage in combination with Notion’s top-notch technology, their application capabilities and resulting products, we are convinced that we can successfully drive growth for Notion Systems in the Chinese market,” commented Oliver

Hammel, Managing Director, Business Unit Technology, DKSH China.

Notion Systems – The Future of Additive Manufacturing Notion Systems GmbH supplies industrial inkjet printing systems.

The n.jet inkjet platform from Notion Systems is used by customers to produce printed circuit boards, OLED & QLED displays, sensors and high-quality 3D parts. Notion Systems is based in Schwetzingen close to Heidelberg – Germany and works together with leading sales and service organizations worldwide with focus on Asia, Europe and North America.

Events Calendar ProPak India 2021

Labelexpo India

Date: 08 JUN - 21 to 10 JUN - 21 Venue: Virtual

Date: 30 SEP -21 to 02 OCT - 21 Venue: Venue:Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai

Date: 16 NOV -21 to 19 NOV-21 Venue: India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, Delhi NCR, India

China Print 2021

15th Printpack India

Date: 23 JUN -21 to 27 JUN-21 Venue: New China International Exhibition Center, Beijing, China

Date: 20 DEC -21 to 24 DEC - 21 Venue: India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, NCR Delhi

Wan-Ifra Indian Media Leaders eSummit 2021

India Sign & LED Expo 2021

Wan-Ifra Virtual Newsroom Summit

Date: 28 JUN - 21 to 30 JUN - 21 Venue: Virtual

Date: 20 DEC -21 to 24 DEC - 21 Venue: India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, NCR Delhi

Readers are required to confirm the dates of the exhibition from the organizers. This is a reader service provided by PRESSIdeas and the company cannot be held responsible for any error or omission.

If your event is not listed in the above list, kindly write to us at info@pressideas.com with subject as event and we shall gladly be including the same as above.

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