PRESSIdeas Dec 2021 issue by Jacob George

21 vol-21 Issue- 12 December 2021

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Vol.21 Issue 12, 2021

Revoria Press PC 1120.......................................06 PRINTPACK INDIA 80% booked....................10 Stories from 2021...............................................12 Students’ corner..................................................34 Delhi’s 1st Canon IP C10010VP.....................36

A monthly Publication from PRESSIdeas Publishing Pvt. Ltd.

Fujifilm premiers Revoria.................................38 Punjab’s 1st Ricoh...............................................40 Affordable Inkjet Adoption............................42

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Contents FROM THE EDITORS’ DESK.............................................................................................................................................................................................................4 Fujifilm India unveils Revoria Press PC 1120: Versatile Press, Extensive Application Gamut................................................................................6 55 participating companies avail early bird discount on the last day of Booking................................................................................................. 10 OPA releases Calendar for New Year 2022 ........................................................................................................................................................................... 11 PAMEX Dates Announced!......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Canon India: Helping customers ‘Do More’ for each investment................................................................................................................................. 12 EFI steers through crisis by proud technology prowess................................................................................................................................................. 13 Kansal Graphics opts for Kodak Trendsetter CtP ............................................................................................................................................................... 14 Commercial Printing has been the worst hit segment, Akshay Kaushal................................................................................................................... 15 World Print Hub: An Open Platform for the Global Print Community....................................................................................................................... 16

Jasmeet D. Editor & Publisher (jasmeet@pressideas.com) Vineet K G. Associate Editor (vineetkg@pressideas.com) Jasvinder S. Sub-Editor (jasvinder@pressideas.com)

Ample Graphics installs the 500th machine for their first customer.......................................................................................................................... 17 Replika expands with third Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92......................................................................................................................................... 18 Kao Chimigraf looks at big packaging and textile market in India............................................................................................................................. 19 Inline or CI? The flexo debate.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Need of the hour for every IndianPrinter............................................................................................................................................................................. 21 Nukkad Printers: Kolkata’s friendly neighbourhood Digital Print Shop.................................................................................................................... 22 Technology packed in a compact size: Multiflex Polybags goes for SOMA Optima 880 .................................................................................... 23 Xerox leading the way with its innovative new Adaptive CMYK+ kits....................................................................................................................... 24 Siegwerk inaugurates Toluene free Blending Center in Bangladesh.......................................................................................................................... 25 ‘Resource Saving’ with Fujifilm’s Premium Quality and Stability ................................................................................................................................. 26 Green World Publication: Success through decades gets KODAK CtP boost.......................................................................................................... 27

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

Konica Minolta: Giving Shapes To Ideas ............................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Changing Print Industry and the need for a Hybrid Printer, the Communication Specialist............................................................................. 29 Heidelberg Solutions – The Strength of Offset................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Fujifilm India: Bringing Out Value From Innovations....................................................................................................................................................... 31 VINSAK: Making possible the use of Digital Print in Packaging .................................................................................................................................. 32 Role of Rheological Properties of UV Inks on Flexo Printability................................................................................................................................... 33 Perception of consumers for sustainable packaging....................................................................................................................................................... 34 Dharam Digital Press installs Delhi’s 1st Canon imagePRESS C10010VP.................................................................................................................. 36 Fujifilm’s high-end Revoria PC 1120 has its premier Indian demo ............................................................................................................................. 38 Monotech Systems installs Punjab’s first Ricoh with special colour at Dulari Digital........................................................................................... 40

Networking/ Hardware Consultant Sukhdeep Singh USA Correspondents Tensi M., Preeti European Correspondent Rimi, Yadhu Morphine

HP introduces new HP DeskJet Ink Advantage Ultra printer ........................................................................................................................................ 41 HP expands distribution network in India with TechNova............................................................................................................................................. 41 Monotech Systems: Aims Affordable Inkjet Adoption .................................................................................................................................................... 42

Production Thomas K Alex

EPL is the Best Governed Company........................................................................................................................................................................................ 44 Amritpal Singh Bawa is new India Business Representative of Scodix ..................................................................................................................... 44 Provin introduces Miyakoshi MLP10i..................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 PRESSIdeas December 2021 Vol. 21, Issue 12 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.

December 2021

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FROM THE EDITORS’ DESK Dear Readers, COVID-19 battered industry had just started to regain breath and the clouds of uncertainty seem to be never ending in casting gloom over normal business. While Corona and its new variants keep re-emerging, Omicron is the newest rogue which continues its advance through every man-made defense including vaccination. For some it’s another adversity that hones survival instinct, for some it’s a phase to pass and for some it’s a changed world that calls for acceptance of the new normal. The biggest concern remains the cost we paid, are paying and don’t know how much shall be paying. The aphorism ‘mutual growth’ is at great risk with the web of social-political-economic interdependence coming to risk of shattering with every new outbreak. The growth gets further straight jacketed from under-utilisation of resources for innovation, research and development. A major part of the energy gets wasted in emergency management. The world gets shifted to shorter gear. Let’s hope the New Year brings new hopes and changes for the better. In the year-ending issue of PRESSIdeas, we have included synopses of our key stories from various issues of the year 2021. The complete stories have been published in respective monthly editions and are also available for reading online at Pressideas website. The links for the same have been provided at the end of each story. Fujifilm India has made its POD foray with the new Revoria Press PC 1120. Along with its partner Insight Print Communication, the company has launched the highly efficient, versatile, modular and configurable press that addresses various print market segments. We present in this issue an exclusive talk with Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, Head of Department, Graphic Arts Division Fujifilm India. 15th PRINTPACK INDIA is slated to be held from March 11 – 15, 2022. Organizers IPAMA, acknowledging Industry’s overwhelming

response, have announced the booking of 80% and also that 6,000 m2 is in the pipeline. Major players have already confirmed their bookings and deposited requisite amount. There is still time to avail of the Motivational & COVID Discount. The last date for this discount offer is 20th January 2022. Earlier postponed PAMEX has also been announced. The new dates of the next edition of PAMEX are from 27 to 30 March 2023. The event was earlier scheduled to be held in March 2022 and was postponed due to Covid. On the installations front, Dharam Digital Press has installed Delhi’s 1st Canon imagePRESS C10010VP. Monotech Systems has installed Punjab’s first Ricoh with special colour at Dulari Digital. Global specialty packaging company, EPL Limited has been awarded the “Best Governed Company” in the 21st edition of the prestigious “ICSI National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance”. EPL won the award for observing and implementing the best practices in Corporate Governance. Union Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Amit Shah presented the award to Mr. Suresh Savaliya, SVP Legal and Company Secretary. Another key exclusive interview is of Mr. T P Jain, MD, Monotech Systems. Also find the young student writers of this issue Dnyaneshwer Moli Bhosle and Siddharth Adagatla who contributed their papers written under the guidance of their respective mentor professors. Find all this and many more stories of your interest in the December issue of PRESSIdeas. Enjoy Reading and a Very Happy New Year To You!

- Jasvinder Singh, Sub-editor

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December 2021

Fujifilm India unveils Revoria Press PC 1120: Versatile Press, Extensive Application Gamut Fujifilm India makes POD foray with Revoria Press PC 1120. Along with its partner Insight Print Communication the company launches the highly efficient, versatile, modular and configurable press that addresses various print market segments. Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, Head of Department, Graphic Arts Division Fujifilm India talks about the latest launch. Fujifilm, one of the leading names in Graphic Arts space has made its recent foray in the Print-OnDemand (POD) segment with the launch of Revoria Press PC 1120. The company unveiled the Kit at the launch event which it organized along with its partner Insight Print Communication. The flagship Revoria Press PC 1120 got unveiled at Insight Print Communication’s office which doubled up as the demonstration centre.

The flagship Revoria Press PC 1120 got unveiled at Insight Print Communication’s office which doubled up as the demonstration centre.

Key Notes : > Revoria Press PC 1120 gets unveiled at Insight Communication’s office which doubles up as the demonstration centre. > 25 special invited guests witness the capability of the press that caters to various segments of the printing industry. > Artificial Intelligence equipped – getting the best image out automatically.

December 2021

The event had close to 25 customers coming to witness a one of a kind product and the Press PC 1120 received an enthusiastic feedback from the visitors. “The event was more in line of a FGD (Focused Group Discussion) where the invites were through special invitation only,” informs Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, Head of Department, Graphic Arts Division Fujifilm India. The event showcased unique sample applications printed on the Revoria Press that caters to various segment of the printing industry like Jobbers, Commercial Printers, Label Printers, Photolabs, Tag and Book printers. Giving details about the machine’s capabilities, Mr. Kentaro Imafuku adds, “The Revoria Press PC 1120 is a one of a kind High-Speed Colour Digital Press that has 6 stations that enable PSP’s to do standard CMYK printing with overlays and underlays of specialty colours which include Gold, Silver, Clear, White, Pink and Textured toners; all this in one pass, thereby creating a variety of special effects. At present very few presses in the market have the flexibility of creating simultaneous overlays and underlays and we believe we cater to this pretty exclusively.” The target segment of Revoria Press PC 1120 includes General Commercial printers, Quick Printers, Photo labs. The application gamut of the versatile press with all its supported media flexibility is extensive. From paper substrates to textured sheets to specialty applications like metallic sheets, labels to films and PVC sheets, the press helps print a wide variety of media for a variety of products. Insight Print Communication is a National partner of Fujifilm India for the POD business. They are responsible for sales and service of all POD products coming from Fujifilm. “Insight has been in the

Indian Graphic Art space for many decades and the symbiotic association between them and Fujifilm India is expected to deliver well for both the customers and the overall industry,” believes Mr. Kentaro Imafuku. The Revoria Press PC 1120 has the capability of printing a total of 10 colours or 6 colours simultaneously. Describing what it translates for the customers, Mr. Kentaro Imafuku elucidates, “The basic design idea (of Revoria Press) was to cater to the CMYK + market where the customers had the flexibility to do much more than standard CMYK printing with the possibility of metallic colours like Gold and silver and have other useful colours like white, clear (for specialty print), pink (for gamut expansion) and textured paper toner for (print enhancement on textured media); all with the ability to create underlays and overlays and deliver a variety of effects. These are done through a single pass with minimal fuss and maximum ease of use.” And, for the customer it means, “selling products of high quality at a premium to get more profits – all this in addition to very high quality of CMYK prints!” reveals Mr. Kentaro Imafuku.

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Intelligence (AI). AI inside Revoria Press automatically determines the scene for each photographic image on the page and corrects the image appropriately for each of them. What’s more, low quality images, such as poor contrast and brightness, can be automatically corrected. In a way, Artificial Intelligence (AI) enables automatic image corrections for photo images. Each photo image automatically enhances based on its existing lackluster condition (such as image being too dark/ too bright, backlight exposure, correction of skin tones, and bringing out the hues in blue skies). “In short, it’s all about getting the best image out automatically,” highlights Mr. Kentaro Imafuku.

Revoria Flow is the ‘Heart’ of the Revoria Machine – the unique RiP software brings a lot of advantages to the table – enables special colours switching in under 5 minutes; an Impose License with 20 parallel users; can increase RIP colour density at a press of a button; Eizo Monitor calibrated for colour accurate display in & out; Artificial intelligence rendering of pink colour through the RIP; interchange of CMYK with Spot Colour and Spot Colour with CMYK; special colour printing ease; RIP access; Inbuilt Compose with Color Profiler; and Auto Photo Correction etc. The press takes 52 GSM to 400 GSM. Owing to a unique static eliminator it can also remove static from non paper substrates. Hence, the media that the press can handle is extremely versatile and can range from PVC sheets to Metallic sheets, Films, MET PET media (Recommended list is available) and many more. Apart from expansive media flexibility, the versatile Revoria Press PC 1120 prints at optimum speed irrespective of the type of media used enabling users to do a wide variety of applications. The Revoria Press is a feature packed machine and of its numerous specialities is its Super EA-Ecotoner. Explains Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, “Super EA Eco Toner’s extremely

December 2021

small particle size allows for smooth reproduction of gradations in photos, uniform density and sharper fine line and texts. It also produces easy to read printed text with less glare. The customer can do variety of embellishments using various combinations of special inks. A Silver underlay with Gold on top can create a Silver Metallic Effect and vice versa for Gold Metallic Effects. One can get pop ups and dimensional prints through use of Clear inks on top of CMYK. The reverse white inks can be used for window clings and retail applications. Combination of Clear, gold can also be used for specialty applications. The textured paper toner enables uniformity of prints in textured papers.” This again, happens in 1 pass without any compromise on speeds.

increases the RIP colour density at a press of a button. We provide Eizo Monitor calibrated for colour accurate display in & out. There is Artificial Intelligence rendering with Pink managed through the Revoria Flow. It also enables replacement of any CMYK colour with Spot Colour or any spot colour with CMYK. Special colour can be printed from Revoria Flow to reduce designing time. RIP Access is available without installing software through Web. It has an Inbuilt Compose with Color Profiler. Finally, Auto Photo Correction is also enabled through the Flow.”

Speaking about the key finishing and valueadding device options, Mr. KentaroImafuku informs, “We have an Interface Decurler module along with options of inserter and static eliminator available with the Revoria PC 1120. We also have an inline Booklet maker finisher and D6 finisher. All these options enable a Revoria PC 1120 customer to do end to end jobs.”

The Revoria Press PC 1120 is configurable and modular and a fully configured press comes at a list price of INR 1.75 Crores. The expected customer ROI of the POD device is between 3 to 5 years. “The machine is modular, scalable and configurable and depending upon customer requirement the best prices are being offered,” reveals Mr. Kentaro Imafuku.

The Revoria Press has already made its debut installation at a New Delhi customer of Fujifilm. Mr. Kentaro Imafuku is quite upbeat about coming months and expects to install a few more. He is particularly excited about the upcoming Print Pack India participation, “We will be showcasing the Revoria Press PC 1120 at Print Pack. Since its going to be the 1st large sized in person event in about 2 years, we believe there will be a lot of foot fall and attendance from printing fraternity and we expect the Revoria to be the chief attraction there.”

“Moreover, we have given the choice of SSMC concept to our customers where they buy the toners separately as against allinclusive in maintenance cost (as is the norm in the market). This will give more freedom to the customer and help him save costs,” he says.

‘Revoria Flow’ is the Heart of Revoria Machine Calling Revoria Flow as the ‘Heart’ of the Revoria Machine, Mr. Kentaro Imafuku explains why, “Fujifilm developers have studied the best in the industry and come out with this unique RiP software that brings a lot of advantages to the table. Revoria Flow enables Colour Switching between the special colours in under 5 minutes. It has an Impose License with parallel 20 users, inbuilt in printer driver; it’s a Concurrent usage license that helps the designers and operators. It has a special feature that

No need to mention here that the Revoria Press PC 1120 adheres to all the necessary environmental regulations. Moreover, Fujifilm has designed an SOP for toner and spares replenishment and scrapping.

Covid has brought down the overall print runs and this is where a digital machine fits well, identifies Mr. Kentaro Imafuku while pointing towards the Revoria machine’s ability to answering the new changed demands. “Also PSP’s have realized the essence of “Value” in addition to “Volume” and that’s where a Revoria kind of a press plays a very big role,” he concludes. Interested customers can come and have a look at the Press in Fujifilm’s demo center which will continue organizing live demos over the next few months. It will surely enable them to deep dive into the technology, evaluate the applications, print their media and have a firsthand feel about the machine. Customers can have their demo by booking in advance.

pressideas/ commercial printing

55 participating companies avail early bird discount on the last day of Booking PRINTPACK INDIA already books 80% space; 6,000 sq.mtrs. is in the pipeline.

15th PRINTPACK INDIA is slated to be held from March 11 – 15, 2022. Organizers IPAMA, acknowledging Industry’s overwhelming response, have announced the booking of 80% and also that 6,000 m2 is in the pipeline. Major players have already confirmed their bookings and deposited requisite amount. Dec 15, 2021 was the last day to avail early bird discount in the reputed event of Printing and Packaging Industry. The Indian Printing Packaging & Allied Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (IPAMA) had announced the revised dates of 15th PRINTPACK INDIA Exhibition, only in the month of October 2021. In a limited time period, tremendous response was received from the industry. With a view to extending financial relief to the Industry in COVID-19 period, IPAMA had brought down the space charges to the lowest level to give a boost to the businesses of companies, particularly those from the MSME sector. It had also announced various discounts, including the Early Bird Discount @ Rs.1000 per square meter, to all the Exhibitors. The last date for availing of the Early Bird Discount expired on 15th December 2021. Before the expiry of the last date of the Early Bird Discount, 55 companies had booked their space by remitting the requisite space charges. This shows the craze and the importance of the Show amongst the Indian companies, who are engaged in manufacturing printing, packaging and allied machinery, for participation in the Show. The past editions each had provided a unique platform to the Exhibitors for displaying

December 2021

the latest technology and the high-quality products. For the convenience of the Exhibitors, IPAMA has provided the facility of submitting online applications for space booking. More than 80 per cent of the space has already been booked. The process of allotment of Stalls is going on. Out of the total bookings 407, more than 200 companies have already been allotted stall numbers and conveyed through Emails and WhatsApp messages in accordance with their Priority Numbers. Within the next few days, the process of allotment of 400 stalls will be done.

Big brands confirmed their participation The big industrial players, who have already confirmed their space bookings are Acme Machinery, Associated Industrial Corporation, Bobst India, Canon India, Colourjet, DGM, Electro Mec, Fair Deal, Fujifilm, Imaging Systems, Impel Services, Komari India, Konica Minolta, Line O Matic, Megabound, Manroland (Goss Web), Memory Repro, Monu Graphics, Monotech Systems Ltd., Multitech, NBG, Prakash Offset, Pratham Technologies, Sahil Graphics, Sodhisons, Technova, The Printers House, Toyo Inks and U.V. Graphics, VIG Graphics and Many more companies manufacturing high quality machines, are also in the pipeline. Apart from the individual Exhibitors, number of Associations and Federations, including Association for Print Technologies, Association of Label Printers & Suppliers (ALPS), Screen Printing Association of

India (SPAI), Federation of Corrugated Box Manufacturers of India (FCBM), Federation of Nepal Printers’ Associations (FNPA), Federation of Paper Traders India (FPTA), and All India Printing Ink Manufacturers Association (AIPIMA), and many more are participating in 15th PRINTPACK INDIA. Online registration facility for the Business Visitors has also been created. More than 2000 Business Exhibitors have already completed their registration process. After registration, the Business Visitors can keep a printout which will be valid for entry into the respective Halls, without losing time at the Gates. Parking facilities will also be provided to the Business Visitors within the exhibition complex. There is still time to avail of the Motivational & COVID Discount. The last date for this discount offer is 20th January 2022.

pressideas/ commercial printing

OPA releases Calendar for New Year 2022 The annual Calendar of Offset Printers’ Association (OPA) was released during its AGM on 19th December, 2021. Team OPA 2021 released OPA’s (The Offset Printers’ Association) 2022 Calendar during the association’s AGM on 19th December. Speaking on the occasion Prof. Kamal Chopra said, the project of OPA Calendar was started in the year 2007 and is being followed continuously. It is not only the date calendar, but is the Jantry for the printers, OPA calendar also contain the information about the printing exhibitions and event world over. Mr. Manoj Kumar added that that OPA calendar is the most desirable event, this calendar is circulated throughout India and demand of OPA Calendar is increasing year after year. Mr. Romi Malhotra said we are proud that OPA is not only considered to be one of the most active printers’ association of India, but the Chairman of the World Print & Communication Forum (WPCF) belongs to this premier association of printers. Mr. Kushl Kumar Jain said, “We are thankful to the contributors and advertisers, it is because

of them that the unblocked publication of this calendar became possible. The copies of the calendar are sent to various printers

association throughout India, besides distributing it in the region,” he added.

PAMEX Dates Announced! The next edition of PAMEX to take place in March 2023. The new dates of the next edition of PAMEX have been announced. The event was earlier scheduled to be held in March 2022 and was postponed due to Covid. The event will now take place from 27 to 30 March 2023, a year after the original schedule, at the Bombay Exhibition Centre. “We have rebooked the halls 1, 2 & 3 for March 2023. Though, the venue continues to be designated as a Covid Centre, it’s expected that very soon the Covid facilities will be wound up and the venue will start hosting exhibitions. We will promote the exhibition extensively in India and abroad as has been the norm and deliver a show at par with the standards that have been set in the previous editions. We hope, the new dates will give us enough time and favourable conditions of unhindered travel to effectively carry out the marketing campaign,” said Neetu Arora, Director, Print-Packaging.com (P) Ltd.

The bi-annual show has been growing rapidly and is established as an important event in the international calendar of Exhibitions. We are happy to announce the new dates for PAMEX that have been decided after due deliberations considering the waning

pandemic, the safety of the exhibitors and visitors, the expectations of the industry and the time required for a full-blown marketing campaign unhindered by travel restrictions,” said P Chander, President AIFMP.

“PAMEX is the star in our stable of events that we organize under the aegis of AIFMP.

December 2021

Stories From 2021

Canon India: Helping customers ‘Do More’ for each investment Mr. Puneet Datta, Senior Director-PPP, Canon India, shares his experience with challenges of the pandemic, about innovative methods to serve customers in changed times and more. “As business today are undergoing turbulent times and in alignment with the market needs, we recently launched the latest addition to the imagePRESS series, the imagePRESS C165, which has been well received by our users.

Canon introduces new entry level production Printer to the imagePRESS series – imagePRESS C165 which is designed to meet the varied range of requirements of print shops, creative agencies as well as corporate offices.

Key Notes : > Lockdown provides immense learning though being full of challenges. > Staying connected with both customers and partners has been key for Canon India in this lockdown period. > imagePRESS Series yielded numerous installations across India before lockdown; continues to draw attention of the professional printing industry.

December 2021

The recent months have been tough for the global as well as the domestic industry. “At global level the markets in which Canon competes shrunk due to spread of COVID-19 in early parts of the year,” says Mr. Puneet Datta, Senior Director-PPP, Canon India, apprising PRESSIdeas of the changes and modifications adopted by Canon in the present significant altered environment. “Some of the markets recovered faster than expected in Q3 2020 and so globally Canon has modified its projections especially for profits thanks to the sales of full-size mirrorless cameras and inkjet printers for home segment. In India we saw similar trends. However the print volumes in our office printing space and commercial printing space have reduced significantly due to work from home adopted by majority of the large organisations and the continued lockdown of schools and colleges India. Though it was full of challenges, the present situation has also provided us with immense learning, which will always provide a framework to plan and execute our future business,” he adds. For Canon, staying connected with both their customers and partners has been key in this lockdown period. “We utilised our investments in technology and digital infrastructure to stay connected with our customers and partners to ensure business continuity. We assured our end customers and partners that we are in this together. Our service personnel continued to provide services to essential service providers during this tough time,” says Puneet. Canon’s service and support team did an incredible job during these times, as they went the extra mile to support the customers and ensured on-site services when required. Remote support by Canon engineers was also a delight for customers as it enabled them to operate without hiccups even in the challenging times. Canon strengthened their service and sales during the recent slower months. “Canon India operations

are deeply entrenched into the length and breadth of India. Our foothold is in various Indian cities with a strong customer base including Tier II & III Cities. Our flagship imagePRESS Series has yielded numerous installations across India before lockdown and continues to draw attention of the professional printing industry,” informs Puneet Datta. There was definitely an impact on the printing industry and sales of machines during lockdown. However, Canon saw good momentum again Q3 2020 onwards and saw good customer purchase execution happening in Q4 2020 as well. Find the complete story here: https://www.pressideas. com/canon-india-helping-customers-do-more-foreach-investment/

pressideas/ commercial printing

EFI steers through crisis by proud technology prowess Samir Gulve, MD, EFI India, speaks about how the company deftly employed remote collaboration, management and monitoring technologies and managed the recent Covid-19 with their proud technology prowess. The global industry suffered tough times due to COVID-19 situation. Businesses shrank, revenues dwindled and consumption and capital expenditure got deferred. Samir Gulve, Managing Director - Electronics For Imaging (EFI India) shares his experience and the company’s business, strategy, changes in working and other things during the latest crisis. “The most impact is seen in equipment business due to capital expenditure oriented nature of this business,” says Samir Gulve. Businesses, he says, got adversely impacted. “The overall intensity of the impact is variable by geography. Software business has been relatively robust. Our business growth is trickling back since the lockdown got lifted. Customers are still leery to go aggressively after growth,” he adds. EFI, with creative use of technology, did a decent job of managing the service and sales during the past few slower months. Though Samir sees positive signs appearing across their business since the lockdown and other restrictions got eased out gradually, he finds it a bit early to speak about the extent of affairs picking pace. “Every crisis is also an opportunity; the industry will have to innovate new ways to accomplish what once required significant face to face presence,” comments Samir on postponement of major industry shows. “We already see several examples of this in terms of remote demos and other means. I believe the industry will emerge stronger,” he avers. There have been some interesting consumer trends as well that Samir observed during the COVID period. “Certain industries related

to packaging and printing related to Covid -19 materials did well as expected. We expect more focus on automation, remote diagnostics, monitoring and management in the future,” opines Samir. Managing the ‘new normal’ which is being considered the future for some time, in an efficient manner, EFI has adopted the changes quite well to navigate smoothly through the times. “We take pride in our technology prowess. We have managed the ‘new normal’ quite well – we have deftly employed remote collaboration, management and monitoring technologies,” explains Samir. Having learned to operate in highly resource constrained environment during this crisis, he is quite confident that this would hold them in good stead as things return to normal. “We will augment our traditional approach with what we learned during this challenging time and are confident that the hybrid approach will be the most effective going forward,” he continues.

realistically. We are hitting these updated goals and expect a much better year in 2021.” EFI’s technology prowess and ability to quickly adapt to new conditions, keeps it going. Not only did they manage their customer interactions deftly, they leveraged the relative lull to get their customers to ramp up their skills. “Some of our training and certification programs saw thousands of active participants during this period,” discloses Samir.

EFI launches are mostly of global nature. They will be bringing several innovative products to market in 2021 as well, says Samir.

He is presently keeping his fingers crossed to speak definitely about the future turn of events or things getting normal. “It’s hard to predict especially given the nature of this crisis. The best way to navigate uncertain times is to make prudent use of capital and resources, be nimble and look at crisis as an opportunity to innovate expeditiously,” emphasises Samir with the concluding recommendation – “Attitude matters. Be cautiously optimistic. Use any down time to figure out and act on strategic initiatives that will ensure that you come out stronger.”

Speaking of their current year’s sales targets, he says, The overall business did see headwinds and we had to tune our goals

Find the story online at: https://www. pressideas.com/efi-steers-through-crisis-byproud-technology-prowess/

Samir distinctly states that EFI’s long term strategy remains more or less the same. However, he quickly adds that they would continue to focus on innovation, customer centricity, judicious acquisition opportunities and geographic expansion.

December 2021

Stories From 2021

Kansal Graphics opts for Kodak Trendsetter CtP Among the available options, Kodak CtP wins hands down as the first choice to equip the new state-of-theart unit at Derabassi near Chandigarh. Hitesh Kansal, the owner of Kansal Graphics started his own business in 1994 after a brief stint with Technova for about a year and a half where he says he learnt the tricks of the trade. Starting with supply of printing chemicals from Newstech (Mumbai) to local printers in the tricity of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, Hitesh has travelled the spiralling road of success over the years. Along the way, he also dealt in supply of paper and other print related consumables too to the industry in the region with products from Technova as well as Huber.

The feature-packed Kodak Trendsetter can plot CtP plates from Kodak as well as other suppliers, is extremely power efficient, generates low heat, comes with proven Kodak quality and above all, is a perfect fit for Kansal Graphics for its high per hour plate output.

Key Notes : > In 2019, the need to upgrade their aging CtP system was felt by Kansal Graphics. > The hunt for a value for money yet sturdy system ended on the advanced Kodak’s Trendsetter CtP. > Proved a perfect match for being very robust which is especially of utmost importance to service providers like Kunal Graphics.

December 2021

With the digital transformation happening at a breathtaking pace, in 2004, Hitesh took the plunge into prepress after taking over a running prepress unit in Chandigarh. In 2010 he upgraded the capabilities with a Technova Violet CtP to cater to the newspaper industry in the region. The unit later chiefly supplied plates to commercial and packaging printing presses that specifically needed long run plates. Before going in for the Violet CtP technology, Hitesh considered all the three options – Violet, Thermal and CtCP. He simply ruled out CtCP because the technology was in its nascent stage then. He rather wanted to opt for a tried and tested technology. He was already dealing with Technova in his consumables business, and it was quite an effortless decision to choose them as their equipment

supplier as well. “The UV plates required no baking whatsoever to reach the long runs as compared to the thermal those days,” Hitesh recounts the reason for selecting the UV CtP. Of course he faced a few hiccups in the initial days of installation; convincing customers to try and accept the new technology was an added challenge too. But things gradually stabilised and ran smooth for coming 8 years. In 2019, Hitesh felt the need of upgrading the CtP system whose production capabilities didn’t justify the demands of the market any more. The servicing was getting costlier as the machine aged. Considering all these factors, he decided to upgrade the equipment at his new setup at Derabassi near Chandigarh. The new state-of-the-art facility was set up at a location where a number of new printing units were being set up by old as well as new entrepreneurs. Now the hunt for a value for money yet sturdy system ended on the advanced CtP from Kodak. “CtCP was an available option but I was not very keen on investing in it especially because our existing customers were not much interested in these plates and hence the return on investment was at greater risk,” reasons Hitesh. Find the complete story here: https://www.pressideas. com/https://www.pressideas.com/kansal-graphicsopts-for-kodak-trendsetter-ctp/

pressideas/ Stories From 2021

Commercial Printing has been the worst hit segment, Akshay Kaushal Executive Director – Sales, PrOvin Technos Pvt Ltd, shares his experience during the recent COVID-19 times, lockdown and post lock down in a talk with PRESSIdeas.

“During the lockdown, the biggest challenge for the companies was to remain afloat with virtually no cash flow, cancelled projects and so on,” says Akshay Kaushal, Executive Director – Sales, PrOvin Technos. One of the many of its fallbacks being consumption getting limited to only essential items, companies had to reorganise and reallocate their funds judiciously. “The definition of judiciously has been taken to a whole new level now,” quips Akshay. “This pandemic has enlightened our senses in ways which otherwise would not have been possible to look upon in normal course. Apart from this, remote working became a new normal and recovery has been very slow to start with. With the exception of Packaging and Labels which saw positive signs almost through the whole period, other things are now steadily picking up. It seems the resumption of normal business operations might get delayed to next 12-18 months instead of the expected 6-12 months,” he adds. “During the lockdown, all the activities in the supply chain related to essential items were operational. However, resource and raw material scarcity was a big challenge to face for many companies operational during the lockdown. Logistics was another hurdle. Post Lockdown, the situation has eased up and things are now getting back to normal working,” he continues. Speaking about challenges he adds that there are logistics

problems still present internationally – multifold increase in transportation cost, cargo unavailability are the areas of major concern. According to Akshay, Commercial Printing has been the worst hit segment. Though the packaging and labelling industry has done pretty well, changing product and customer preferences created a drive for more hygiene oriented packaging and single use product packaging. Moreover, the increase in demand through e-commerce sites has led to an increase in the demand for corrugated and folding carton packaging. Short run Flexible packaging has seen increased demand. The most common example is the rise in food and beverage delivery services which requires such disposable packaging solutions. “As far as label industry is concerned, they play an important part in the product packaging and with the outbreak of this pandemic. The demand for hygiene related product labels, pharma labels, e-commerce and essential items has picked up handsomely,” states Akshay. With postponement of key investment and installation decisions, the impact has been huge. “The year 2019 itself was a year of uncertainty for many which our GDP also reflected. It was pretty bad in terms of new installations taking place throughout and with 2020, it has been a record all time low. With such an unprecedented situation

at everyone’s doorstep, customers and solution providers had to support each other in one way or the other to minimise the effect as much as possible. From the solution providers’ point of view, we have tried to extend our maximum support to our customers as was possible with special support schemes in place to help minimise customer expenses, remote and on the field service support throughout to keep them up and running. Our customers have responded in the same way to us and have been extremely accommodating and chipped in with timely payments. With the positive relationship between the respective solution providers, customers and their customers henceforth and the commitment to help each other to bounce back has influenced the industry in a positive way to climb back to normal. Worst has gone past and now from here it will only be an upward climb,” concludes Akshay on this positive note. PrOvin is the distributor for MHI-PPM Heatset web offset presses, RMGT range of sheet-fed offset presses, Miyakoshi range of Narrow web presses, Lithec Inline colour control system and UV Energy smart UV Systems in India and Nepal. Find the story online at: https://www. pressideas.com/commercial-printing-hasbeen-the-worst-hit-segment-akshay-kaushal/

December 2021

Stories From 2021

World Print Hub: An Open Platform for the Global Print Community WPH is a unique initiative by Mumbai Mudrak Sangh (MMS) & Cyber Alchemist. Tushar Dhote – Immediate Past President, MMS, Chairman and MD, Dhote Offset Technokrafts, who acted as an Advisor, gives details about the Project in an interview with PRESSIdeas.

“We wanted our portal to be very interactive. Our services of Print Doctor (Ask me anything – AMA) will be available to address issues of the members round the clock and gain the wisdom of the senior members. In short there are many people to guide you, advise you and help you in addressing your concerns.” – Tushar Dhote

Key Notes : > WPH is a common platform for the industry people to support each other towards future enhancements and augmentation in the digitalization of the industry. > Members to discuss, brainstorm, suggest and share their thoughts, experiences for the betterment of the industry. > Varied services to members include Online Streaming, Library, Learning, Groups creation, Job section, Marketplace, Print Doctor and Advisory etc.

December 2021

Speaking about the recent launch of World Print Hub, a unique initiative by MMS (Mumbai Mudrak Sangh), Mr. Tushar Dhote, Immediate Past President of MMS comments, “With the need to constantly challenge itself and as a service to the Industry, MMS decided to expand its wings and collaborated with Cyber Alchemist to create a portal www.worldprinthub.com or WPH in short.” World Print Hub Community is the Global Community of all constituents of the Industry – Printers, Trade Associations, Suppliers and Manufacturers, Thought leaders and Printing Enthusiasts. The Objective of the Community is to bring the industry together. “MMS has been at the forefront of providing yeomen service to the Print Industry. With a rich experience of 65 years behind it, MMS has always believed in innovating, implementing, integrating and invigorating fresh ideas and developments in the Print industry,” says Tushar.

Who can benefit from the portal? WPH is a common platform for the industry leaders and stakeholders to meet different constituents of the print, packaging and allied industries and support each other towards future enhancements and augmentation in the digitalization of the industry. In order to benefit all the members of the print fraternity, the membership is kept open for all. Interested members can log into the portal and sign up for the membership. It is as simple as that. “Following the principle of laissez faire and an open platform we encourage members to discuss, brainstorm, suggest and share their thoughts, experiences for the betterment of the industry,” informs Tushar. “The genesis of WPH,” continues Tushar, “is a very

interesting story. During the course of a random conversation with Jeevan Bhingarkar, on the state of affairs of the Print Industry, it struck both of us that the industry is right now in a precarious position especially after the lockdown. Moreover, all these years print has not got its due share of credit as a major contributor to the economy though it is one common factor amongst all industries big or small. This set the ball rolling and from it the birth of World Print Hub took place. The idea received a unanimously enthusiastic response from all the progressive members of Mumbai Mudrak Sangh when it was put across to them and with the rich experience and guidance of Jeevan Bhingarkar of Cyber Alchemist, the idea was transformed into reality.” The portal is accessible to all printers from the nook and corner of the world. Hence it is not limited to printers in India but across the world. With such a wide reach, though it is the endeavour to provide services without any charges, for some specialised services a nominal charge would be levied. But the most important of all is that one has to become a member to avail the benefits. Find the complete story here: https://www.pressideas. com/world-print-hub-an-open-platform-for-the-globalprint-community/

pressideas/ Stories From 2021

Ample Graphics installs the 500th machine for their first customer The first customer is also the 500th customer of Ample Graphics. Directors Rajeev Jagga and Sachin Kala speak about the recent milestone and more about the company. Ample Graphics achieved another milestone of installing 500th machine in its successful journey that started just over five and a half years ago. What makes the 500th installation so special is that the buyer of Ample Graphics’s very first machine also bought their 500th machine. Ample Graphics is a brainchild of Rajeev Jagga and Sachin Kala, who joined hands in July 2015 to start their business of providing value-for-money capital equipment solutions to the Offset packaging Industry. Rajeev Jagga has over 25 years of experience of dealing in printing industry consumable products and is a well know name from the industry, especially in the Offset segment. Sachin Kala, a printing technologist, started his career in production with a packaging unit in Jaipur at the turn of the century. Later he moved to marketing, initially with consumables and then with capital equipment. Later he ventured into his own business that we know as Ample Graphics. “In these almost five and half years, the company has achieved the success of being amongst the top equipment suppliers from China to our target market with over 500 installations from 108 customers,” says Rajeev Jagga. These customers are across all the northern, western, and southern states. The latest launch by Ample Graphics is a high-speed flute laminator at an economic price point. The first installation was done at Ahmedabad. The company provides a whole range of Automatic Lamination machines, Rigid Box Making solutions and Corrugation machines. “We believe that corrugation Industries have lot of scope of future expansion. Customer are replacing old machine with newer more energy efficient high-speed machines with better automation,” observes Sachin Kala. “We have recently associated with an industry veteran us who have more than 2025 years’ experience in this industry. Now we can offer technical assistance to customer for upgrading their existing old plants,” adds Rajeev.

What makes Ample Graphics and their solutions unique is the service that comes with them. “Service keeps us above competitive solutions. Since the launch, our focus has been service. That has been our key strength as well as the winning factor till now. And, we believe, going forward also it will be the differentiator,” asserts Rajeev. The service is backed by a strong team of about ten Service Engineers who cater installations as well as after sales service. Besides, there is a dedicated staff for customer care. Rajeev and Sachin are the Directors. Rajeev handles Commercial, Logistic and Office back-end Operations while Sachin Kala takes care of Sales and After Sales Service. Boasting a strong customer relationship, the company attributes at least 70% of its total sales to existing customers and their references. Apart from that they also have Sales Business Partners in Ahmedabad, Vapi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Prior to the current pandemic situation, exhibitions also had been playing a crucial role in product promotion and customer relationship. Additionally, Ample Graphics leverages live factory environments of its trusted customers should some customer needs a demonstration of their machine. “I believe,

demo centres cannot mimic live environment. Though they are a good platform for showcasing technology but a functioning live production unit cannot be really replicated in a demo centre. We instead prefer to show demo live in real factory environment of one of our trusted clients,” reveals Rajeev. The key brands that Ample Graphics represents are Tiancen/ Huawei – Automatic Dry Lamination; Lishunyuan – Rigid Box Making Machine; Aoer- Automatic Die Cutting Machine; HRB – Corrugation Machineries; and Huawei – High Speed Servo Driven Flute Laminator. Speaking on the recent pandemic conditions and its impact on the industry, he says, “Having large labour force is now being construed as a risk. Therefore, adoption of automation is being seriously considered in the industry. So going forward, we feel things will be better for machine suppliers like us. Everyone is just waiting for the travel restrictions to be removed on travel to and from China. We expect a large number of customers who are sitting on the fence to take the plunge.” Find the complete story here: https://www. pressideas.com/Ample-Graphics-installs-the500th-machine-for-their-first-customer/

December 2021

Stories From 2021

Replika expands with third Heidelberg Speedmaster CS 92 Continuing with their Heidelberg journey, Replika Press flexes its printing muscle in Commercial Printing, Gift and Luxury Packaging with three Speedmaster presses.

Bhuvnesh Seth – MD, Sanandan Seth, Director and Vikaran Seth, Director, Replika Press, in conversation with PRESSIdeas, discuss their latest installation and plans. As part of the expansion plans, Replika Press has invested in the third Speedmaster CS 92 four colour press to continue their Heidelberg journey.

Key Notes : > Operating from three units sprawling over an area of 6,46,000 sq.ft, Replika Press prints more than 16,000 titles per year. > The range of titles for reputed international publishers from USA, UK, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Russia, Africa & Brazil etc. > The latest Speedmaster CS 92, equipped with features like Intellistart 3 & AutoPlate, an OEE that can be enhanced, can print 5 crore impression per year.

December 2021

Replika Press is one of the biggest print service providers specializing in book printing, high-end commercial print production, digital printing and now in packaging as well. Operating from three units sprawling over an area of 6,46,000 sq.ft, located at Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) Kundli, Sonepat in Haryana, the company prints more than 16,000 titles per year. The company is the only unit in the country with capabilities for commercial, packaging and corrugation all under one roof. Presently, Sanandan and Vikaran Seth, the brother duo at Replika Press independently look after the publishing and packaging segment. The range of titles comprises everything from monochrome to multi-colour, soft cover to hard cover, medical to scientific, technical to coffee table books, art books to children books, cookbooks, travel guides, dictionaries, encyclopedias and religious books etc. for reputed international publishers from USA, UK, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Russia, Africa, Brazil etc. Replika Press provides solutions to leading publishers like Penguin Random House, Hachette and Bloomsbury to name a few.

Replika entered in gift packaging and luxury packaging in 2017. They entered in mono cartons and corrugated boxes in 2018. The segment is highly challenging and Team Replika prides in providing their customer with innovations and the world class services. Replika handle a paper and board stock of more than 20,000 tons per annum with a production capability of printing 50,000 hard cover and 150,000 soft cover books per day with an aim to achieve a target of 200,000 books per day soon. PRESSIdeas had visited the Replika Press facility on various occasions during the last ten years and have always invariably noticed two fascinating things – one, everything at Replika Press is almost aesthetically picture perfect and two, immaculate condition of the hardware exhibiting clean work area as well as seamlessly set up equipment. Find the complete story here: https://www.pressideas. com/Replika-expands-with-third-HeidelbergSpeedmaster-CS-92/

pressideas/ Stories From 2021

Kao Chimigraf looks at big packaging and textile market in India François Aguilar, Chief Commercial Officer, Kao Chimigraf shares the company’s future plans in an exclusive interview. Kao Chimigraf technology is widely used in the world of printing. The company has already established local presence and all set to explore new possibilities with fresh partnerships. It is looking for cooperation to develop solutions based on specific Indian needs and also develop business model around customer requirements. One such area is the UV market, where the company has proven market expertise and may prove a vital segment of future growth opportunities. Since its beginning in 1970, Kao Chimigraf has always had a strong commitment to quality; to find the most efficient option in printing inks and coatings for packaging. This remains same today. Kao Chimigraf is a global company of reference in the production of paints and coatings for flexographic, rotogravure and digital printing systems. And they are not big by chance: their success is the result of their effort, continuous work and contribution to the sector of quality inks and coatings for printing on packaging. “It was in 1970 when Kao Chimigraf started in the world of graphic arts. A sector in which, step by step, we have been specializing in different areas which all ended by being one of the key players in Europe when looking into Inkjet inks,” says François Aguilar, Chief Commercial Officer, Kao Chimigraf. “We think India is a key market for our operations in the future, but also in the present. India has a big packaging and Textile market,” adds François, speaking about Kao Chimigraf’s plans for Indian market. Textile and packaging are the markets that are planned to be explored by Kao Chimigraf. “We would like to offer the highest quality inkjet inks to good valuable partners,” François.

is their control over the complete process while they develop their own ink dispersions. “At Kao Chimigraf, we control the complete process. It is our key strength. It gives us the competitive advantage of being more flexible on creating new inks. It keeps us free from difficulties of adapting to predefined properties used by other ink providers,” explains François. Kao group has more than 37.000 employees around the world. Within the Kao Chimigraf company, there are 180+ employees around Europe (Spain, Italy and France). François Aguilar (Chief Sales Officer), Esteve Granada (Chief operations officer and Armand Marcé (Chief Financial Officer) are the key people managing the affairs at Kao Chimigraf. Inks being a vital ingredient of printed products, a customer chooses a particular brand or ink because of its reliability. “The most important factor determining the choice of a particular ink over others is the reliability of the ink between batches,” says François. “Whenever we discuss about inkjet ink, the most important thing is to be sure that our ink would not be damaging the printheads. Therefore, at Kao Chimigraf we have a close control of every batch we produce to be sure there will not be any sedimentation of the pigment happening inside the printing circuit that would damage such an expensive part as the printhead is,” he elaborates.

High standards translate into quality products by Kao Chimigraf. “We closely control the particle size among the time, optical density, viscosity, surface tension and other parameters that are key in the printing process,” adds François. Calling the changes in industry conditions due to COVID outbreak as temporary, François hopes travelling will resume by early 2022. “Hopefully the vaccine will ease the market situation and we hope also the tradeshows to start again and we can meet all each other very soon. COVID has shown us the need to have a powerful local industry and smaller batches productions. We believe digital printing will be the key in this success as it is the most effective technology when talking of short-run and customized products,” he emphasises. “We hope that, due to the pandemic situation, digital market will growth really fast if we compare it to previous years. It is true that this pandemic time has given the OEM and ink companies to improve their technologies so digital is becoming more and more competitive through the time,” adds François. Find the complete story here: https://www. pressideas.com/kao-chimigraf-looks-at-bigpackaging-and-textile-market-in-india/

Kao Chimigraf has offices in 6 European sites: two in Barcelona, and one each in Madrid, Valencia, France and Italy. What keeps their products above competition

December 2021

Stories From 2021

Inline or CI? The flexo debate At a time when the global pandemic is wreaking havoc with public health and fundamentally changing consumer behaviour in the retail trade, Nick Coombes speaks exclusively with Paolo Grasso, Head of Sales for the Label Business Unit at OMET Srl, and asks what is driving the market, and how this innovative Italian manufacturer is responding. Nick Coombes (NC): Inline or CI is not a new discussion – can you set the flexo scene as you see it today? Paolo Grasso(PG): The industry has spent years debating which is the best way to go, and while there is no simple answer, the considerations haven’t changed much because it depends on what you are trying to achieve as to which is the preferred technology. They both use the flexo printing technique, but that’s very much where the similarity ends in real terms. NC: Is it more about application than technique?

“We have supplied customers with hybrid presses that combine offset/flexo/gravure print units, all inline narrow web, and using a mix of solvent and UV or EB curing systems. This blend of technology allows converters to achieve unbeatable quality at the lowest possible cost.” – Paolo Grasso

Key Notes : > The industry has spent years debating which is the best way to go – Inline or CI > They both use the flexo printing technique, but that’s very much where the similarity ends in real terms. > We need to look behind the scenes and see how the two processes have developed to where they are today.

December 2021

PG: Yes, because the two different ways of using the flexo process largely dictate the end product. So, before we delve into the subject more deeply we need to establish who does what, and why. We need to look behind the scenes and see how the two processes have developed to where they are today.

NC: How do you see the current situation with CI? PG: In my opinion, its growth in recent years has been partially stimulated by the decline in run lengths of products that traditionally have been printed on rotogravure presses, which are not best suited to short run work. Quality-wise, solvent based CI flexo is just a sufficient match for solvent based gravure, but the investment and running costs are significantly lower if you consider pre-press, storage, set-up and so on. A CI flexo press also has a smaller footprint and is easier to operate and maintain. The competing technologies serve principally the same market, namely primary flexible packaging for the food and beverage sector and continue to do so in high volumes on web widths of typically 1.3m or more. But the trend is shorter runs on narrower presses, with

manufacturers downsizing towards 850mm or even down to 670mm web widths.

NC: How does that compare with the inline flexo process? PG: Essentially the inline process has developed from the narrow web technology that began life in the mid 1900s as a means of producing self-adhesive or pressure-sensitive labels. Over the past decade or so this sector has enjoyed a high rate of growth as demand for smaller single-pack portions and more product differentiation has increased. This is a market that is highly accustomed to the use of UV inks and lacquers, with the latest trend towards LED/UV curing on grounds of greater efficiency and lower operating costs.

NC: Where has this growth come from in narrow web? PG: Labels have grown in size, form, and application. For instance, the beer industry that was once dominated by glue applied labels printed sheet fed offset, has recently turned to a self-adhesive filmic no-label look that enhances the appearance and therefore the perceived quality of the product. Find the complete story here: https://www.pressideas. com/inline-or-ci-the-flexo-debate/

pressideas/ Stories From 2021

Need of the hour for every IndianPrinter Pentaforce - expanding the convergence ratio of existing services with an emphasis on performance, sustainability and the creation of new revenue streams for printers. As a printing press owner, do now know exactly what is happening at your presses LIVE while you are not around at your unit? Does productivity of your press, on-a-daily basis, bother you? Does operator performance monitoring, an issue with you?

Well, if your answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, you have a solution now. CountWONDER, a product developed by Pentaforce Software Solutions, captures realtime data and helps you serve customers by providing insights into the ongoing production on your shop floor for efficient production management. In fact, it is the next step in the development of Pentaforce’s product portfolio, expanding the convergence ratio of existing services with an emphasis on performance, sustainability and the creation of new revenue streams for printers. This next generation IoT technology builds intelligence on your shop floor, helping you use production data to make strategic business decisions that optimize workflow and production capabilities. Speaking to PRESSIdeas, Mr.Madan Singh of Pentaforce Printing Software says, “The COUNTWonder Wireless Production Monitoring System is an IoT device, when retrofitted on any production machine, automatically captures precise and up-to-the-minute production data directly from machines and provide you Output Counts, Machine Status, Breakdowns and Waiting Periods, Speed of Production, Machine Stoppages and much more.” CountWONDER Pro, a product from the Pentaforce, helps you keep your printing machines escape breakdowns, as it warns you in advance about the mechanical failures much before it actually happens. It keeps checking your machine’s health using Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques and advise you in advance any possibilities of an eminent breakdown. “The interesting part,”

says Madan, “is the Enhanced accuracy of production data with real-time WiFi connectivity which means all events happening on the machine is captured and minimized (overruns and underruns), you get instant availability of job status, extensive reporting and reason codes enabling punctual and economical decisions right there on your smart phone (or desktop/laptop).” The product involves a hardware installation on the machine to be monitored and then theAutomated data collection through the customized software eliminates human intervention thus making it error free and the reports generated from the data collected in the form of visual charts depict the productive/non-productive downtimes. It increases competitiveness and productivityresulting in improved overall visibility and control of production environment enabling you to make profitable decisions. The data can be reviewed on all remote smart devices enabling the user to identify and address any circumstances or issues. For the information our readers, Pentaforce Software Solutions has been in the industry for over two decades now providing it with a fully integrated ERP solution for estimating of printing and packaging jobs which includes PrintFASTQ - a very powerful yet simple tool for Print estimators to make estimates of leaflets, booklets, magazines, calendars, diaries, folding cartons, corrugated boxes, flexo labels, generates client quotations, Print MIS, sales order management, job dockets, job sheets/job cards, Print STOCK, - Stock management, Print Scheduler - print production scheduling,and Print Workflow - Workflow

with production capture and monitoring. Print Wonder powered by PrintDMS, provides - Document management to retrieve all your physical documents like orders placed by clients, amendments to orders, correspondence with clients, press-ready files (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe In-design, CorelDraw, PDF or any other formats) thus enhancing and optimizing the performance of your press with cutting-edge Print WONDER ERP, a complete ERP solution, printing ERP and packaging ERP for printing and packaging industry. “Make-in-India has always been in our soul and so the entire range of software like PrintFASTQ, PrintMIS, Print SCHEDULAR, Print WORKFLOW, Print STOCK and PrintDMS are products well accepted by the industry and with our new offering of CountWONDER, it has added a jewel to our crown - all for the printers of our country,” says Madan. Pentaforce has CountWONDER already installed in leading presses like Webtech Label Pvt Ltd. ( A Huhtamaki-PPL Group Company) for the last over an year with 23 CountWONDER units. “Temple Packaging had asked for 4 CountWONDER units for trial last December 2020, and after successful trial and evaluation, now have placed an order for two of their units, one at DAMAN and other at HYDERABAD, of which delivery is in progress” beams Madan. Find the story online at: https://www. pressideas.com/need-of-the-hour-for-everyindian-printer/

December 2021

Stories From 2021

Nukkad Printers: Kolkata’s friendly neighbourhood Digital Print Shop The young company decides in favour of a new Canon ImagePRESS C710 Digital Press to expand product portfolio and better serve the clients through value addition. Nukkad Printers got established in 2015 to provide digital printing solutions and everything in and around it. It is a young company though earlier the trio of directors – Pawas Shah, Sanjay Joshi and Mayur Tibrewal – had been into the digital printing venture with the name of Transasia Fine Papers (TFP) since 2012. They began by offering complete post press finishing for digital printing. “It was just the beginning and from almost the inception, TFP has handled paper and print coordination with expertise to ensure best results,” says Mayur Tibrewal.

The ‘print consultants’ – a name synonymous with quality printing

The reputation of Nukkad Printers as providers of quality digital print products gets a further boost with their new Canon ImagePRESS C710 which will increase their range of fine paper and texture board printing; enhance range of products and value additions for their clients.

Key Notes : > Started by offering complete post press finishing for digital printing. > Grew stronger by increasing stores & manpower, providing special value added solutions and being ahead of the competition. > Adds another chapter to their success with the installation of a new Canon ImagePRESS C710.

December 2021

“Though Nukkad Printers is a young around six-year old company, we have grown stronger over the years, whether it’s been with increasing stores and manpower or celebrating a special value addition for a customer or being a step ahead of a competitor. This is how we count our milestones,” he Mayur. Acting as a ‘print consultant’ for their clients, Nukkad Printers today has earned a name for their quality printing. “Honesty, trust, convenience and reach are our core values,” says Pawas Shah. “Nukkad means neighborhood where every shop in the street corner gives you a sense of relationship, belonging, trust and convenience; all the values which drive our business ethics too,” says Sanjay Joshi sharing the philosophy behind the name Nukkad.

Exploring newer avenues with the new Canon ImagePRESS C710 The reputation of Nukkad Printers as providers of quality digital print products gets a further boost with their new Canon ImagePRESS C710. “We envisage increasing our range of fine paper and texture board printing with the new Canon ImagePRESS C710. Its capability to print on versatile substrate of an extended range of grammage enhances the range of products and value additions we can provide to our clients. The capability comes in addition to the seamless auto-duplex functionality altogether providing us with an efficient platform to answer our client’s requirements in various ways,” explains an elated Mayur Tibrewal. What made Nukkad Printers’ management decide in favour of their latest Canon machine was chiefly its excellent user friendly settings that makes printing an extremely effortless exercise. “Apart from making it easier for us to get things printed, another feature viz., the machine’s built-in software has ensured achieving expected results naturally. To sum it up, its good printing speed along with its capability to support diverse printing media, distinguishes the ImagePRESS C710 from its competitors,” asserts Mayur. Find the complete story here: https://www. pressideas.com/nukkad-printers-kolkatas-friendlyneighbourhood-digital-print-shop/

pressideas/ Stories From 2021

Technology packed in a compact size: Multiflex Polybags goes for SOMA Optima 880 Pratik Mehta, Multiflex Polybags Pvt. Ltd. shares with PRESSIdeas the capabilities of their new SOMA Optima 880, installed by DKSH India. PRESSIdeas: Congratulations on the latest SOMA Optima 880 installation. What went behind the decision to install this particular brand and model? Pratik Mehta: The readily available machine which could fit in terms of space availability, power and the infrastructure of our existing factory space with us without doing much changes and of course “Its latest technology” became an ace card for us. PRESSIdeas: What is the range of products you offer and what type of machines and infrastructure enable the production at Multiflex Polybags? Pratik Mehta: We have a complete range of surface printed five-layer and three-layer PE based packaging material for personal hygiene products, food packaging industry, medical industries and bulk packaging industries. We have a full-fledged range of reverse printed laminates both PE + PE and PET+PE, BOPA +PE, BOPP+PE, all under one roof right from extrusion to finished pouches in all shapes and sizes. We also offer a full range of paper based sustainable and recyclable packaging material. PRESSIdeas: How has been DKSH and SOMA support prior to, during and after the installation? Pratik Mehta: The support both from DKSH and SOMA was excellent in terms of technology transfer and service. They have demonstrated an impressive level of professionalism.

PRESSIdeas: What are the key features of SOMA Optima 880 that have been opted by Multiflex? Which of them attracted your interest the most? Pratik Mehta: The main feature attracted us was the size of the press, very compact and purposeful with a full range of automation. And the best part is that

the machine rewinds the used print setting film back and for reuse again with a click of a button, without removing the rolls from its position; so with this we use just a few meters of initial print setting film and it is very helpful for a precise short run job.

PRESSIdeas: Optima is equipped with several automated features that minimize time and waste during changeovers. How have the features benefited Multiflex Polybags during your day to day operations?

capability to produce sustainable paperbased packaging material, this press gives a big advantage to us to print water-based inks in flexo.

Pratik Mehta: These new features are very helpful for our short run jobs where we do at least 8-10 changeovers with very minimal time for washing colours and makeready decks.

PRESSIdeas: What are the key markets that SOMA Optima at Multiflex is going to cater to? How are the customers going to benefit from Optima capabilities?

PRESSIdeas: What are the key differences between ARUN and FALCON II features of Optima? Which of these are featured in your installed machine?

Pratik Mehta: Our customers require short runs and precise short runs and this is where SOMA gives us an edge above our competitors and in turn this helps us to retain our customer base.

Pratik Mehta: Our press is equipped with FALCON II. ARUN is a fully automated system like GPS where the job is registered right from the first print, whereas Falcon II is auto-impression and auto-register is provided by smart register.

PRESSIdeas: What exactly is the bounce control feature of Optima?

PRESSIdeas: Given the environmental impact of materials being one of the key focus areas globally, how do you place SOMA Optima regarding the use of material, waste, power, inks etc.?

Pratik Mehta: It controls the “bounce” due to its mono-frame built body, which controls the vibration at very high speed. A 3up artwork in plate sleeve of as small as 300mm also doesn’t give any sort of bounce. Find the complete story here: https://www. pressideas.com/multiflex-polybags-goes-forsoma-optima-880-technology-packed-in-acompact-size/

Pratik Mehta: Given the new advance features for shorter job setup time and auto wash systems that are much quicker and efficient, the carbon footprint of the machine is very less. PRESSIdeas: What are the advantages of capability to use both water based and solvent based inks on the same press? Pratik Mehta: Since we have an inhouse

December 2021

Stories From 2021

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.

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.

December 2021

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

Kits that allow print providers to offer higher value embellishment solutions in gold, silver, white and even fluorescent without a significant investment.

Vineet Gehani: Xerox has always focused on

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

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+

Digital Printing seems to have emerged as a preferred option in some sectors 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 industry-leading 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. Find the complete story here: https://www.pressideas. com/xerox-leading-the-way-with-its-innovative-newadaptive-cmyk-kits/

pressideas/ Stories From 2021

Stories From 2021

Siegwerk inaugurates Toluene free Blending Center in Bangladesh The new state-of-the-art Blending Center for Toluene free inks has an annual capacity of 3,600 MT and will have close to 50 employees working in it. Siegwerk is about colours. Ink is nothing without colours. Siegwerk has 190-year history of providing tailored ink technology and services. The group today produces over 280 KT printing inks per year. Currently focusing on inks for packaging, Siegwerk serves over 100 countries with over 1 billion Euro net sales per year and 1141 million euro group revenues for the year 2020. 95% of the revenues came from packaging. And 53% of packaging constituted the EMEA region. Asia region comes second with 20%. Headquartered at Siegburg, Germany, Siegwerk has primary production through its 16 Centres of Excellence, has 50 blending centres and 12 centres of competence for development. Committed to principle of sustainability, Siegwerk strives to create a balance between ecological, social and economical needs without compromising resources of future generations. Besides, its efforts towards helping disadvantaged children and young adults too need no introduction.

The new Bangladesh Blending Center India excluded the use of Toluene as a solvent in food application inks in 2020. The industry moves towards eliminating rather than mitigating the Toluene risk.

The latest plant at Bangladesh got commissioned by Siegwerk in January 2021. It is a 100% Swiss Ordinance compliant Blending Center set up in an area of 65000 square feet in Meghna Industrial Area in the Dhaka region. The Plant with an annual capacity of 3600 MT employs 50 people. “One of the key reasons for us to establish the Bangladesh plant is to be close to our customers,” says Ashish Pradhan, President Asia, Siegwerk.

Key Notes :

Siegwerk is supplying printing ink in Bangladesh since the mid-nineties. “Besides being close to our customers in Bangladesh, the Blending Center will also allow us to expand our offerings. We can now offer customized, individually formulated safe ink solutions through our latest blending technology,” adds Ashish Pradhan.

> Siegwerk commissioned the latest Bangladesh plant in January 2021. > It is a 100% Swiss Ordinance compliant Blending Center set up in an area of 65000 square feet in the Dhaka region. > The blending center will supply Toluene free safe inks and is at par with global standards.

its basic colors and varnishes in a standardized process at the fifteen dedicated Siegwerk - Centers of Excellence worldwide. The raw materials and intermediate products are as close to identical as possible, ensuring consistent product quality. With the addition of this center in Bangladesh, Siegwerk currently has more than 31 Blending Centers worldwide.

Product Safety and Packaging – safe inks for safe packaging Siegwerk has been aware of the need for safe printing inks for packaging applications from the beginning and has made ink safety one of its guiding principles. Today, the company is a global leader in providing product safety guidance and has an expert team exclusively dedicated to this. Siegwerk’s product safety guidance includes global regulatory compliance, brand owner requirements, and risk assessments. This ensures products are safe for the end-use applications. Find the complete story here: https://www.pressideas. com/siegwerk-inaugurates-toluene-free-blendingcenter-in-bangladesh/

Siegwerk used to supply inks from its plant in India until recently. The new center is already commissioned and has completely taken over the supply of blended inks from February 2021. The blending center will supply Toluene free safe inks and is at par with global standards. The inks produced will be compliant with global regulatory and brand owner requirements to ensure products are safe for end-use packaging applications. Siegwerk manufactures

December 2021

Stories From 2021

‘Resource Saving’ with Fujifilm’s Premium Quality and Stability Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, Head of Department, Graphic Arts, Fujifilm India shares Fujifilm’s latest offerings and future plan for the Indian customers. Fujifilm’s journey in the Indian Graphic Art industry has been nothing short of extraordinary. “We have seen steady growth over the years, with customer satisfaction maintained at its highest level,” says Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, Head of Department, Graphic Arts, Fujifilm India. “Every country or region has different ‘technology adoption lifecycle’. Graphics arts Industry here in India also had to adapt to technological changes quickly. At Fujifilm, we always believed in helping customers make the right technological choices considering market dynamics,” he adds.

“We are expanding our digital product portfolio. There will be series of electrophotography and inkjet based product launches this year. We have a very positive outlook of Indian Print Market and combining conventional & digital segments we aim to achieve double-digit growth this year.” – Kentaro Imafuku

Key Notes : > Plans to introduce a newer range of products like JetPress 750s in the commercial printing segment. > JetPress FP790 – a web based machine to target digital flexible packaging. > State-of-the-art toner machines to showcase at the POD launch event planned sometimes in October 2021.

December 2021

Fujifilm started its operations in India in the year 2007. This was the phase when there was a rapid transition from conventional platemaking to digital platemaking. Apart from Graphic arts films, they also offered state-of-the-art CTP equipment, workflow and plates to our customers. Their Violet Plates for publication and newspaper segment have been known for quality and robustness. In the Thermal Plate segment, they offered world-class products. “This has been our primary focus area where we strengthened conventional product portfolio over the years as part of our commitment to the printing industry. There have been changes in the product portfolio with time but overall we have seen a steady growth and Fujifilm has become Graphic Arts industry’s first choice in India,” says Mr. Kentaro Imafuku. Fujifilm is cognizant of the changing market trends and consumer behaviour and accordingly has been ramping up its Digital portfolio as well. Few years back Fujifilm introduced a range of Acuity series Printers for Wide format segment with a great success. The company has already achieved around 150 units of Acuity Installations in India. “Taking this journey further, this year we have lined up a range of digital launches in WFIJ, POD, Flexible Packaging segments,” reveals Mr. Kentaro Imafuku.

Conventional and Digital printing by Fujifilm These are the two key focus area of Fujifilm. In conventional printing segment, they have seen a steady growth, especially in packaging. Commercial printing market has shown signs of recovery post Covid related lockdowns and will bounce back soon, believes Mr. Kentaro Imafuku. “We will retain our growth in this segment with the launch of environmental friendly products like ‘Processless Offset Plates’ which eliminates processing step completely and also by promoting ZAC processing technology which is our low chemistry offering. We have experienced a great success worldwide with our Flenex Series ‘Water Wash Flexo Plates. In India also, this will be our key focus area,” he continues. The major growth is expected to come from Digital segment, especially due to post Covid scenario where print runs are becoming shorter and there is a focus on improving efficiency across the printing industry. Find the complete story here: https://www.pressideas. com/resource-saving-with-fujifilms-premium-qualityand-stability/

pressideas/ Stories From 2021

Stories From 2021

Green World Publication: Success through decades gets KODAK CtP boost The Rs.200 crore publishing business sets an ambitious target to double its turnover in a few years. The recent Kodak CtP installation is a major boost.

A journey of binding around 2000 books (manually) per day to today’s churning out of one-lakh perfect bound 800-1000 page single to 5-colour books from start to finish, perfectly packed and dispatched each day.

Key Notes : > At the time of the need to upgrade their plate production capacity, it was - simply go for KODAK. > The KODAK CtP is one of the best CtP devices in the world and the world-class printed product quality is being provided by GWP in India. > With the new KODAK CtP in place, Piyush has a target of doubling up the production in coming three years.

Navin Prakashan Mandir was started by Mr. Piyush Agarwal’s father, Late Mr. Satish Chandra Agarwal in 1960. He lost his salaried job and with a meager saving of Rs.10-15 he laid the foundation of his own business. Initially he rented a shop, which was a fire-ravaged place, painted it with his own hands and started framing pictures. It couldn’t keep his interest for long, so he started a book shop where he would trade in new as well as old books. That business flourished with round the clock rush of customers keeping the cash registers flowing. He could manage to save around Rs.20,000 and decided to venture into publication. It was in the year 1967-68 when he bought land for his publication setup. Starting from publishing one book initially from his 400sq.yard plot, to gradually adding the numbers, he acquired business knowledge about selling and marketing; entered into deals with other publishers for sales; and spread the business across the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Around the year 1975 he had stepped into the academic guides’ publishing segment. This business carved a name in the UP and Uttaranchal region as one of the leading publishers which remained so for almost a decade till 1985. Piyush Agarwal joined the business at a young age of 14 years in 1984. Mr. Satish Chandra observed his son had little interest in academic studies so he asked him about his interest in joining the family business. Mr. Piyush readily agreed, and Mr. Satish Chandra initiated a printing setup for him with two Adast Dominant machines from J Mahabeer. The imported machines were – one single colour 714 and another740-model dual-colour, both of 19x26 size. The press got named after Piyush’s mother – Vinita Printing Press and Piyush started looking after the printing business with great interest running the presses 24x7. Vinita Printing Press would print books while binding was handled by the other unit with a capacity of around 2000 books (per binder) manually sewn and bound per day. In contrast, today’s ‘Green World Publication’– the present name of the publication – is capable of churning out onelakh perfect bound 800-1000 page single to 5-colour books from start to finish, perfectly packed and dispatched each day.

being limited to just printing and he ventured into publishing – this time into children’s books. He contacted various writers of children’s books and soon came up with at least 150 titles for children. A major turning point came when Mr. Satish Chandra gave away the publishing business to one of Piyush’s cousins. Since Piyush’s heart was in publishing, he once again established two new firms to follow his dreams. Along came Ganga Jamuna Offset Printing Press in the year 1986. He also established Navin Group of Publications for the publication business around the same time. Find the complete story here: https://pressideas.com/ green-world-publication-success-through-decadesgets-kodak-ctp-boost/

In two years’, time, they added another Kolkata-made single colour machine of 24x36 size. After continuing for some time, the publisher in Piyush revolted from

December 2021

Stories From 2021

Konica Minolta: Giving Shapes To Ideas Mr Tai Nizawa, MD, Konica Minolta India shares the latest business approach, customer relationships, technological superiority of their products, future strategy, new launches and much more in this exclusive interview with PRESSIdeas. Konica Minolta Business Solutions India is celebrating its 11th Anniversary of India operations and has emerged as the leader in the Production Printing market segment in the last decade i.e. 2011-2020, with more than 50% of the market share. Mr. Tai Nizawa, MD, Konica Minolta India considers the decade long leadership as the biggest milestone achieved yet.

“Quality, productivity, flexibility, automation and consistency are 5 main offerings which come bundled with the Konica Minolta presses. The high quality presses are technologically strong and feature advanced capabilities such as in line automation modules that not only help minimize human intervention but also achieve consistent prints sheet after sheet.” – Mr. Tai Nizawa

Key Notes : > Konica Minolta Business Solutions celebrates 11th Anniversary of its India operations. > With 50% share, emerges as the leader in the Production Printing market segment in the decade of 2011-2020. > New responsibilities of Digital Technologies in complex supply chain networks include those in track and trace, authentication and supply chain management etc.

December 2021

Digital has obvious advantages over ‘traditional’ by eliminating many processes typical of traditional set-ups – helping reducing and cutting waste. “Digital has obvious advantages and as we see Covid-19 has reduced the overall demand in Commercial Print segment, a sizeable part of it has shifted towards Digital,” says Mr. Nizawa. “It has only happened because outputs on Digital are fast with negligible wastages. We are witnessing an increased interest of Commercial Printers in the Digital Printing for optimizing their print requirements,” he adds.

solutions to integrate with the customers supply chain,” explains Mr. Nizawa.

Advantage Digital Understandably, Digital Printing has obvious benefits over ‘traditional’ by way of its unique capabilities, especially in more advanced as well as progressive markets. With quite a big number of successful Digital Printing businesses, India has been reaping these benefits for a long time. “The advantages of Digital Printing, I am sure, are very well known. We know that with Digital Printing various design possibilities with full colour and gradation is possible – it enables printing without the limitation of colours, makes possible quick delivery, reduces colour matching time, has low cost of ownership, is profitable in small volume production, drives high added value and above all it is Environment friendly,” summarizes Mr. Nizawa. With goods moving on ever-complex supply chain network, obviously Digital Technologies are burdened with new responsibilities, for example, in track and trace, authentication and supply chain management etc. “We have always believed in ‘Giving shape to ideas’ and with that approach we have always brought products and solutions which are future ready. Our product line is very friendly in all production environments; in fact we have many installations which are part of the production assembly lines. We have solutions to support the customers to authenticate, including Track & Trace

KM’s strategy for next two years and Biz-out-of-the-box way campaign “With the latest numbers of the GDP growth, massive vaccination drives pan India and the steps taken by Indian government, we are pretty sure the way we are progressing we should see the state of normalcy very soon,” says Mr. Nizawa. “The future of printing is Digital itself. Personalization – with this we see many new avenues opening in terms of short-run print embellishments on packaging – small quantity of book publishing from budding authors and variable data printing of QR codes for various digital payment options are some of the promising segments of Digital. Digitization of processes is happening in every field. Our belief is that the process which can be digitized shall be controlled by automation of the processes,” he continues. Konica Minolta’s strategy for the next two years is quite simple. It is to bring more automation in the various processes in the Printing, from pre-press to post press with prime objective of bringing more efficiencies by reducing the touch.... Find the complete story here: https://pressideas.com/ Konica-Minolta-Giving-Shapes-To-Ideas/

pressideas/ Stories From 2021

Stories From 2021

Changing Print Industry and the need for a Hybrid Printer, the Communication Specialist Print technologies that allow the user experience to be enriched and maybe blur the boundary of print world and digital world, will see far greater adoption, says Mr. Puneet Dutta, Canon India, as he speaks about the changing landscape of print today. The pandemic has impacted the complete ecosystem and dynamics of Indian printing industry. While traditional applications took a severe hit, applications to do with packaging and labels saw an increase. The key concerns facing the industry would be based upon the return to normalcy of segments on which print volumes are dependent upon. As per various studies done within India, no one as of now expects 100% recovery for traditional printing as there will be a new normal that is expected to settle in. Mr. Puneet Datta, Senior Director, Marketing & Sales, Canon India, speaks about the industry, the changing landscape and Canon India, the latest offerings, future scenario and much more in an exclusive interview with PRESSIdeas.

Digital printing in India is establishing itself strongly in many segments of printing be it label or packaging or industrial printing. As hybrid work culture sets in, Canon is developing solutions and capabilities to evolve with the changing culture and print requirements to its customers.

Key Notes : > There will be an ever changing new normal. > Organisations will have to be agile to adopt and change strategies to thrive through it. > The key buzz word is going to be “Digital”.

“The new normal is rapidly evolving with each passing month so it is very hard to state what it would look like,” pictures Puneet Datta, Senior Director, Marketing &Sales, Canon India. “However good sign is that large enterprises who were earlier speaking of work from home culture even post return to normalcy have realised the need for physical presence of staff in offices. Similarly, in the education segment the medical fraternity is pushing for offline classes to balance the mental well being of children although with a cautious approach,” he adds. “The one parameter that has remained constant through this pandemic, as one to pay the most attention to for all, has been cash flow. If I were to sum up the situation in a sentence, there will be an ever changing new normal, and organisations will have to be agile to adopt and change strategies to thrive through it. The key buzz word is going to be “Digital” whether it is digital transformation in segments that generate print volumes or closer to our industry, digital printing solves both the agility and cash flow issue when compared to conventional printing,” he explains further about the changing environment vis-à-vis the Covid-19.

The changing demands of the market and new customer expectations During the pandemic the digital economy grew many folds in various domains. The convenience and safety

offered by e-commerce platforms was preferred by most. A big change was seen in terms of video and collaboration platform adoption – be it Zoom / MS Teams/ Google Meet etc. as work from home / education from home became synonymous with day-to-day life. The spend pattern of the consumer changed drastically with more emphasis on health and savings rather than spending. Major marketing spends shifted overnight from print to digital media. All the above also have affected the print industry. Office printing virtually stopped in initial phase of pandemic and is now recovering as offices have started opening with state governments relaxing rules. The demand by e-commerce platforms for packaging and healthcare industry for labels of sanitizers and cleaning disinfectants grew very fast. However, printing of visiting cards, letter heads, brochures, catalogues, education books and other marketing collaterals took a nosedive and has hit commercial printers the most. Find the complete story here: https://pressideas.com/ changing-print-industry-and-the-need-for-a-hybridprinter-the-communication-specialist/

December 2021

Stories From 2021

Heidelberg Solutions – The Strength of Offset Samir Patkar, President – Heidelberg India, in an exclusive talk, discusses diverse subjects as the new model of working, customization, remote services, digital ecosystem, automation, recent installations, Push to Stop technology, OEE, Print Site Contracts, India is on the rise, with advanced print technology, AI, and more.

“Print and Packaging businesses do not have to switch to purely Digital processes overnight. Since Offset still has its strength over Digital, especially with Heidelberg’s ‘Push to Stop’ technology focusing on faster job changeovers, make readies and higher productivities with lesser operator influence, they can instead integrate both Digital and Offset processes,” Samir Patkar, President – Heidelberg India.

Key Notes : > The pandemic changes the way we do business and paves a new model of working. > Leverage the strengths of data mining, AI and Navigated printing, predictive monitoring of presses and diagnose as well as fix press problems remotely. > Indian businesses will transact more digitally, ….eshop platform at Heidelberg is getting more and more popular.

December 2021

It’s been almost two years since COVID-19 went global. The unprecedented impact has created a crisis and thrown the world into disarray. Many industries got affected adversely, while some others were managed to be moderate and performed well. Speaking to PRESSIdeas, Samir Patkar, President, Heidleberg India notes: “The pandemic has changed the way we do business and has paved a new model of working – the print shop owners and industry colleagues were forced to change their market approach, business models and adapt to new business environments. The response had to be quick, measured and with highest agility.” “While the pandemic affected business across all industry sectors, the graphic arts industry has not been any different,” observes Samir Patkar. “While commercial printing continues to be affected with slower recovery, fortunately, packaging printing is a growth story with increased print production in market sectors like pharmaceutical, healthcare & personal care, food & beverages, FMCG, and much more. The commercial printing is slowly recovering to prepandemic times, while packaging seems back on track with almost 80-90% recovery and in some cases even growing more than 100% of the pre-COVID business, we hope for a brighter 2022,” he says. Speaking largely about the changes that would stay, Samir says, “As things are getting back to normal, in many sectors, work from home – WFH, will be commonly embraced. Speed of response and agility has become more important than before. Cash flow and margins will become more important parameters to drive businesses and will force all players in the supply chain to be focused to remain profitable and sustain the current challenging times. At Heidelberg, we are leveraging our digital processes to the fullest. As many of our presses are connected to cloud, our service team is helping our customers via remote to diagnose the machine fault and swiftly fix them remotely, thanks to digital technology and innovations which Heidelberg constantly brings to the market from time to time as a technology leader. This is going to be the new normal and most print companies are already following it. Let us remember that this is just one part of the digital transformation program which Heidelberg had drafted as its new journey 4 years ago.”

The changing market demands and customer expectations The new print technologies have lowered costs and increased accuracy and offered quicker turnaround to customers. In the past, a company would purchase bulk order of marketing materials for any new product, but today’s technology allows them to customize their materials to connect with specific market segments. As a result, print companies can receive smaller orders and must have the capacity to address them efficiently. Find the complete story here: https://pressideas.com/ heidelberg-solutions-the-strength-of-offset/

pressideas/ Stories From 2021

Stories From 2021

Fujifilm India: Bringing Out Value From Innovations Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, Head of Department, Graphic Arts, Fujifilm India, in an exclusive talk with PRESSIdeas, discusses Fujifilm’s diversified offering, foray in newer technology, Flenex series, new Revoria PC 1120 and much more. The Pandemic has been an unforeseen reality that changed the world completely. Happenings like these reinforce the point that one can plan to a level but there has to be nimbleness in execution and redundancies created in the system which one can fall back on, in times of uncertainty.

“Fujifilm, being a legacy brand in graphics and photo space, has had the advantage of understanding its customer requirements in its entirety and tuning our products according to their needs. Fujifilm as a brand, is all about innovation and we will continue to do so and continue to set a benchmark in the world of technological equipment.” – Mr. Kentaro Imafuku

Overhauling and optimizing their operations over the last 2 years, Fujifilm India kept its growth curve intact in the uncertain Covid-19 pandemic period. The company has recently forayed into newer technology like Flexo plates as the company also dived deeper into its Digital portfolio with a diverse offering from WFIJ (wide format inkjet for signage industry) to POD (Print On Demand). Speaking about the changed scenario, Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, Head of Department, Graphic Arts, Fujifilm India comments, “General commercial printing has been severely affected during the pandemic; the volumes have plummeted owing to the sequence of lockdowns. We at Fujifilm India, recognize the reality of ‘what has to go digital, will go digital’. Hence, we have aligned our overall strategy accordingly and included technologies that we believe will effectively and holistically cater to the industry. Actually, we have diversified our offering basket.” “Our focus areas during these times were CTP Plates in the packaging space (compensating for drop in volumes from commercial printing) as well as foraying into newer technology like Flexo plates. We are also looking at the future with Label and Packaging solutions in Digital Printing,” he adds.

Answering customer demands in changing times

Key Notes : > Fujifilm India forays into newer technology – Flexo plates; dives deeper into Digital portfolio.

With the opening up of the markets, cost-quality Matrix will be of paramount importance. Packaging segment will continue to grow in double digits and most of the printing volume growth will come from

there, according to Mr. Kentaro Imafuku. He believes that demand for shorter runs and variable data printing would continue to grow and there would be more digital adoption going forward. Customer demand has remained largely the same for decades. Great quality offerings at faster speed and affordable prices still remain a must. When it comes to changes in the market, when a specific technology is not able to meet the growing demand of advanced offerings, the market leapfrogs into a newer technology that serves the purpose. “As we move ahead in time,” says Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, “physical print will continue to play a huge role. Only the equipment and the technologies that they are printed on may evolve. We can also expect a shift in the format of printing along with a rise in value of the printed message.” Find the complete story here: https://pressideas.com/ fujifilm-india-bringing-out-value-from-innovations/

> Offers diverse offering from WFIJ to POD. > To offer Label and Packaging solutions in Digital Printing in future.

December 2021

Stories From 2021

VINSAK: Making possible the use of Digital Print in Packaging The future is to merge the Physical and the Digital – Phygital. Ranesh Bajaj, Director, VINSAK India speaks about VINSAK, enabling Convertors and Printers to add value to their offerings and shore up their bottom lines without major investments and more. Covid-19 has been a tough time for all and a few could manage the hard times well. VINSAK is one of them. “Tough times never last but tough people do!” states Ranesh Bajaj, Director, VINSAK India, who does not only say it but has been at the helm of one of the leading houses of our industry – sailing strongly and successfully all through the tough weathers. “VINSAK has successfully negotiated the tough period of the Covid-19,” says Ranesh Bajaj. He says that there Service Support to global clients carried through without much disruption. Neither were there any staff layoffs at the company. “While capital good sales were impacted to some extent, 2021 has seen a recovery in demand with 2022 showing signs of a full recovery. The pandemic has also ensured that we learn to work in the Hybrid mode which in many cases is much more efficient,” adds Ranesh.

“As raw material, energy and labour costs continue to rise and interest rates fall, it is clear that more automated, easy to set up and low wastage equipment are the future.” – Ranesh Bajaj, VINSAK India

Key Notes : > Hybrid working – one of the changes to stay. > Whatever can be digitized will be digitized. > Sustainability and better recyclable materials are the new norm in the packaging domain.

December 2021

Printing has been severely and variously affected by the pandemic; more so its various segments. “Commercial print is surely now seeing an earlier end to its existence,” observes Ranesh. “Whatever can be digitized will be digitized and this is a normal that we have to live with. Labels and packaging will continue to grow exponentially and all those who need to continue to be in the printing business will surely need to retool their kits,” he elaborates. The demands of the market as well as customer expectations changed substantially during these times. “Sustainability and better recyclable materials are the new norm in the packaging domain. It is essential that brands are now seen as reducing their footprint and also offering print and packaging which is recyclable. This is now defining the new technology thrust in our industry,” asserts Ranesh. Consequently, the affordability of answering the new demands has changed much. Companies recognize the future ways of providing the solutions at the best possible price. “As raw material, energy and labour continue to rise and interest rates fall, it is clear that more automated, easy to set up and low wastage equipment are the future. Printers and convertors should focus on the ROI taking into consideration all these while making equipment decisions and not just the capital cost of a piece of kit,” suggests Ranesh.

With the markets opening slowly, Hybrid working is one of the changes that Ranesh thinks would stay. “Acceptance of people to meet virtually and not in person and accept this as the new normal are going to stay. This also improves work efficiency drastically and allows us all to have a better work life balance. Hybrid working will stay!” he declares. “We are lucky to have been in the packaging business where the impact of Covid-19 related situation was not so severe,” states Ranesh. They have already regained 2019 levels of business in Q2 of 2021. Also, the group’s geographically diverse operations across global markets and time zones have helped to even out the curve, informs Ranesh. Middle East and African markets have contributed greatly to keeping the balance sheets healthy. Service issues with new technology have really improved and uptimes are higher than ever before. “I think Commercial Print is not likely to improve. We all need to focus on Packaging which will grow as GDP and income levels grow,” he continues. Find the complete story here: https://pressideas.com/ vinsak-making-possible-the-use-of-digital-print-inpackaging/

pressideas/ Stories From 2021

Role of Rheological Properties of UV Inks on Flexo Printability The rheology of ink plays a central role in ink distribution and transfer in Flexographic printing process. UV inks are specially formulated to dry only when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. Hence the printed image resembles an overall better dot and print effect, resulting in a high-quality finish. UV ink is cured by chemical reactions called polymerization. UV inks are usually 100% non-volatile materials, so there is no concern for evaporating any volatile materials like solvents or water-based inks. Rheology is defined as deformation and flow behaviour of a material. The rheology of UV inks is determined by the components that are added to the ink.

Ingredients of UV Inks: Oligomer: The main component used as a binder in ink formulations. These are highly viscous and contain active groups for cross-linkage.

Monomer: A molecule that forms the basic unit for polymers. Monomers provide lower viscosity and can influence rheology, cure rates and adhesion. Photoinitiator: UV-sensitive components, and under UV radiation, the polymerization reaction is initiated by its decomposition into free radicals.

Pigments: Imparts colour to an ink and insoluble in ink vehicles Additives: Additives like Stabilizers, Silicon (Rub-Resistance), Hardeners (Mechanical Resistance), Etc., are often added in the UV Inks to enhance specific performance of an ink to meet end use requirements. It is essential to understand the relationship between printability and rheological behaviors induced by the interfacial interactions between different components within the ink as it directly affects printability. Adding various elements to the ink determines the rheology of inks. Variations in the degree of interfacial interaction between components lead to changes in the rheology of the ink suspensions. The ink transfer between the palate, anilox roller

and substrate is dependent upon the type of monomer and the transfer fraction of ink which in turn has an effect on print density. Mirror-coated paper is a commonly used substrate for label printing, food packages, and other consumer goods. This substrate is printed with both water-based ink and UV ink with Flexographic Printing Press. Water-based ink is mainly used for absorbent substrates. UV ink is used mainly for non-absorbent substrates. In flexographic printing, more solid ink density is achieved by UV inks than water-based inks because the polymerization process dries UV ink with negligible absorption. In contrast, more print contrast is achieved by the water-based inks because water-based ink is dried by the absorption and evaporation process, and it penetrates in the pores of the substrate. In the case of 50% and 100% dot gain, UV inks have more dot gain than water-based inks due to their drying process that is polymerization. The excellent chemical resistance and physical properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) resins makes it suitable as an excellent adhesive and possess solvent, oil, and grease resistance properties. The viscosity of formulated inks increases with increase in binder percentage. The formulation has an effect on adhesion and pigment particle distribution on varying substrates. News print paper shows an even distribution of the pigment particles with less or no air bubbles. Bond paper exhibits good result with some air bubbles for the formulations while Art paper shows much air space with uneven pigment particles distribution. Therefore, it is important to optimize the formulation for better adhesion and particle distribution for different substrates. Polymer film materials are used to print labels and packaging through the flexography printing process. The polarity and surface energy of films increases due to the decontamination of polar groups and results in good adhesion properties. The decrease in the cosine of the contact angle reduces ink adhesion. The polarity of the surface has the presence of polar groups in inter-molecular

interactions and provides an adequate adhesive bond. Maximum spreading and maximum adhesion of UV-inks are possible at high surface energy and a polar component of the surface film. The rheological properties of suspensions greatly depend on the degree of flocculation. The flocculated structure depends on the shape, size, and surface characteristics of the dispersed particles and the interaction between the dispersed medium and the particles. To understand and control the rheological properties of UV flexo inks, it is necessary to accurately analyze the specific rheological properties produced by the chemical and physical interactions of the ink components. The viscosity of pre-polymer increases with an increase in the shear rate. The dynamic viscosity of pre-polymer is dependent on the molecular weight of the oligomer. Dynamic viscosity of the colorant is increased as the strain amplitude increased. Every ink manufacturer should know these factors to achieve the desired ink formulation. UV flexo inks are specially formulated with bio-renewable resin technology for lower migration in food packaging applications. The usage of UV lamps to one third of the exposure level contributes to energy saving and reduction of CO2 during the printing process. Understanding the rheological properties of ink including viscosity, high color strength, adhesion to multiple substrates is very important for better print quality in flexographic printing process. Excellent rub resistance, chemical resistance, exceptional color consistency and superior gloss led the printers to use UV inks instead of traditional inks. UV printing has the ability to convey superb effects to eye-catching special substrates with shine or feel properties. The ink dries within fraction of second and hence speeds up the finishing operations of a job. Written by - Siddharth Adagatla (Student) under the guidance of Dr. Akshay V. Joshi (Printing Engineering Department - P. V. G’s College of Engineering and Technology & G. K. Pate (Wani) Institute of Management, Pune

December 2021

Students' Corner

Perception of consumers for sustainable packaging In today’s society, packaging must meet both essential product requirements and specific environmental objectives. Sustainable packaging is one of the most important constituents of the food product or non-food product because a wellpacked product can be a guarantee of consumer protection. The package type is a communication instrument between businesses and final consumers and it is capable of attracting consumer’s attention. However, as a result of the new directions for environmental protection, it not only has to protect the products but must also be environmentally friendly. In today’s society, packaging must meet both essential product requirements and specific environmental objectives. The packaging has four different marketing functions. First, it contains and protects the product; second, the packaging’s role is to promote the product. It also helps consumers to use the product and, lastly, packaging facilitates recycling and decrease environmental damage. Eco-packaging must have benefits for the consumer, be safe and healthy for the individual and the community throughout its life cycle, be market-efficient and cost-effective; be obtained, produced, transported, and recycled via sources of renewable energy, as well as maximizing the use of renewable or recyclable materials; utilize clean production technologies and best practices; can be designed to optimize the materials and energy used, and can be effectively recovered and reused in numerous production cycles. Sustainable packaging is recyclable and safe for people and the environment, lessening our ecological footprint and environmental impact. We all are proud of becoming greener these days. The world population grows, the global economy develops, and both damage the natural resources of our planet. Consumers demand eco-friendly products, brands turn to green marketing, and everyone craves sustainable packaging. The problem is, this concept goes far beyond reusability and recycling. While a product that’s sustainably packed carries a positive connotation, brands willing to grip the trend need to take a step further and focus on its specific criteria and overall philosophy.

December 2021

Sustainable packaging A decade ago, experts would call packaging “sustainable” if it met five criteria: removable, reductive, recyclable, renewable, and reusable. Later the list was shortened to the commonly-known three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle – but also added a new concept: rethink. This was about encouraging brands to strive for more sustainable options. Today, sustainable packaging refers to a brand’s overall sustainability and its environmental impact. While packaging standards remain different at different organizations such as SPC, ISO, or CEN, savvy brands consider them and focus on the entire life cycle of a package. Today, brands continue to search for new, more sustainable materials. Eco-friendly packaging is another way to demonstrate your care for the environment and listen to your customers’ wants. They stand for conscious consumption and understand the benefits it brings on a global scale. These benefits include a smaller carbon footprint, freedom of allergens and toxins, more storage and space, and overall reduced usage of resources. For businesses, it means lower manufacturing and shipping costs in the long run as well as growth in sales given that consumers are ready to pay more for sustainable products. For many brands, sustainable packaging still translates to “recyclable,” and they don’t understand where all that plastic goes nor how it’s been recycled into reusable and biodegradable products. However, consumers want the story behind a product. So it’s worth looking at the entire lifecycle of a product, its packaging materials, and processes behind its recycling. For brands willing to reduce their ecological footprint, it’s not about going green or sustainable anymore. It’s about striving for sustainability. Studies show that the environmental impacts of packaging are as important as that of the food they contain (Grau, 2015). In addition, it is commonly said that the most significant task of the package is to protect the product, so it is important to know the packaging design process in order to make the main function of it less harmful to the environment. Then the entire product-package combination life cycle is taken into account. The emphasis

should be on the prevention of food losses, as well as simply protecting it, in packaging design as an important environmental criterion. Consideration of the properties of the package and of the product itself when designing the final enclosure will lead to a better final result, with lower product losses and environmental impacts. By using different evaluation methods in the diversified stages of packaging design, the sustainability of the package can be improved, since the objective is to integrate sustainability aspects at all stages with firmness in the design process, a preponderant element in the perception of consumers of its products. Due to a growing appreciation of sustainability as a whole, food packaging technology is continuously evolving. Proof of this is active packaging, which proves to be an innovative approach to improving the shelf life of food, improving its quality, safety and integrity.

Consumer attitude-behavior gap Some scientists consider that there is an ‘attitude-behavior gap’ so that although 30% of consumers demand to be very interested in the environment, this does not translate into green purchase behavior. Studies in various countries report modest correlations through environmental attitudes and selfreported ecological behaviors. It means that consumer positive attitude regarding green products does not always conclude into action. It is essential to inspect why environmental attitudes have a poor influence on consumer green purchase behavior. Among the factors that can influence, can be mentioned price and availability of the

pressideas/ students’ corner

eco-packaging, and social influences among others that lead to the discrepancy between consumer attitude and purchase behavior. In today’s market, the price point is such a powerful influence that environmental friendliness is something consumers may not consider when purchasing a product. Two obstacles to being a good ecological citizen can be defined. The first is price-related, and the customers are aware of the responsible procurement costs. These costs may include the product price, the time spent on finding the product, and the distance travelled to purchase the product. The second is the fact that consumers report having difficulties in finding information concerning the product packaging. Without a doubt, consumers are becoming more and more demanding. A good number of consumers expect companies to already participate in principles that better the environment. In fact, according to the Perception Research Services (PRS), more than 80% of consumers across the U.S., U.K., China, and Germany believe it is the manufacturers’ responsibility and expect manufacturers to produce sustainable packaging, without demanding consumers to pay for the cost of the production. Fortunately, there is also a considerable number of consumers that realize sustainable packaging is the responsibility of both the consumer and the manufacturer. If you don’t demand something better, companies are unlikely to make improvements. Sustainable packaging is the development and use of packaging which results in improved sustainability. This involves increased use of life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle assessment (LCA) to help guide the use of packaging which reduces the environmental impact and ecological footprint. It includes a look at the whole of the supply chain: from basic function, to marketing, and then through to end of life (LCA) and rebirth. Additionally, an eco-cost to value ratio can be useful. The goals are to improve the long-term viability and quality of life for humans and the longevity of natural ecosystems. Sustainable packaging must meet the functional and economic needs of the present without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability is not necessarily an end state but is a continuing process of improvement. Sustainable packaging is a relatively new addition to the environmental considerations for packaging (see Packaging and labelling). It requires more analysis and documentation to look at the package design, choice of materials, processing, and life-cycle. This is not just the vague “green movement” that many businesses and companies have been trying to include over the past years. Companies implementing eco-friendly actions are reducing their carbon footprint, using more recycled materials and reusing more package components. Sustainable packaging refers to the sourcing, development, and use of packaging solutions that have minimal environmental impact and footprint. Sustainability can mean different things to different people. To many, the common forms of sustainability (or at least those recognized by consumers) are recyclable, compostable or biodegradable packaging. Whilst these are all valid forms of sustainable packaging, it is also possible to justify the use of returnable and reusable packaging – largely made out of plastics – as sustainable too. This can be through their reuse minimizing the overall volumes of packaging required, minimizing damage (and the environmental impact of remanufacturing and damaged products going to landfill) and even reduced bulk / volume and weight, minimizing carbon from increased transit. In essence, there are numerous ways packaging can be made more sustainable through substantially reducing environmental impact and the overall ecological footprint. Even knowing the options available to your business, there may still be some inertia with regards to switching to truly sustainable packaging. Common fears surround performance, costs, availability and compatibility with existing processes and systems. However, there are a number of significant benefits of switching to sustainable packaging. More and more companies are taking the additional time needed to design their packaging for recyclability so that the

current recycling infrastructure can properly process these items and the raw material can be used to manufacture new products. This trend will continue to be successful but it takes diligence and collaboration from companies to follow industry guidelines and protocols to ensure their products can be recycled in the current infrastructure. There are constantly new products being added to the marketplace, some of which haven’t been tested for recyclability. Very small sized items and multi-material packages (ones that contain plastic and metal, or different types of plastic in one package) can fall into this camp of being more difficult to recycle. Some good examples of sustainable packaging include light weight Packaging, cardboard, reusable Container, biomaterials etc. The aim of this study was to gain more insight in the perception of consumers regarding sustainable packaging. Results show respondents distinguish packaging predominantly on convenience and use, package type and sustainability respectively. Sustainability attributes displays environmental friendliness as the most important theme within sustainability, followed by packaging amount, recyclability, re-usability and biodegradability respectively. According to the results, sustainability is important to consumers as it came up as the third most named theme, right behind package type and convenience and use. Packaging has ever since its beginning evolved together with the development of human civilization. Over the last years, there is a growing development of materials for packaging products, mostly due to high demands for product safety and environmental influence and the ecological question prompted by packaging waste is becoming more and more serious. By regulation or by manufacturer, retailer or consumer pressure, the demand for sustainable packaging solutions is becoming a fact of life. Packagers will need to learn how to deal with demands for sustainable packaging in the same way as they have had to deal with all the other commercial difficulties that have hit this most competitive of industries.

Written by – Dnyaneshwar Bhosale (Student PVG COET) under guidance of Prof Swati V Nahar (Assistant Professor PVG COET)

December 2021

digital printing

Dharam Digital Press installs Delhi’s 1st Canon imagePRESS C10010VP Strengthening its foothold, Canon India marks the first installation of imagePRESS C10010VP in Delhi.

“Like the previous series, imagePRESS C10010VP is a highly productive colour production printer and we have already started seeing positive impact like increased print volume and addition of new customers within first month of installation.” - Virendra Kasana, Owner at Dharam Digital Press

Dharam Digital Press, one of the a leading service providers in Delhi catering to customers with short runs and bulk requirements of Digital Printing applications has installed the innovative imagePRESS C10010VP from Canon India.

installation of our product – imagePRESS C10010VP in Delhi, will help us strengthen our foothold in North India and in supporting our customers with – enhanced productivity, higher revenue and advanced media versatility.”

Canon India recently announced the first installation of its newly launched imagePRESS C10010VP – acknowledged for its enhanced automation and extensive media-handling capabilities. The imagePRESS C10010VP was inaugurated and installed in the presence of Mr. Manabu Yamazaki, President and CEO of Canon India and Mr. Puneet Datta, Senior Director, Professional Printing Products (PPP), Canon India.

Commenting on the installation of the machine, Mr. Puneet Datta, Senior Director, Canon India said, “We feel proud when customers who once install a Canon imagePRESS find their return on investment to be so profitable that they keep on upgrading their print infrastructure with either more additions or upgrades. Although our products may seem expensive to the customer in the first look but having high volume customers in the industry to partner with us for multiple generations of products and services is a testament to the fact that there is both financial and business merit in investing in Canon products and services. At Canon, we continuously endeavour to become an important catalyst in the growth of the digital printing industry through our state-of-the-art machines like imagePRESS C10010VP. We want to enable our customers to adapt to the evolving industry landscape and expand their business propositions. The imagePRESS C10010VP series is bundled with the latest innovation and technology, catering to varied segments and perfectly addressing

Speaking about the installation, Mr. Manabu Yamazaki, President and CEO of Canon India said, “As we see some positive surge in the market and businesses amidst the seemingly end tail of the pandemic, we are witnessing a good demand from customers for digital printing. True to our value of providing ‘customer delight’, we are making robust efforts to serve consumers with the best products and services to upscale their businesses effectively and the launch of C10010 VP was a critical step towards this endeavour. We are confident that the first

Key Notes : > The imagePRESS C10010VP series is bundled with the latest innovation and technology. > Catering to varied segments and perfectly addressing their need for higher quality, higher speeds and higher reliability. > Enhanced automation and extensive mediahandling capabilities; sets new standards in productivity, application diversity and quality.

December 2021

Mr. Manabu Yamazaki, President & CEO, Canon India, Mr. Puneet Datta, Senior Director-PPP, Canon India and Mr. Virendra Kasana, Owner of Dharam Digital Press during the installation of imagePRESS C10010 VP

pressideas/ digital

their need for higher quality, higher speeds and higher reliability.” Speaking about the installation at Dharam Digital Press, he further added, “Delhi being one of the well-known hubs for digital print business, has always been a prominent market for us. Our association with Dharam Digital Press started back in 2011 with the installation of the first Canon imagePRESS machine. We are proud to fortify our reach in Delhi NCR through them once again. Dharam Digital Press is well known in the region for its exceptional services and fast turnaround times for retail customers. Through our product, we look forward to contributing to their business growth and further strengthen our deep-rooted relationship.” Speaking about the association and the installation of the new machine, Mr. Virendra Kasana, Owner at Dharam Digital Press said, “We are delighted to be associated with Canon for 10 years now and this relationship has grown stronger and deeper with more Canon installations. The same can be attributed to the timely service support from Team Canon, along with excellent print quality and perfect registration of Canon imagePRESS Engines, which has resulted in an extremely positive response from our end customers. We are extremely proud to say that print volume of Dharam Group is in a range of 25-30 Lacs prints per month, with continuous support from team Canon.” He further adds, “Like the previous series, imagePRESS C10010VP is a highly productive colour production printer and we have already started seeing positive impact like increased print volume and addition of new customers within first month of installation.”

The new Canon imagePRESS C10010VP series is built on a proven and reliable technology platform with enhanced automation and extensive media-handling capabilities and sets new standards in productivity, application diversity and quality. It is engineered to support varied printing operations in diverse production business environments. Equipped to support various types of synthetic media, the imagePRESS C10010VP series provides print providers with the capacity to expand their offerings in the market, producing value-added deliverables. Canon imagePRESS C10010VP Engine powered by EFI Fiery B6000 V2 DFE is targeted for high-volume production Environment. Based on FS400 Pro platform, it offers several features to boost colour and image quality, increase productivity, and optimize production. Fiery Edge colour profiling technology delivers out-of-the-box colour and does quality enhancements. Fiery Job Expert is a built-in feature to achieve optimal print output & EFI IQ – a suite of cloud applications to add intelligence to print businesses. Its built-in imposition feature supports to impose various POD and VDP applications with ease & whole process can be automated.

Key features of imagePRESS C10010VP Series Flexible Media Versatility: With 400gsm paper support and 330 x 762mm Auto duplex printing Canon C10010VP helps to generate high revenues with its enhanced colour consistency and media versatility. Print quality, productivity & consistency: iPR C10010VP Series is equipped with innovative technologies which ensure a higher number of prints on a long-term basis. The printer comes with 2400 x 2400 dpi resolution enabling even higher and excellent precision in the printing of text and images. It ensures state-of-the-art quality from first to last print without compromising on productivity. The latest FS 400 Pro Platform Fiery for Job & Colour Management also delivers real-time colour calibration to ensure consistent quality. Low Power Consumption and Higher uptime: With 5kW for Main Unit along with POD Deck & Saddle Finisher, iPR C10010VP Series provides lower power consumption and ensures maximum uptime.

December 2021

digital printing

Fujifilm’s high-end Revoria PC 1120 has its premier Indian demo Fujifilm India and Insight Print Communications unveil the first Revoria Press PC 1120 Production Printer in India. Fujifilm India, along with its partner Insight Print Communications, held a launch event for its Revoria Press PC 1120 in India. The high-end Print-OnDemand production printer can print up to 6 colours simultaneously and has an option of 6 additional colours along with the standard CMYK – giving a comprehensive choice of 10 colours. Revoria is now available for sale in India and customers can have a detailed demonstration of the press at Fujifilm’s Demo center at their distributor Insight Print Communications’ office in Faridabad, Delhi NCR.

“The demand for Revoria PC 1120 is immense in the Indian market and we are confident that our customers will be raving about this revolutionary product. At Fujifilm, we are committed to provide best-in class services to our users at the most affordable rates in the market.” – Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, Fujifilm India

Key Notes : > Newly launched Revoria Press PC 1120 Production Printer showcased at exclusive demo center. > Fujifilm India showcases Revoria Press PC 1120 in collaboration with Insight Print Communications. > Prospective customers can have demo of the product at Insight Print Communications’ office in Faridabad.

December 2021

This revolutionary press for digital productionprinting segment features a high speed (120ppm) PoD engine; high media versatility (from 52gsm to 400gsm); and can print on coloured media, clear transparent media, photo media, label stock, metallic substrates and many more. Its print quality at 2400 * 2400 DPI is already creating a wow factor across the world. Revoria is derived from the blending of “revolution” and the suffix “-ia” meaning country or land, which asserts Fujifilm’s dedication to revolutionize the production printing business, by foraying into new “lands” or innovative spaces and creating

unprecedented value. The Revoria PC 1120 comes equipped with a one-pass, six-colour print engine, up to two special toners such as gold, silver, clear, white, pink, and textured can be used in addition to the basic CMYK toners. These toners enable high-value, high quality printing such as metallic colours, pop ups, labels, natural skin textures, prints on non-white substrates, clear substrates, high-end invitation cards, photographs apart from the standard commercial printing applications. To support printing companies in their business expansion and increase productivity with new applications, there are built in tools like Artificial

pressideas/ digital

Intelligence for improving the photographs, imposition that saves on media and improves productivity, high-end server that allows for up to 20 user clients simultaneously and many more features. Fujifilm has designed the latest Revoria press to provide quality to the customer in many different ways. Speaking on the launch of the printer, Mr. Kentaro Imafuku, Head of Department, Graphic Arts Division Fujifilm India said, “At Fujifilm, we are always working towards giving the best of technology to our customers. With the Revoria PC 1120 now available to our Indian customers, we are excited to help our customers in the printing business grow many folds. The demand for this product is immense in the Indian market and we are confident that our customers will be raving about this revolutionary product. At Fujifilm, we are committed to provide bestin class services to our users at the most affordable rates in the market.” “At Insight, we promote many great solutions for the graphic arts industry in the Indian market. With the Fujifilm Revoria PC 1120, we are looking forward to showcasing the advance technologies of Fujifilm’s Graphic

Printing solutions to our printing community in India. With our combined vision to understand the needs of our customers and provide appropriate solutions we believe this product will be a game changer in the printing industry,” said Mr. Ajay Aggarwal, MD and CEO of Insight Print Communications. He also added, “We are coming up with a revolutionary concept of SSMC or Service and Spares Maintenance Contract wherein customers will get the services based on click charges but will purchase the Toners/ Inks as per their needs – opening up possibilities for the offset printer to control its costing while going digital.” The Revoria PC 1120rints at a high speed of 120 pages per minute (A4 horizontal) while achieving high definition, high resolution prints of 2,400 dpi with its Super EAEcotoner, which boasts the smallest toner particle size in the industry. It is capable of printing metallic colours like Gold, silver with combinations in overlays and underlays that give a variety of shades of metallic, which are useful in decoration and improving print aesthetics. It can further run on nonpaper substrates like films and metallic sheets because of its unique technology of

removing static electricity from paper. It also automatically divides the image data into five colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, black (CMYK) and pink. The fluorescent colours of the pink toner expand the colour gamut significantly, thus resulting in vibrant printouts especially on natural images, skin tones showing vivid colours and with smoother skin tones. It also opens up a complete new addressable market of cosmetics industry that needs very precise colours and especially in the red, pink, magenta, orange colour space. The overall product has been designed to provide customers the best value-for their money. Its Air Suction Feeder and Static Removal Device provide a highly stable paper feeding for a wide variety of papers such as paper containing concentrated amounts of paper dust, cohesive coated paper, and film. Additionally, Artificial Intelligence (AI) enables automatic image corrections for photo images. Each photo image automatically enhances based on its existing lackluster condition such as image being too dark/too bright, backlight exposure, correction of skin tones, and bringing out the hues in blue skies.

December 2021

pressideas/ digital

Monotech Systems installs Punjab’s first Ricoh with special colour at Dulari Digital Starting with fabrication of wedding albums way back in 1997, Dulari has come a long way to become a one-stop-shop for all requirements of wedding albums as well as commercial printing.

While on its transformation course, Dulari Digital, led by brothers Aman and Rahul, installed its first digital photo printing machine in 2005. Today they have an array of printing machines including Konica Minolta, Indigo, Ricoh, MGI as well as digital finishing equipment in addition to a complete manual setup for Wedding Album fabrication. With a capacity to produce about 400-500 albums per day, Dulari is one of the leaders in Wedding Album market in the region and is a name to reckon with in Punjab. Interestingly, the company has developed a site spread over three acres of sculptured land which is used not only for pre wedding photo shoots but also for music videos’ shooting by artists – a perfect add-on to the wedding album production business. The company does an annual turnover of about 10 crores with units spread over several multi-storied buildings in those typical Ludhiana alleys. The latest addition at Dulari is the Ricoh

Pro C7200X Graphic Arts Edition colour production printer capable of printing up to 85 ppm on substrates up to 360 gsm along with the prowess of duplex printing of banner sheet. Meanwhile, the fifth toner station is the icing on the cake with its fifth colour printing capability imparting an increased range of special colours including white (available in a single pass), clear, invisible red and various neon options. “The increased colour gamut along with the colour consistency of the machine along with the capability to print smooth light grounds will in all probability bring in more business for us and we expect to grow by at least 50% in the next financial year,” beams Rahul Goyal. He also feels strongly about the lethal combination of having the Ricoh printing machine and an MGI for embellishment and inquires, “Could there be anything more one needs for an album?” Obviously, it is a winning combination! “When we installed the first Konica Minolta machine with our focus on wedding picture alone, we realised that there was a scope in the commercial printing scene and that is when we explored and invested more time and money into this segment of printing,” says Aman Goyal. In 2013, after the installation of a Konica Minolta production machine, the market in Punjab guided them to adopt commercial printing too and today they have apportioned their capacity 60:40 for wedding and commercial printing respectively. “In all probability, we are going to reverse this ratio by December 2022,” Aman adds. With the Konica & Ricoh machine at Dulari, the brothers expect to have an average of about 5 lakh copies of prints each month in 2022. “Dulari Digital is a one-stop-shop for both wedding albums as well as commercial printing and with the capability of the brand new Ricoh C7200X to printing on substrates of upto 360gsm, they are exploring the possibilities of entering the duplex carton space too,” informs Mr.Surender Singh, RM & photo Segment head from Monotech. “We have stationed an engineer at Ludhiana for

December 2021

the convenience of Dulari,” he adds. The combination of MGI, Ricoh, Indigo, Konica Minolta machines in Dulari’s arsenal along with IECHO Digital Cutter and an army of manual post press has given them a distinct edge in the market north of Delhi. The white ink printing capabilities will further help them carve their success deeper; they would now be able to tap the market which used to get their jobs done from Delhi. “To be able to print on clear plastic on the Ricoh machine is a distinct advantage and we are sure to tap the label printing market in the area,” adds Aman. “There is no doubt that the price of the machine did play a part in our decision but I would like to underline the fact that we have been procuring machines from Monotech for the last over a decade. Our trust and faith in them has only grown deeper and firmer – not only in buying a machine but also when it comes to after sales service and support,” states Aman. “Monotech’s demo center where we tested the products by actually printing jobs on the machine too played a part in our decision making process,” he confirms. The Wedding Album market in Punjab is indeed competitive as it is in other parts of the country. When it comes to weddings, customers are willing to pay a premium for their choice of products and the products of choice are enabled by various value added embellishments that printers may provide. With the vast capabilities of MGI and the 5th colour of Ricoh, Dulari is well equipped and all set to answer the high-end needs of this market. Entry into commercial printing too would make a difference especially to add to their products’ basket and profitability. Enterprising ventures like the pre-wedding shooting facility will only help Dulari to further strengthen their ties with the industry. The passion to succeed and the vision to make it happen were both evidently visible during our visit to the unit. The support from the Monotech team will only help to make it happen – fast!

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HP introduces new HP DeskJet Ink Advantage Ultra printer Hassle-free affordable home printing with enhanced connectivity. cost, resulting in a competitive total cost of ownership making it an ideal choice for home users. It also offers enhanced connectivity through dual-band Wi-Fi with self-reset and HP Smart mobile print app with easy integration through a USB port.

HP Inc. has introduced its new HP DeskJet Ink Advantage Ultra printer 4826 in the home printer segment. The plug and play print product offers a hassle-free printing experience, with security and assurance while delivering versatile performance. Its user-friendliness along with the ability to print, copy, and scan makes it an ideal choice for Gen Z and Gen X users. The HP DeskJet Ink Advantage Ultra printer 4826 comes with two full cartridge sets, which can print 2600 (black)/1400 (colour) pages. This printer offers low cost per page (costs 38 paisa per page for black and white printing) printing cost with minimal initial

Sunish Raghavan, Senior Director, Printing Systems, HP India said, “The Work, Learn and Earn from home trend has propelled the demand for printers across all age groups. Consumers are increasingly deploying printers to organize their documents/records, manage their day-to-day activities, protect sensitive information and work on projects/ assignments. Committed to creating and maintaining an outstanding printing and imaging experience, we are thrilled to introduce HP DeskJet Ink Advantage Ultra printer 4826 Ultra which is a blend of modern printing technology and cost efficiency.” Compact, sleek, and lightweight, HP DeskJet Ink Advantage Ultra printer 4826 enables mobility even after installation. Despite being colour enabled, in case of the need of a

black and white print, it avoids the need for a colour cartridge ensuring no leakage and a mess-free experience. With every cartridge replacement, the print head also auto renews at no additional cost. Kaman Kant Chawla, Head, Home Printing Segment, HP India said, “The new HP DeskJet Ink Advantage Ultra printer 4826 is a value addition to HP’s printer portfolio that offers affordability and a hassle-free printing experience for simple work from home needs. With such pocket friendly innovations, we are helping home jobbers/ learners and small medium businesses enjoy high quality printing with best-in-class security features.” HP Smart App reduces the hassle of connecting with a network with the option of customizable shortcuts. It features easy connectivity through Dual-band Wi-Fi with self-reset and USB port. The HP DeskJet Ink Advantage Ultra printer 4826 is available at Rs.10200.

HP expands distribution network in India with TechNova - to accelerate digital printing in India’s mono carton and label segment. In a bid to expand its distribution network in India for digital printing business, HP entered into a strategic association with TechNova Imaging Systems. The association aims to advance HP’s market in Indian digital printing business space. HP’s innovative products and TechNova’s market reach will help drive digital transformation with the introduction of HP’s highly capable Indigo printing presses and solutions in mono carton and label segment. This association will also improve TechNova’s product offering and enable exploration of more high value applications and benefits of digital printing. Redington will continue to be HP’s trusted partner covering the commercial and Photo segments even after this expansion. HP’s partnership with TechNova is aimed at increasing market segments by harnessing

strong synergies with Technova. TechNova is one of the leading suppliers of print solutions with several breakthrough technologies and innovative products. Founded as an offset plate manufacturer, TechNova is a recognized name in pre-press, pressroom chemicals and is a manufacturer of laser and inkjet digital print media. Announcing the association, A Appadurai, Country Manager – Indigo & Inkjet Business Solutions, HP India said, “We are extremely excited to associate with TechNova for HP’s Indigo range of printing solutions for the folding carton & labels segment. TechNova’s reach, relationship, local infrastructure, workflow knowledge and deep understanding of the Indian printing & packaging industry will help customers make a seamless transition to digital printing.”

C G Ramakrishnan, Executive Director and CEO of TechNova said, “TechNova’s mission has been to provide a Total Imaging Ecosystem with best-in-class products to enhance the competitiveness of Indian printers. We are delighted to associate with HP, as this alliance will allow us to offer the full range of cutting-edge solutions to our customers. It is truly a win-win-win partnership for TechNova, HP & Customers” “HP’s futuristic digital solutions & marketing acumen, integrated with TechNova’s innovative strategies, unparalleled service, extensive reach and 50 years of customer trust & goodwill is a formidable synergy that will provide our customers with a unified ecosystem to generate new profits,” said Amit Khurana, COO – Digital & Offset Print Solutions at TechNova.

December 2021

signage printing

Monotech Systems: Aims Affordable Inkjet Adoption Mr. T P Jain, MD, Monotech Systems in talk with PRESSIdeas, speaks about the latest solutions, future focus, industry situation, trends and more. R&D for adding new products in their manufacturing line & Digital Transformation were key focus areas during the last 2 years for Monotech Systems. The company came through the tough times by strengthening its distribution business and adding formidable brands like Ricoh, Meltio and Xjet. “Make in India is a key theme for us and we have successfully introduced new products under our Jetsci, Pixeljet, Pixelglow and Metaform brands,” says T P Jain, Managing Director, Monotech Systems. Adoption of several digital platforms for them brought in efficiencies and cost savings besides flexibility to adapt to any emerging situation swiftly. One of the leading technologies providers of the country, Monotech Systems operates 6 business verticals and each of these verticals is poised for excellent growth in coming years.

“Technology is antiinflationary – it brings in efficiency and innovation. Value is the key driver, price is secondary.” – T P Jain, MD, Monotech Systems

Key Notes : > Changing market demands and changed customer expectations; Differentiation becomes a keyword. > Print on Demand, Print Enhancement, Packaging, Label and Industrial Digital Printing are the high growth areas. > New products under Jetsci, Pixeljet, Pixelglow and Metaform brands by Monotech.

December 2021

Speaking on the pandemic effect on the printing industry, Mr. Jain says, “The Pandemic has accelerated many things like digital printing on the positive side with POD, Labels, short run packaging, print enhancement being key segments benefitting while on the negative side the slide in Offset/ commercial printing segment got accelerated. These trends would gain further momentum and the industry would have to reposition itself to stay relevant in the emerging market situation.” In a fiercely competitive world, run of the mill is out of place. “Everyone expects enablers in the products and services offered to them so that they can help them win over competition and obtain long term competitive advantage,” points out Mr. T P Jain. However, the changing market demands have changed customer expectations and ‘differentiation’ has become a keyword. According to Mr. Jain, value is the key driver, price is secondary. “Technology is anti-inflationary – it brings in efficiency and innovation!” he declares. “Technology will be a big enabler for every business and printing will not be an exception. Digital presence in some form or other is a must for every business. With the markets opening slowly, these changes are there to stay,” he continues. Like most of the businesses in almost all the industries, the Covid related eventualities had their toll

on printing businesses as well. Monotech Systems too, says Mr. T P Jain, suffered both in terms of topline and bottomline in both the waves of Covid. “But the recovery has been swift too,” he adds. While last quarter of FY 20-21 was almost normal for them, the current quarter is pretty much the same. “If Omicron does not really hit hard, next quarter will reflect decent growth in all operating parameters,” he expects. The growth of the printing industry is strongly related to the overall economic growth of the country. “The current indicators projecting near double digit GDP growth for next few years augurs well for the printing industry,” says Mr. T P Jain. “However, each segment of the printing industry will experience varying growth rates,” he adds pointing towards the following growth areas as high growth areas in coming years – Print on Demand, Print Enhancement, Packaging, Label, Industrial Digital Printing. Monotech Systems offers products & solutions for all the above market segments. “We shall further strengthen our presence by offering cutting edge technology solutions to our customers and become a long term partner in their growth and success,” says Mr. T P Jain.

The latest Monotech offerings “Innovation is in Monotech’s DNA and all our offerings

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endeavor to give a different dimension to our customers’ business,” says Mr. Jain. “Ricoh digital production printers offer unique features and unparalleled capabilities including CMYK plus, Jetsci offers a wide range of digital label printing, label enhancement and book-on-demand solution with global presence; Pixeljet leads the market in India for digital industrial printing; and Scodix for digital print enhancement to name a few. Monotech has also emerged as a leading player in the 3D Printing industry offering a wide range of technology solutions for 3D Scanning and Printing including providing 3D Printing services,” he adds. “While the key focus of Monotech, says Mr. T P Jain, “is to build strong digital presence by leveraging on all available platforms and media to have continuous connect with the customers and as many touch points as possible in a cost effective manner, we have started participating in Exhibitions and conducting Roadshows with very encouraging response.” Speaking about current market trends, he says, “While the digital media and digital content is offering a serious challenge to certain segments of the print industry, many new opportunities are coming because of personalization, interactivity and enhancement besides stupendous growth in label, packaging and industrial printing. Overall, the industry will have healthy growth and digitalization will be a very important factor to participate in the growth.” Monotech Systems invests a lot of its resources in applications development to create a long term sustainable competitive advantage and value for their customers. “We differentiate ourselves by offering cutting edge technology products and solutions to the market backed by efficient and responsive customer support. Our leadership team closely tracks trends and new developments in our addressable markets globally. These are analyzed in detail and based on impact analysis, we decide on new product alliances or in-house R&D efforts for new product development,” elaborates Mr. T P Jain. On the topic of circular economy, he reveals that Monotech Systems is in the process of EPR registration and would soon meet all the stipulated requirements.

3D Printing solutions In the 3D Printing space, Monotech Systems offers solutions for Design Optimisation, Lightweighting, manufacturing, tooling and end use parts. “India is moving rapidly into Automation and Localized Manufacturing in various segments including Automotive, Industrial, Consumer Goods, Aerospace & Defense, Medical and Aviation. A number of MNCs are setting up facilities in India and also MSMEs are being encouraged to Make in India for major sectors like Aerospace & Defense. There is a huge Supply-Demand gap in the global markets and if India has to catch up, Additive Manufacturing is one of the key technologies which can help quick turnaround time and efficient manufacturing. 3D Printing will also play a major role in India’s transition to Industry 4.0.,” shares Mr. Jain. “With almost 30% YOY growth in India, AM is the fastest growing technology and most promising areas to further speed up the growth,” he further adds and enumerates the following areas of application – • Jewelry & Dental Mfg. industry. • Electric Vehicles and Drone Manufacturing • Shift from Prototyping to Manufacturing aids with tough Polymers & Metal AM • Reduction in Inventories and Supply chain lead times with Inhouse 3D Printing • Standard and Customized Implants through 3D Printing in Peek, titanium and ceramics. • Quick Turnaround time in Tooling and Fixtures by replacing conventional machining to 3d printing. • Affordable Low Volume Parts for Aerospace and Defense manufacturing. • University- Industry tie up for developing real industrial applications. • Localized manufacturing through 3d printing Service Providers.

Mr. T P Jain assures exciting times ahead for the industry. “The past few years have been a roller coaster ride for many industry players but recent trends indicate a big change for the better. The economy is on the path of sustainable high growth for many years from now and this will provide a good tailwind to push the printing industry in a high growth trajectory. So, stay tuned for exciting times ahead,” he says. Mr. Jain foresees the growth for the overall market with the number of print jobs multiplying and run lengths getting shorter. “The packaging, Offset and Digital will co-exist and a player who can build flexible production systems with digital workflows and address varying market needs will surely be a winner. Short run packaging and Print Enhancement are next big opportunities in the market,” he underlines. “The exhibitions and roadshows are back, people really want to come out and be in the physical rather than only digital world. This explains the huge success of recent exhibitions and events. However, digital platforms will continue to provide instant connect with customers,” he concludes. Find the story online at: https://pressideas. com/monotech-systems-aims-affordableinkjet-adoption/

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Inkjet to open new avenues Inkjet is the future of the printing industry and Monotech’s core R&D efforts are to integrate inkjet technology on different printer platforms based on end-use applications. The company is focusing on making world class products at competitive prices to enable easier adoption by industry in India and overseas. Jetsci and Pixeljet are global brands providing specialized inkjet printing solutions in narrow and wide format respectively.

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EPL is the Best Governed Company The global specialty packaging company wins the prestigious award at the 21st ICSI National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance. Global specialty packaging company, EPL Limited has been awarded the “Best Governed Company” in the 21st edition of the prestigious “ICSI National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance”. EPL won the award for observing and implementing the best practices in Corporate Governance. Award winners are selected through a comprehensive evaluation process including compliance, principles of good corporate governance, interaction with Independent Directors, regulatory response about credentials of the company and screening of shortlisted companies by experts leading to final selection by the Jury. Distinguished experts from various fields, headed by former Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam, constituted the Jury that adjudged EPL the winner. Union Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Amit Shah presented the award to Mr. Suresh Savaliya, SVP Legal and Company Secretary. The award was presented in presence of

Justice P. Sathasivam, at the ICSI National Award ceremony held on 18 December 2021. Additionally, Mr. Suresh Savaliya got awarded “The Governance Professional of the Year”. Mr. Davinder Singh Brar, Chairman of EPL said, “We at EPL have always been committed to follow the highest standard of corporate governance. I am pleased that EPL received this recognition by the Hon’ble Jury and ICSI. Being selected as the best governed company among top-notch corporates is a great achievement and will inspire us to continue to follow the best practices.” Mr. Anand Kripalu, Managing Director and Global CEO of EPL said, “Team EPL is proud to be recognised with this honour from a premier professional institute like ICSI. At EPL, responsible corporate conduct and sustainability is a way of doing business. EPL with heritage of over three decades, has a governance framework with the highest standards of responsible conduct.”

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI or Institute) is a premier national professional body set up under an act of Parliament of India, the Company Secretaries Act 1980. The ICSI has nationwide presence and is the only recognized professional body to develop and regulate the profession of Company Secretaries in India in pursuit of professional excellence. The Institute has on roll more than 65,000 members or professionals actively engaged, both in employment and in practice, in the governance of the corporate sector and in the financial markets, the two vital growth engines of the economy.

Amritpal Singh Bawa is new India Business Representative of Scodix Bawa is a tremendous addition to the Scodix family: Ziki Kuly, Scodix VP APJ Digital enhancement solutions provider Scodix has appointed Printing Technologist Amritpal Singh Bawa as its new India Business Representative. Bawa brings more than 21 years’ experience in the Graphic Arts industry to his Scodix position. He has held numerous positions in various national and international companies, in the roles of Vice President, Director, Country Head, and CEO. His primary focus is sales, marketing, business development, consulting, and training. “I am incredibly excited to take on this new role,” comments Bawa, “The digital enhancement market in India is quite mature and many Indian printers were early adopters of Scodix technology. I look

December 2021

forward to making great progress in the packaging market as Scodix has already done in India’s commercial and photo market segments. The new line of Scodix Digital Enhancement products offers great solutions for embellishments for packaging converters in India.” The new position follows the successful worldwide launch of the Scodix Ultra 1000’s series and a strengthened focus on the packaging market segment. Ziki Kuly, Scodix VP APJ, states, “Bawa, as we refer to him, is a tremendous addition to the Scodix family, and I look forward to working with him again. Having worked with him for years, he knows the Scodix family and Scodix products well. His expertise

and drive are an outstanding addition to the business development of the Indian market to drive growth in the region.

pressideas/ signage

Provin introduces Miyakoshi MLP10i Provin Technos has introduced Miyakoshi MLP10i, the Ultra compact semi-rotary offset press for labels.

and repeat data management system offer dramatic reduction of material wastage and job changeover times.

Ultra compact design with smart functions realises unprecedented low printing cost & wastage while maintaining the high print quality of offset printing. It is an ideal solution for short-runs of high-quality labels. Entirely servo-driven system with fully integrated digital controls offers remarkable costefficiency for varied applications that range from food and beverage labels to cosmetic, wine and other labels in general.

Refined ink train with 4 form roller delivers constant ink film on plate surface, thus achieving high-quality printing with minimized color variation. Servo-driven infeed/outfeed system offers greater accuracy and stability of colour-to-colour register even after repeats of speed up/down.

Automated make-ready control system

One-size blanket can be used for all repeat lengths, therefore job-by-job exchange of blanket is no more necessary. Electronic inkkey remote control system assures quicker

colour adjustment. It is compatible with a range of substrates including clear-on-clear films. The machine is capable of printing at max. speed of 200 impressions/min and has options of De-glueing, Cold foiling, hot foiling, varnishing, laminating as well as embossing units.

Events Calendar 15th Printpack India

Screen Print India 2022

PAMEX 2022 - Postponed

Date: 11 MAR -22 to 15 MAR - 22 Venue: India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, NCR Delhi

Date: 21 APR -22 to 23 APR-22 Venue: Bombay Exhibition Center Mumbai

Date: 27 MAR -23 to 30 MAR-23 Venue: Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai

SIGN & LED EXPO

mediaexpo 2022

Date: 11 MAR -22 to 15 MAR - 22 Venue: India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, NCR Delhi

Date: 12 MAY -22 to 14 MAY-22 Venue: Bombay Exhibition Center Mumbai

Labelexpo Europe 2022

Labelexpo India 2022

Date: 26 APR -22 to 29 APR-22 Venue: Brussels Expo Centre,

Date: 9 NOV -22 to 12 NOV-22 Venue: Expo Centre & Mart Greater Noida - Delhi NCR

Belgium

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.

RNI:CHA/ENG/2001/3989