20 minute read
Digital Printing In Labels
Successful LMAI digital print technologies event in south India
LMAI organised “DIGITAL PRINTING IN LABELS - THE WAY FORWARD” at ITC Welcome Hotel, Chennai on the 20th of December 2019.
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The narrow web label industry is a smaller segment of the larger diverse printing and packaging industry. It remains in focus for being the face of all products and an imperative identity providing part of any package. It is estimated by many that the Printing industry in India is growing at over 12% per annum. Some segments get slower and there are others like packaging are growing at a faster pace of 17% to compensate the shortfall by registering better growth. The label industry has been growing in a very wide band between 10 and 25%, the growth has always been in double digits. While Offset is the largest segment of the printing technologies employed yet the past 2-3 decades have seen growth in adoption of other printing processes like flexography, Rotogravure and Screen.
In recent times the convenience of “just in time computer to print capabilities” has resulted in adoption of digital printing by many printers such that the segment is registering robust growth of 30%. The narrow web label industry that is largely employing flexographic printing has been conservative and hesitant in adopting digital printing for labels because of higher investment in capital equipment, expensive inks and costly printheads needing replacements resulting in costlier labels in comparison to those produced on their existing equipment. The return on investment appeared to be unattractive. It was just
a matter of time that the growth of digital printing of labels in India would start to attract investment. FINAT, the European label Association with global membership had reported a couple of years ago that European investments in digital presses for labels in a year had exceeded that in flexo presses. We now see an evident interest and indulgence in this digital label printing technology by Indian printers as well.
Recognising the need for knowledge and understanding digital printing technologies since label printing and converting is in an evolutionary phase of adopting digital printing, while still growing with analogue, LMAI-The Label Manufacturers Association of India organized a program titled “DIGITAL PRINTING IN LABELS - THE WAY FORWARD” for the benefit of its members only. The program took place at ITC Welcome Hotel, Chennai
Key Notes :
> Digital printing
registering a robust growth of 30%. > European investments in digital presses for labels in a year had exceeded that in flexo presses. > Leading companies sponsor the event and make interesting presentations.
on the 20th of December 2019. Unlike the other printing processes digital printing has largely four different tangents; Dry toner printing, Liquid toner printing, UV Inkjet printing and water-based Inkjet printing. To deliver the knowledge, leading companies came forward to sponsor the event as also to make very interesting presentations. The following speakers from their respective sponsoring companies made presentations:
Dry Toner Digital: Xeikon. Presenter; Vikram Saxena, Sales General Manager Xeikon India (Part of Flint Group) Liquid Toner Digital: HP. Presenter; Ashok Pahwa, Sales Manager-Indigo & Inkjet Solutions (HP India Sales Pvt Ltd). UV Inkjet Digital: Domino. PresenterAjay RaoRane, Asst. Vice PresidentDigital Printing Solutions. at Domino Printech India LLP Water Based Digital: Astronova Inc. Presenter-Goutham Reddy, Regional Sales Manager Non-speaking support Sponsors: Avery Dennison and Durst Phototechnik AG
After welcoming more than eighty delegates present and after felicitating the sponsors, LMAI Secretary Rajesh Nema handed over the moderation to Harveer Sahni member LMAI Board of Directors.
Sahni updated the audience on the journey
traversed by the label printing industry in India. Starting from the first self-adhesive label made by screen printing process in 1965, he covered many landmarks in the evolution that included the first flat-bed very narrow web Japanese label presses to produce labels in roll form in 1972, rotary label converting in 1982, flexographic label printing in 1993, adoption and development of UV flexo from 1997 onwards, setting up of LMAI in 2002 and the first installation of digital label presses toward end of the decade of 2000. All the speakers gave important insights in the technologies offered by them and emphasized the need and importance of short runs, personalization and variable data on labels and for that how Digital Printing capabilities are fast becoming a necessity.
Goutham Reddy from Astronova explained the cost effectiveness of water-based process and also dwelled on their offering equipment to print on finished packages,
Ajay Rao Rane of Domino highlighted the strength of UV inkjet and achieving a higher colour gamut besides printing opaque UV white that is needed for transparent films,
Ashok Pahwa demonstrated the success they achieved in personalization of leading brand of beverages giving another dimension to retail marketing of fast moving consumer
products and finally
Vikram Saxena of Xeikon informed that digital printing was picking up pace with over 32 high-end installations reported in India. He further informed the benefits of dry toner digital printing technology and that it did not require any precoated media.
It was encouraging to note that despite the event being organized in South India many printers travelled from all over India to attend and to learn the nuance of this emerging technology. Some of the printers seen at the event included Gee Kay-Bangalore, SeljegetSivakasi, Fairfix-Tirupur, ITC-Chennai, Manipal Technologies-Chennai, Prakash Labels-Noida, Kwality Offset-New Delhi, Pragati Graphics-Indore, Speclabel-Kolkata, Total Print-Mumbai and Zodiac GraphicsHyderabad. LMAI founder members Raveendran of Seljegat, Sandeep Zaveri of Total Print, LMAI founder promoter Amit Sheth and Board member Ajay Mehta of SMI were present at this important industry event.
An interactive question answer session was followed by a vote of thanks by Rajeev Chhatwal Vice President of LMAI. The evening ended with networking cocktails and dinner.
- Written by Harveer Sahni, Chairman Weldon Celloplas, New Delhi
Monotech becomes Memjet’s first Duraflex OEM partner in India
Monotech Systems chooses Memjet’s DuraFlex technology to power its new hybrid label printing press.
Monotech Systems, developer of printing solutions based in Chennai, has used Memjet’s DuraFlex technology to create the Jetsci ColorAqua hybrid label printing press. This printing solution gives printers in India an economical way to produce high-quality labels and expand their product offerings. Monotech Systems showcased the new printer at Pamex 2020.
For more than 20 years, Monotech Systems has been innovating and providing technology solutions to the Indian graphic arts, label and packaging industries. In that time, the company has developed a range of solutions to meet the changing requirements of its customers. These solutions deliver the quality, productivity and positive return on investment customers need to stay ahead in a competitive market.
The latest example of this innovation is the Jetsci ColorAqua hybrid label printing press. This low-cost hybrid press enables printers to meet the demands of modern label production. In addition to its economical cost, the printer produces 1600 x 1600 dpi and runs at speeds of up to 45m/ min. Together, these features enable label printers to expand into digital printing and offer services like CMYK full color printing, microtext, variable data and security printing.
quality, speeds and productivity of DuraFlex will make the printer — and our customers — successful. We are very pleased to launch ColorAqua with Memjet DuraFlex technology and to provide customers with an entry-level digital printer that can scale up very quickly.”
Released last September, Memjet’s DuraFlex technology is being adopted by OEM partners around the world to power a new breed of printing solutions that are powerful, yet affordable.
“Working with a professional company such as Monotech has been a pleasure, and with their leadership in the Indian market for inkjet solutions, we could not have found a better partner to bring our pigmented inkjet
Jetsci ColorAqua uses Memjet’s DuraFlex’s aqueous pigment inks that are lightfast, water durable and scratch resistant. The hybrid press can print on most general coated and uncoated label stock materials without primers and can also print on many films and substrates by applying primers.
“DuraFlex technology has the features and functionality we needed to rapidly develop our latest printer,” said T.P. Jain, managing director, Monotech Systems. “DuraFlex’s modularity, ease of integration, small footprint and affordable cost ensured we could quickly develop the ColorAqua, while the high print
technology to the market. We have great expectations for the Indian printing industry, not just limited to labels, and look forward to a long relationship with Monotech,” says Bent Serritslev, senior vice president, business development, APAC at Memjet.
Memjet designs and develops modular printing technologies that combine printheads, inks, data paths, and modules. Providing this complete sub-system creates peak printhead performance and enables OEM partners to easily integrate Memjet technology into their custom-built printing solutions, and swiftly deliver on their business plans. Memjet maintains its corporate office in San Diego and has offices in Dublin, Sydney, Taipei, Singapore and Boise, Idaho.
At drupa Asahi will demonstrate new Water Recycling Unit which can reduce platemaking waste water usage by 80%.
Asahi Photoproducts has announced the latest development in its CleanPrint strategy, a water recycling unit incorporated in new Asahi platemaking systems as a standard feature. This recycling unit uses 2 litres of water per square meter, versus 10 litres in units without the recycling unit, a reduction in platemaking waste water of 80%. In addition, minimal waste from the system, in the form of dry cake and a highly concentrated liquid extract, can be incinerated, with the liquid contributing to the cooling of the incineration plant, resulting in even more water savings. Existing Asahi platemaking systems can be retrofitted with the recycling unit so that all Asahi platemaking processes are more in harmony with the environment.
“As we have done for the past 45 years, we continue to look for ways to make the flexo printing process more efficient and in harmony with the environment while also improving overall effectiveness,” said Dieter Niederstadt, Asahi Photoproducts’ Technical Marketing Manager. “This latest improvement pushes flexographic printing into an even more environmentally balanced position, preserving precious water resources while maintaining the quality and efficiency our customers have come to expect. It’s another important strategic element of Asahi’s CleanPrint technology.
CleanPrint flexographic plates from Asahi Photoproducts have been specifically engineered by Asahi’s chemical engineers to transfer all remaining ink to the printed substrate, reducing makeready time and press cleaning stops as compared to other platemaking systems while delivering exceptional quality. Asahi CleanPrint
Proposal in Budget 2020 will strengthen MSME sector
The Union Budget will also spur the revival of the economy, says Neeraj Jain, CFO Cosmo Films.
Budget 2020 looks a balanced one with focus on transforming the economy. Various steps taken to reduce regulatory compliance and creating environment for ease of doing business will strengthen MSME sector and will give a boost to overall economic growth.
The overall measures announced will spur the revival of the economy and increase consumption. The proposed focus on education, infrastructure, data processing and healthcare will be positive for economic growth.
flexographic plates are also ideal for fixed colour palette printing, a method that is increasingly being adopted to save time and money while still delivering the quality brands expect. This is made possible by the precise registration of Asahi CleanPrint plates.
Visitors to the Asahi stand at drupa 2020 will be able to get a first look at the new recycling unit to learn more about how it works, its environmental benefits, and the ease with which Asahi platemaking systems can be incorporated into any flexographic workflow with significant time to market and OEE benefits.
“We have even more on our agenda to introduce at drupa 2020,” Niederstadt adds. “Our goal is to continue to bring improved flexographic platemaking solutions to market that position flexo even more competitively with other printing technologies, continuing to grow its market share in packaging printing around the globe.”
Asahi will be located in hall 5 C41 at drupa 2020.
Kumar Labels installs Daheng Imavision
The latest label inspection system is installed at Noida based Kumar Labels by NBG.
NBG, manufacturer and supplier of label printing and converting machines has recently installed their first 100% label inspection system and slitter rewinder at Kumar Labels, a renowned label converter located in Noida. The system installed is from Daheng Imavision a part of China Daheng Group. The system includes latest 4K camera patented LED lighting system for scanning wide range of substrates. The software supports inspection of Print image, text, screens and dots upto a size of 0.05 mm2 and mis-register of 0.1 mm, the software also can complete range of Variable Data, Bar codes, QR codes number, Alfa-Numeric
Flint Ink price rise
numbers, fonts etc in each label.
The rewinding system includes full servo drive with 2 direction drive to run the web in forward and reverse mode, Turret rewind for faster change over, servo driven matrix rewind for removing waste, Slitting and duplex rewinding.
Mr. Anuj Bhargava MD of Kumar Labels says, “This is our third camera based inspection device and certainly a notch better than the previous two. We are happy to have NBG as our partner in this project and wish to add a few more of such devices.”
Mr. Nitin Garg of NBG says, “We are pleased to partner with Kumar Labels. The technical team of NBG is trained for after sales support of the system and rewinding machine and we hope it would be a long and fruitful association.”
Flint Group Packaging Inks has announced a price increase on all inks and coatings with immediate effect. The company has cited the recent events in Middle East triggering an increase in oil prices and consequently in the price of solvent raw materials used in the manufacture of inks and coatings. “The instability and current increases necessitate that Flint Group Packaging Inks in India initiate a price increase with immediate effect,” says Upal Roy, Managing Director, Flint Group India.
Effective immediately, a price increase will apply to all orders. However, the company may reconsider the price rise with necessary adjustment if oil prices drop at certain level.
Upal Roy explains, “We understand that price increases have become an almost ‘routine’ matter. However, we hope that our customers will understand and appreciate that we have no choice but to pass along the increase and that Flint Group cannot continue to absorb the entirety of these rising costs.”
“Despite today’s announcement, we are resolutely committed to efficiency projects that will continue to remove cost and complexity in our own operations. We also
remain dedicated to helping our customers to improve their own efficiencies and to support process optimisation within their press rooms. Ultimately, product quality and consistency remains a key focus; our customers can always rely on us for best in class products and services at the most economic price possible,” he adds.
Flint Group develops, manufactures and markets an extensive portfolio of printing consumables and printing equipment, including:
EFI VUTEk D3r debuts at Connect user conference
EFI’s new, mid-volume roll-to-roll LED 3m and 5m printer line enables unlimited designs and applications with top-quality prints.
Electronics For Imaging (EFI) launched a new mid-range roll-to-roll printer line that helps sign and display graphics customers drive more volume with high-end digital print for endless applications and designs. The new EFI VUTEk D3r and D5r LED inkjet printers leverage many of the advanced capabilities from EFI’s highly successful VUTEk 3r+ and 5r+ printers, offering a mid-range solution for an even wider variety of high value applications thanks to its combination of white and clear inks, as well as its Museum print mode. The new printer line also supports the unique collection of options for VUTEk roll-to-roll LED printers, providing a full system for higher efficiency and a lower total cost of ownership.
The VUTEk D3r, which prints up to 2,196 square feet per hour, made its worldwide debut at the EFI Connect users’ conference, Jan. 21-24 in Las Vegas, and made its European debut at the EFI EMEA Ignite event on Jan. 29 in Brussels, Belgium.
The second printer in the new mid-range line, the VUTEk D5r, prints up to 2,626 square feet per hour. Early D5r users such as Thomas Printworks in the United States and Allgraf in Italy have purchased the new printer line for its performance capabilities to meet growing demand for high-end signage, décor, outdoor graphics and other applications.
“We were looking to upgrade our 5-meter printing capabilities, and when we found the EFI VUTEk D5r, it checked all the boxes related to speed, quality, cost of operation, and efficiency,” said Bryan Thomas, president at Thomas Printworks. “The quality of the machine was so impressive that it gave us the added benefit of also replacing a 3-meter printer within our fleet.”
“Our choice to buy the EFI VUTEk D5r was a winning decision,” said Agostino Allegris, CEO and president at Allgraf. “The printing resolution, the possibilities of white printing and the inline clear ink are unique features and they give us a competitive edge. Now, we have the ability to print a full flood or selective clear ink in glossy or matte. We are excited of the possibilities of printing a whole series of innovative applications and materials.”
High-end UltraDrop Technology and high efficiency The D3r and D5r printers, at 3.5- and 5.2-meters wide respectively, deliver outstanding smoothness in shadows, gradients and transitions with UltraDrop Technology, precise and sharp 3-point size text, and a true resolution of up to 1,200 dots per inch. An ultra-high-definition print mode offers near-photographic quality. The printers’ LED curing ensures not only cost savings but also a more environmentally sound printing solution, consuming less energy and enabling the use of thinner, heat-sensitive substrates. The VUTEk D line is equipped with additional printheads and offers both white and jettable clear ink for matte and glossy effects, covering a wider amount of unique applications such as wall decorations and murals, window graphics, flooring, highvalue prints with selective gloss effects, fleet graphics, truck-side curtains and more.
The printers are easily customizable to the purchaser’s needs and strategies, with optional features including: • White and clear ink; • Inline x-cutters and y-slitters; • Automatic backlit and block-out printing; • Media spreaders and motorized winders; and more.
Both printers include EFI’s industry-leading Fiery proServer SE digital front end, allowing increased productivity as well as accurate coulor matching every time.
For added productivity, users can choose to add a software productivity pack and are able to remotely connect with the printers using a mobile application. EFI VUTEk SuperFlex 3M inks are also available for manufacturing of popular and profitable vehicle wraps and fleet graphics.
“The ‘D’ in the name for these new printers is for ‘Design,’ and they are absolutely designed to offer the right mix of features, productivity and cost to create new opportunities for signage and graphics professionals,” said Ken Hanulec, EFI’s vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We listened very closely to our customers for feedback to create a mid-volume solution that will be the technology of choice for print providers seeking to profitably grow their businesses with high-end applications.”
ZRP and Landa celebrate installation of 1st Landa S10 press in Asia Pacific
ZRP showcases first Landa S10 Press in Asia Pacific demonstrating new revolutionary medium-run capability.
Landa has announced that the Chinese packaging giant, Zhongrong Printing Group (ZRP), has completed the installation and launched the first Landa S10 Nanographic Printing Press in Asia Pacific. ZRP will use its Landa press to deliver faster, higherquality digital colour printing of short to medium-run packaging for its large and prominent customer base of Chinese FMCG businesses.
Mr Huang, CEO, ZRP comments: “It fills us with pride to be the first Chinese company to install and operate a Landa S10 press, and to offer the benefits of this technology to our customers. With a strong focus on service innovation, we believe that cutting-edge technologies are key drivers for business growth and differentiation, and early signs suggest that the Landa press will give us that. Our customers now have the ability to order medium-run jobs for the first time, with incredible colour vibrancy and all the logistical and environmental savings that ordering what you want, when you need it, delivers.
“We already have a comprehensive offering digital print, offset, gravure, silkscreen and flexo printing processes, but the Landa S10 presents us with a brand-new production capability and customer service that truly complements our other printing formats. In China, colours used in packaging and product branding are very influential in the consumer buying decision. These colours can suggest anything from the nutritional value of the product to the product’s
authenticity (not counterfeit). Because of this, we expect Nanography’s vibrant colour palette to add significant value to customers, especially in a competitive retail environment,” Huang adds.
The single-sided B1 (41 in. / 1,050 mm) format Landa S10 Nanographic Printing Press enables just-in-time mainstream efficiency for the production of folding carton and POP/POS applications. With a higher throughput than any other digital sheetfed press in the industry, the Landa S10 prints 6,500 large format sheets per hour on off-theshelf substrates in thickness from 2.4-32 pt. (60-800μm).
Yishai Amir, Landa CEO comments: “We’ve spent the last six months putting all the necessary service and support functions in place to serve customers in China, which also includes the opening of a local Landa office. With that done, ZRP has been the perfect partner to launch Nanography in Asia Pacific. Being a packaging expert and one of the country’s ‘Top 100’ leading industry suppliers, the company not only understands the opportunities that the Landa S10 delivers, but they also know how to take Nanography to market and drive its rapid adoption. We look forward to supporting ZRP and other customers in this thriving region, in the near future.”
Events Calendar
Printing South China 2020 Date: 04 MAR -20 to 06 MAR-20 Venue: China Import and Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou
Brand Print India 2020 Date: 29 OCT -20 to 01 NOV - 20 Venue: India Expo Centre Greater Noida, Delhi NCR
Drupa 2020 Date: 16 JUN -20 to 26 JUN-20 Venue: Messe Düsseldorf, Germany
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