PRESSIdeas January 2022 issue

22 vol-22 Issue- 01 January 2022

183

Price in India : Rs.100

Vol.22 Issue 01, 2022

Efficient Production Management..............06 Color-Logic expands gamut..........................12 Canon: Colours For Life....................................18 5th EDP in a row for Kodak.............................21 Expressive Flexo!.................................................22

A monthly Publication from PRESSIdeas Publishing Pvt. Ltd.

Scodix Design Awards......................................27 Seigwerk expands in India..............................29 EFI Connect 2022................................................30

Subscribe eNewsletter

signage printing

digital printing Page 06

Page 14

Page 16

Page 22

Page 34

Contents FROM THE EDITORS’ DESK.............................................................................................................................................................................................................4 Unico Tech Solution: Enabling efficient production management................................................................................................................................6 Heidelberg and PURe agree to make offset more sustainable........................................................................................................................................9 March PRINTPACK moves to May due to Omicron............................................................................................................................................................ 10 Republic Day celebration by OPA ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Indore’s Govind Digital installs Cron CtP.............................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Paperex 2022 rescheduled......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Color-Logic expands metallic colour gamut with 644 new colours........................................................................................................................... 12 IST Metz awarded the TOP 100 Seal 2022............................................................................................................................................................................. 13 Manoramaonline bags the ‘Best in News Website’ 3rd time in a row......................................................................................................................... 14 Q.I. Press Controls’ IDS-3D Debuts in Ireland at Webprint.............................................................................................................................................. 15 HP Indigo accelerates Industry 4.0 solutions ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Kodak’s 2021 Sustainability Report underlines sustainable future by the company........................................................................................... 17 Colours For Life: Canon launches new Colour MFDs to meet diverse business needs........................................................................................ 18 Kolkata’s Sarala Art Press buys Ricoh to answer short-run jobs................................................................................................................................... 19 Productivity Enhancement Budget, says Kuldeep Malhotra, Konica Minolta......................................................................................................... 19 SSV Digital installs Ricoh Pro C5300S..................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Union Budget 2022 is for revival of the economy, Neeraj Jain, Cosmo Films.......................................................................................................... 20 KODAK ASCEND wins fifth EDP Award in a row for Kodak............................................................................................................................................. 21 MacDermid Calendar: Expressive Flexo!............................................................................................................................................................................... 22

Jasmeet D. Editor & Publisher (jasmeet@pressideas.com) Vineet K G. Associate Editor (vineetkg@pressideas.com) Jasvinder S. Sub-Editor (jasvinder@pressideas.com) Jacob George Marketing and Sales (jacob@pressideas.com) M.S. Mukundan Advertising and Sales Southern and Western India (aims@pressideas.com) Graphic Designer Anil Kumar

EFI sells EPS business to STG affliate....................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Lack of Paper endangers rebound of Graphic Industry.................................................................................................................................................. 25 PSC solutions by DKSH in India and Bangladesh............................................................................................................................................................... 26 Natgraph enters Reel-to-Reel Market.................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Scodix Design Awards 2021 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Input costs push DuPont Cyrel price up 7%........................................................................................................................................................................ 28 Cosmo Films PAT growth of 65% ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 28 Seigwerk expands with new blending center in India.................................................................................................................................................... 29 EFI Connect 2022: We are LIVE in Las Vegas !...................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Paper base tube packaging replacing plastic..................................................................................................................................................................... 32 HP acquires Choose Packaging................................................................................................................................................................................................ 33

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

Mimaki’s ‘Global Innovation Days’ .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Toppan increases stake in Max Speciality Films ................................................................................................................................................................ 35

PRESSIdeas January 2022 Vol. 22, Issue 01 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.

2

January 2022

Subscription details/form on Page 04

FROM THE EDITORS’ DESK Dear Readers, Remote monitoring and profitable management of Printing & Packaging businesses is one of the key capabilities of CountWONDER solution. CountWONDER is a product from the stable of Pentaforce Software and is marketed, installed and maintained by Unico Tech Solution.

A recent Flexography Marvel has been the latest MacDermid Calendar – a product that presents the vast capabilities of Flexo with regard to print quality, economy and luxury. The technology that goes behind the beautiful calendar includes Esko’s CDI Crystal and XPS Crystal plate imager and exposure equipment and the plates used being MacDermid Graphics Solutions LUX ITP 60 (045 gauge).

Jaychandra (JC) of VeePee Graphics took care of the prepress and he was very much involved since beginning in selecting right images, conceptualizing and responsible for producing this result. Mr Gopi and his team at iTek, Bengaluru took care of the printing and whose keen interest and effort helped through the final result. The calendar represents the birds life impressively. We talked in detail about the calendar with Mr. Prasenjit Das, Sr Cluster Manager, MacDermid. Find the complete story in the inside pages.

Global printing ink specialist, Siegwerk has expanded operations in India with a new blending center with state-of-the-art equipment and powered by solar renewable energy. The new solvent based blending centre at Siegwerk’s Bhiwadi facility in India spreads across 3400 Sq.m, is an addition to the existing 100% Toluene free manufacturing plant. The facility is also equipped with an ultra-modern quality control lab, an energy efficient air handling unit and a solar power generator for the entire centre. The facility was inaugurated virtually

by Dr.NicolasWiedmann, CEO, Siegwerk Group, Mr. Ashish Pradhan, President, Siegwerk Asia and Mr. Ramakrishna Karanth, CEO, Siegwerk India region. Siegwerk Group has invested INR 212.2 million (INR 21.22 Cr) into the new blending facility.

The 22nd edition of EFI Connect 2022 took place at Wynn Las Vegas

resort where leaders (over 600 reported attendees) from the print industry from across the world gathered for the great event. “We are LIVE in Las Vegas for EFI Connect 2022!” EFI Executive Chairman and CEO Jeff Jacobson kicked off the week with his opening keynote.

Special guest Marco Boer joined to talk about a ‘renaissance of new applications for industrial inkjet, giving a shout out to technology like EFI Cubik for flooring decoration and EFI Reggiani in apparel. Find the key highlights in our event’s review. Electronics For Imaging, Inc. has completed sale of its eProductivity Software (“EPS”) packaging and print productivity software business to an affiliate of STG. EFI will be prioritizing technology investments to accelerate growth in its industrial EFI Inkjet and Fiery businesses.

Printonica Sri Sivarama Digital Press, India wins second place for Wedding Collection Photo Set in GCP category of Scodix 2021 Design Awards.

In key industry installations, SSV Digital installs Ricoh Pro C5300S. Kolkata’s Sarala Art Press has also installed the same press to answer their short-run jobs. The presses have been installed by Monotech Systems. Monotech has also installed a Cron CtP at Indore’s pre-press bureau Govind Digital.

Canon has launched new Colour MFDs to meet diverse business needs. The new MFDs offer wide-ranging capabilities to support businesses of all sizes.

Manoramaonline has bagged the ‘Best in News Website’ 3rd time in a row at the South Asian DMA 2021 awards. Other Indian winners are – The Hindu, Hindustan Times, The Quint, Mojo Story, NDTV Convergence, Times of India Digital and Sakal.

Find all this and a lot more in the January edition of PRESSIdeas. Enjoy Reading!

- Jasvinder Singh, Sub-editor

Subscription Form

1 Year (12 issues)

Rs. 750.00

2 Years (24 issues)

Rs. 1250.00

5 Years (60 issues)

Rs. 3250.00

(For outstation cheques add Rs. 40/- extra)

1/2/5yrs. I am enclosing cheque/draft of

4

January 2022

Unico Tech Solution: Enabling efficient production management Remote monitoring and profitable management of Printing & Packaging businesses is one of the key capabilities of CountWONDER solution.

Productivity is and always has been a point of contention for every production industry – be it printing or otherwise – and each producer looks into ways and means to increase productivity. And when productivity can be increased with the present capital investment itself rather than with adding more machines, it creates genuine interest especially in the printing and packaging industry, where the capital cost is relatively higher than other similar industries.

The second version of Unico Tech Solution’s production management and monitoring software will have data on the cloud. The present version of the software features a provision of a server at the client’s premises and is capable of directly reporting to the mobile screens of the management with live machine status and various reports to enable them to enhance productivity of their press.

The best performing printing companies in India are working at about 30% productivity only. Just imagine the difference the bottom line of the company makes with just an increase of productivity to 40%.

Key Notes : > How to increase productivity in printing and packaging businesses. > Production management and monitoring software CountWONDER – enabling efficient management of a printing business. > No need for wiring on shop floor; does not affect the existing functioning of the press.

6

January 2022

Unico Tech Solution is a relatively new organization and has astutely designed and upgraded their production management and monitoring software CountWONDER which enables efficient management of a printing business.

“We have been developing the CountWONDER

hardware and software combination for the last couple of years and have a few installations presently in the west and demos are running at presses in the northern part of India too,” says Madan Singh, Chief Technology Officer at Pentaforce Software Solutions.

“By this Diwali, we expect to have the second version of our product which will have the data on cloud for those printers who would be hard pressed for finance in the present scenario. Shortly, we are about to offer a 0% finance scheme for printers who wish to install CountWONDER,” adds Mr. Madan Singh.

CountWONDER is a product from the stable of Pentaforce Software and is marketed, installed and maintained by Unico Tech Solution.

The technology and structure of CountWONDER CountWONDER basically has three components to it: a sensor, a WiFi enabled hardware and a server.

The server is connected to CountWONDER hardware through WiFi and is preloaded with the customized data analytics software. “In short, the sensor read the signals from the machine directly, passes on the message to the CountWONDER hardware, which in turn sends the message to the server via WiFi which

Promote for FREE on our SOCIAL pages!

jacobpressideas

We can be of help!

Each story we create, or for that matter, each press release that you share with us, not only goes on our popular website but also is shared on all above Social Media pages of PRESSIdeas.

jacob.pressideas

Your social media content is the embodiment of your brand and each social network brings in it's own set of challenges. Well, we take of several factors that go into producing and publishing social media content.

We can help you not only in Content Creation - where and how to Start with but once created, to schedule them on the Social Media and then optimizing it to attain the expected success is also our job. Last but not the least, analyzing the results of the Social Media Campaign too shall be shared with you.

If you’re looking to get started, allow us to walk you through it. Allow us to hand hold you all along.

only.pressideas

+JacobGeorge-pressideas

Write to digital@pressideas.com or WhatsApp on +91 9780036854 to know more!

Note: Our online editorial team holds the right to decide on the selection of posts to be included on our social media pages. The FREE offer is for a period of 45 days. It is advisable to have only a post in a week.

jacobgeorge1/

www.pressideas.com

pressideas/ commercial printing

Ajay Chajjed of Webtech Industries, the first adopter of the technology. “Moreover, the mapping of the starts and stops of the machine in a tabular format and that too on my mobile gives a clear picture of the running of the machines and helps us improve upon it especially when one has multi-locational production units and where I can’t be everywhere all the time,” he adds.

businesses; it is also one of a kind solution in the Indian market. “Presently, there is no other solution in this realm available in the Indian market. The ones which are available in the US and Europe are extremely expensive and have no representation whatsoever in India till date,” asserts Mr. Madan Singh.

Ease of use Live Machine Status and more then analyses the data and generates the customized reports as may be demanded by the customer. There is no need for any wiring on the customer’s shop floor for implementation of the system and does not affect the functioning of the press even a wee bit,” explains Mr. Madan Singh.

Aimed at the Printing & Packaging companies in India and around, the CountWONDER was launched recently in the year 2021.

Suitability of CountWONDER for the Indian market “This is the most suitable market for our product especially because it is an extremely price sensitive market,” says Mr. Madan Singh. “Today, it is well known that the best performing printing companies in India are working at about 30% productivity only. Just imagine the difference the bottom line of the company makes with just an increase of productivity to 40%? Especially when our CountWONDER will be able to pinpoint the reasons for the lesser productivity, and the management needs to work upon specific reasons to see, the productivity increases instantly,” he elaborates.

The recent customers of CountWONDER are Webtech, Temple Packaging and there is also Ajanta Print Arts, where the installation is going on presently. “We do not have any customers outside India presently though we are in the initial phases of discussion with a few customers in UAE and Saudi Arabia in addition to a handful in India too,” says Mr. Madan Singh.

“I find the CountWONDER to be an essential component of my print production business as it provides me an overall view of the production along with production loss which helps us in improving our production efficiency and lowering our costs,” says

8

January 2022

In addition to Live Machine Status, CountWONDER also provides Shift Delayed Start - Early Stop report, Hourly, Daily, Monthly and Yearly Production Reports.

It also gives Daily Job Production report, Machine Downtime Report along with the Production Lost Report. Moreover, all reports are customizable to the individual needs of the printer.

For example, the Live Machine Status report is one by which a customer, while enjoying a holiday in Goa, can also keep himself abreast of the live status of all the machines on his shop floor – whether they are fully automatic printing machines or semi automatic folding gluing machine/ machines or for that matter, even a manual die cutting machine!

The solution is not only very helpful in increasing productivity of printing production

The system works without human intervention but to get specific reports, as in time taken for Line Clearance, Makeready, Breakdowns, Plate changes delay or any such needs of the customer, the staff needs to punch in the reasons while it happens for the system to record and report. Besides, Pentaforce offers complete training at the installation. There are also remote trainings and resolutions to possible hiccups available as per individual need. “We provide complete service support with free replacement of hardware in case of any complaint. We are also providing software support with AMC wherein all upgrades are included,” shares Mr. Madan Singh.

Ways and means to increase productivity is one of the best practices that an Indian shop floor can follow in these challenging times and CountWONDER is an option one must try.

Heidelberg and PURe agree to make offset more sustainable Europe-wide cooperation for a more sustainable printing production.

Heidelberg and PURe inks Europe GmbH (PURe) have signed a Europe-wide cooperation agreement in order to make offset printing more sustainable. While the use of conventional offset inks or alternatively UV curing inks often makes the introduction of a sustainable print production challenging, PURe inks allow packaging and commercial printers a more sustainable production.

Heidelberg will offer these inks under the PURe label, next to its own Saphira consumables that will be part of the PURe package and will offer customers an individual implementation and transition service for the application of PURe inks.

Amongst others Heidelberg can also offer job and system analysis, operator and sales trainings in order to enable the customer to successfully commercialize the environmental advantages of PURe inks.

Hans Huyghe, Head of Product Management Consumables at Heidelberg: “Heidelberg is happy to extend its portfolio with lowmigration inks from PURe, which combine the advantages of conventional and UV drying inks. With our project approach, we enable our customers to integrate PURe as a system as part of their long term sustainability strategy.” Michael Berz, CEO of PURe ink systems AG: “We have worked for several years to achieve the high quality standard we now have with PURe. After joint testing, Heidelberg offers a complete PURe package, which is key to the European success of this novel technology. With the go-to-market through Heidelberg we can now leverage the potential of the Heidelberg network and its application know how to introduce PURe to all customers. Thus, we help our industry to reach its sustainability goals.”

The innovative PURe ink system is a response on higher demand for more sustainability in print production. The new formulation is 100 percent free from mineral, palm, soy or coconut oil, metal driers, antioxidants and microplastics, is odor free and comes with excellent deinking results. It meets the highest standards for environment, health and labor safety. In addition the majority of the ingredients are derived from

renewable raw materials without further chemical modification or synthesis. PURe thus sets a new benchmark for offset ink sustainability.

to a higher energy efficiency. PURe inks are ideally suited for printing on food packaging materials as well as on commercial print products.

PURe meets the criteria of all major ecolabels (i.e. EU Ecolabel, Nordic Ecolabelling, Austrian Ecolabel UZ24, Blauer Engel UZ195) and has received a C2C Certified Material Health Certificate at the platinum level.

Thanks to its unique drying mechanism, the ink dries quickly and at a significantly lower temperature than usual contributing

The way to more sustainability and reaching eco-labels however is more than just changing the ink tin. Instead it requires a holistic customer specific approach in the print shop environment covering job structure and value chain analysis and potential changes in equipment settings, consumables and even operator qualification.

pressideas/ commercial printing

March PRINTPACK moves to May due to Omicron 15th PRINTPACK INDIA has been slightly shifted from the month of March to May because of the spread of Covid variant Omicron.

Keeping in view the prevailing conditions and recommendations of the Exhibitors, Associate Partners and in consultation with the officials of India Expo Centre, the Governing Council decided to postpone the Exhibition for 1 or 2 months and organise it at India Expo Centre from May 26-30, 2022 which appears a safe period for the Exhibitors and all other concerned parties, including the Business Visitors who are the backbone of any Exhibition.

The 15th Edition of PRINTPAK INDIA Exhibition was scheduled to be organised at India Expo Centre from March 11-15, 2022. IPAMA had also finalised various arrangements well in time for the largest

Show in the country on Printing and Packaging Industry. However, due to sudden increase in COVID-19 and Omicron cases in different States, the Office Bearers and IPAMA Secretariat officials had discussed to the senior representatives of the Exhibitors and the Associate Partners to ascertain their views relating to the organisation of the Exhibition on the scheduled dates. Majority of them had recommended to postpone the same for a couple of Months, but they were not keen to postpone it for a longer period.

The dates for availing of the Discounts and the eligibility criteria were also revised, as under: -

i) For existing exhibitors, to avail early bird discounts, 30% Payment as Second Instalment, must be transferred in IPAMA’s bank account by 21st March 2022. And balance 50% payment on or before 10th May 2022. ii) For a new exhibitor, remittance of 50% payment in IPAMA’s account is must to avail Motivational and Covid discounts by 21st Feb 2022. And balance 50% payment on or before 10th May 2022. No new exhibitor is eligible to avail aforesaid discounts after 21st Feb 2022.

Discount is subject to IPAMA Membership.

Republic Day celebration by OPA OPA President unfurls the National Flag at the Ludhiana office of the association.

The 73rd Republic Day was celebrated

by Offset Printers’ Association (OPA) at its office at South City, Ludhiana. National flag was unfurled by Mr. Parveen Aggarwal, President of OPA and after reciting national anthem sweets were distributed. Speaking on the occasion Prof. Kamal Chopra, General Secretary OPA said, “It is the time to remember our heroes who were instrumental for the independence of our nation. It is the time to pay homage to all known and unknown stalwarts who sacrificed their life so that we can live peacefully in an independent country. It is therefore the prime objective of OPA to celebrate the national days.”

In his address Mr. Parveen Aggarwal said, “Republic Day is celebrated annually as it

10

January 2022

is the anniversary of the day India became a Republic. Though India’s declaration of Independence was signed on 15th August 1947, the constitution which was written for independent India came into the effect on January 26, 1950. Republic Day honours the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect replacing the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India. I am glad that we are here to celebrate the day. Printers are the custodians of India’s colours, and our wishes are that our tricolour must fly high so that we can live with prestige in our beloved country.”

Mr. Kushl Kumar Jain, Sr. Vice President, Mr. Gagandeep Singh, Vice President, Mr. Hans Raj Chopra, Finance Secretary and Mr.

Amarjot Arora, Secretary also paid tributes on the occasion. Others present on the occasion were, Mr. Aman Gupta, Mr. Nitin Malik, Mr. Shellinder Shelly, Mr. Rohan Oberai, Mr. Arun Sharma, Mr. Asrar Tareen, Mr. Ankush Gupta, Mr. Jagtar Singh, Mr. Des Raj Saharan, Mr. Jagdish Vohra, Miss Parul Garg and Mr. Davinder Singh.

pressideas/ commercial printing

Indore’s Govind Digital installs Cron CtP Monotech Systems installs Cron CtP at Indore based pre-press bureau.

Monotech Systems has installed a Cron UV CtP system at Indore based pre-press bureau Govind Digital Print Art. Govind Digital Print Art was started not a long time ago by three brothers, Hemant Billore, Govinda Billore and Durgesh Billore. The prepress bureau caters to the demands of Indore and surrounding areas and has made its mark in high quality plate production.

Backed by approx. 10 employees in different capacities, the company is doing a plate production of 400 – 500 plates per day with a buffering capability of 300 more plates per day.

“We started recently and bought first CtP from Monotech Systems i.e., HGDE. Once the demand excelled, we planned to upgrade the existing CtP. Cron performance was already known to me from my experience in printing and the product was also available with Monotech Systems therefore, it was a smooth up-gradation process. I can vouch that the machine is very easy to operate and performance-wise it’s the best. It delivers high performance for us which led us to fulfil the huge demand that we are experiencing and delivering,” said Hemant.

deliver 900 plates per day. Because of this, we are confident of handling any demand from the market. On top of it, the support from Monotech Systems is incomparable.

They know what they are giving to the customer, act responsibly and stand with them,” he added.

“During elections, we were even able to

Cron’s CtP products meet the most stringent

(L to R - Durgesh Billore, Hemant Billore and Govinda Billore)

demands for print quality. High-quality imaging is achieved through extremely accurate dot formation, a tonal range of 1%-99% in an either conventional or special screening and up to 2800 dpi resolution (or an optional 3600 dpi). All Cron CtP can be customized for newspaper, commercial or even security applications with resolution options from 1200 to 9600 dpi.

Paperex 2022 rescheduled Considering the travel restrictions imposed by various state governments across India due to recent increase in Covid infections, the organizers of Paperex 2022 have rescheduled the event to a more opportune time. “To prioritize the health and safety of all our stakeholders, namely our exhibitors, trade visitors, eminent industry leaders, alongside our association partners, we have decided to reschedule Paperex 2022 to a more opportune time following the recent increase in covid infections and travel restrictions,” the organizers updated.

The Paperex 2022 was about to happen during January 9-12, 2022 at the India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, Delhi- NCR. The event will now take place from 10 to

13 May 2022 at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida.

“We appreciate that Hyve, considers safety of exhibitors and visitors a topmost priority and the proposed rescheduling of the show to 10-13 May 2022 will help the industry come together again at Paperex in a safe business conducive environment. Hyve has stood with the industry and we will extend our full support to the rescheduled Paperex 2022 edition,” responds IARPMA. “This is indeed a good decision to postpone Paperex to May 2022, as by then the pandemic situation should ease out. Thanks for accepting our request for postponement and look forward to a grand exhibition in coming months.” - Indian Recovered Paper

Traders Association “It was a wise decision by Hyve under the current circumstances and prioritizing the people safety first. We feel that keeping this exhibition during May will be more successful. Many of our customers would be ready with their annual budget for 2022-23 and it would be good time to have the f2f discussions.” – Valmet Technologies

January 2022

11

pressideas/ commercial printing

Color-Logic expands metallic colour gamut with 644 new colours The total Color-Logic colours come to 924; 55 of them being gold.

Color-Logic has added 644 new colours to the Color-Logic metallic colour system.

The new colours bring the total Color-Logic colours to 924, of which 55 are golds. A key element of the gamut expansion is the inclusion of the blues, greens, violets, and browns so popular with brands today. All 924 Color-Logic metallic colours can be printed using only five inks or toners: silver ink or toner with CMYK on conventional substrates, or white ink or toner and CMYK on silverbased metallic substrates.

Because graphic designers prefer to work with proven colours, Color-Logic provides licensed printers, at no extra cost, files with which they can produce their own Color-Logic swatch books. Providing ColorLogic swatch books to graphic designers, agencies, brands, and corporate marketers lets them see and select any of the 924 metallic colours that can be produced without trial or error.

Discussing the new colours, Color-Logic Director of Sales and Marketing Mark Geeves said: “Together with ColorLogic embellishments, our 924 metallic colours provide graphic designers with unlimited ways to differentiate their clients in print.

Already, Color-Logic licensed printers provide brands with economical, quick-turnaround work,

12

January 2022

and these new metallic colors only broaden the possibilities.”

Color-Logic develops colour communication systems and software tool sets for a variety of special effect printing applications. It provides brand owners, product managers, corporations, and their advertising agencies the ability to differentiate themselves and their clients with a simple print production process that yields dramatic results. The decorative effects by the company utilize the existing workflows of printers and designers, yielding dynamic results without the use of special equipment. Color-Logic supports the value of print and works with designers and printers to enhance their printed media.

Color-logic is represented in India by Monotech Systems.

Color-Logic certifies Mark Andy Digital Series iQ Label Press Color-Logic has announced certification of the Mark Andy Digital Series iQ Label Press.

Mark Geeves, comments: “With the Mark

Andy Digital Series iQ Label Press, digital printing is now available to mainstream label producers in a familiar equipment configuration with inline processing. ColorLogic is pleased to certify the new Mark Andy press and to partner with one of the leading label equipment suppliers, ensuring that label converters can enjoy the ease and predictability of digital metallic embellishment printing and digital metallic variable data printing.”

“With Color-Logic software and the Mark Andy Digital Series iQ press, label producers can provide their customers with digitally printed labels on metallic substrate without the time-consuming task of producing white ink masks manually. Even the most complex metallic images--those requiring white ink masks that might take hours or even days to prepare--are produced with just a few mouse clicks. Color-Logic also enables designers to economically add elements into a design that are very difficult to replicate but can be seen by consumers on the shelf,” he adds.

pressideas/ commercial printing

IST Metz awarded the TOP 100 Seal 2022 The most innovative SMEs receive the seal. It shows that they are excellently equipped for future challenges.

IST Metz GmbH & Co. KG is an internationally active medium-sized mechanical engineering company with headquarters in Nürtingen, in Southern Germany, and more than 550 employees worldwide. For more than 40 years the company has been producing equipment for curing print and coating by means of UV light. The UV systems cure inks, varnishes, silicones, adhesives, resins and other materials in fractions of a second. The IST Metz group of companies offers its customers the world’s largest product portfolio of high-performance UV lamp and UV LED systems. The range is complemented by warm air infrared drying systems and excimer technology.

IST METZ has been awarded the TOP 100 Seal 2022. On 24 June, IST METZ will be personally honoured for this achievement by the competition’s mentor, science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar.

The core of the TOP 100 innovation competition is a scientific selection process that participants must undergo.

On behalf of compamedia, the organiser of the comparison, innovation researcher Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke and his team examined IST METZ based on more than 100 innovation indicators from five categories: Top Management Promoting Innovation, Innovation Climate, Innovative Processes and Organisation, External Orientation/ Open Innovation and Innovation Success.

Basically, the TOP 100 analysis is about the

question of whether a company’s innovations are just a product of chance or are systematically planned and thus repeatable in the future. Special weighting is given to the question of whether and how innovations and product improvements succeed in the market.

IST METZ has convinced the 29th round of the TOP 100 competition as a think tank and is among the top innovators for the second time. For more than 40 years, the family-owned company has been producing systems that cure printed products and coatings by means of UV irradiation. One of its most important customer groups is the printing industry. In recent years, this industry in particular has had to face up to digital change.

IST METZ has not only adapted to this change, but has also changed itself: Consequently, the top innovator has expanded its business field, for example, the coating of touch displays or UV air sterilization. The UV technology developed for the displays is also used by the mediumsized company to finish wooden surfaces.

In addition, IST METZ has developed a new curing solution called FREEcure that makes it possible to cure without photoinitiators.

One of the managing directors, Tim Sterbak, explains that a good climate of innovation and a great deal of freedom for employees are important for working at the cutting edge of technology. Here, the Nürtingen-based company relies on employees with an inventive spirit when selecting personnel.

Such self-runners benefit from the 280-man company’s large scope for project implementation. The families of the employees are

also taken into consideration: In the “parentchild office”, employees can work during care bottlenecks, while their children play in the same room at the painting table or in the craft corner.

“How focused is a company on innovation?

How consistently do its structures follow this goal? With TOP 100 we examine this,” explains Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, the scientific director of TOP 100. “The most innovative SMEs receive the seal. It shows that they are excellently equipped for future challenges.”

On 24 June, there will be a second cause for celebration: then the top innovators of the 2022 cohort will come together in Frankfurt am Main for the award ceremony at the German SME Summit to receive congratulations from Ranga Yogeshwar. The science journalist has been mentoring the innovation competition for eleven years.

TOP 100: the competition Since 1993, compamedia has been awarding the TOP 100 seal for special innovative strength and above-average innovation success to medium-sized companies. The scientific management has been in the hands of Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke since 2002.

Franke is the founder and director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. With 25 research awards and over 200 publications, he is one of the leading innovation researchers internationally. The mentor of TOP 100 is the science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar. Project partners are the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research and the BVMW association of medium-sized businesses. The magazines manager magazin and impulse accompany the company comparison as media partners.

January 2022

13

Manoramaonline bags the ‘Best in News Website’ 3rd time in a row Among the winners at South Asian DMA 2021 are – The Hindu, Hindustan Times, The Quint, Mojo Story, NDTV Convergence, Times of India Digital and Sakal.

The winners at the South Asian Digital Media Awards 2021 have been announced.

Following are the winners:

Best News Website (or) Mobile Service Gold : Manoramaonline.com, Malayala Manorama Silver : thequint.com, The Quint Bronze : bloombergquint.com, Quintillion Business Media Pvt. Ltd.

Best Use of Online Video Gold : Life in an Auto: The Inspiring Story of 74-year-old Sole Breadwinner, Desraj Jyot Singh, The Quint Silver : Girls on a Mission, People Like Us Create (PLUC) Bronze : A Night at India’s Largest Farmer’s Protest, BBC News

Best Newsletter Gold : Times TOP 10, Times of India Digital Silver : The India Cable, Foundation for Independent Journalism Bronze : Here’s the thing – Weekly Members-only Newsletter, Spunklane Media Pvt. Ltd.

Best Data Visualisation Gold : West Bengal Elections 2021, NDTV Convergence

Silver : COVID-19 Pandemic: Full Coverage, NDTV Convergence

Bronze : Kerala Assembly Election 2021, The Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd.

Best Reader Revenue Initiative Gold : HT Codeathon, Hindustan Times Silver : Support The Wire, Foundation for Independent Journalism

Bronze : Freedom Sale 2021 – The Hindu Group, The Hindu

Best in Audience Engagement Gold : Bring Back Milk Bikis Campaign, The Hindu

Silver : Teen Goshti, BBC News Silver : Kissan Protein Champs – Knowledge Series & Brain-teasing Activities, The Hindu

14

January 2022

Bronze : Njanoru Naran, M M Publications

Gold : Unacademy Let’s Crack CSE,

Ltd. (Vanitha)

The Hindu

Best Podcast / Digital Audio Project Gold : Sakalchya Batmya / Daily Sakal

Silver : HT Codeathon, Hindustan Times Silver : Break the Taboo, The Daily Star Bronze : Bring back Milk Bikis, The Hindu Bronze : HTLS 2020, Hindustan Times

News, Sakal Media Group

Silver : Club FM Cinema Katha, The Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd. Bronze : Vivechana, BBC News

Best Brand Marketing Campaign (for News Brands) Gold : Doctor’s Day Campaign – Hindustan Times Silver : Neel Barir Lorai – Anandabazar Patrika Bronze : HT Fresh – First Voice. Last Word. – Hindustan Times

Best Special Project for COVID-19 Gold : On The Road with the Pandemic: Counting India’s Uncounted COVID Deaths, Mojo Story Silver : Hindustan COVID Actions, Hindustan Media Venture Ltd. Silver : Covid-specific Jagran Dialogues Series, in Collaboration with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and UNICEF India, Jagran New Media Bronze : BBC’s coverage of COVID in India, BBC News

Best Branded / Sponsored Content Campaign

The 2021 awards in their fifth edition received more than 140 entries, a record jump of close to double the number of entries in the previous year. These awards, presented

by WAN-IFRA recognise South Asian publishers who have delivered unique and original digital media projects in the last 12 months. From new approaches to digital subscriptions to impactful native advertising campaigns, these are projects that inspire us all. The ‘Gold’ winners automatically enter WAN-IFRA’s World Digital Media Awards competition.

The entries were evaluated by an international panel of jury.

The winners will receive their awards virtually at the upcoming South Asian Digital Media Awards 2022 on 8-10 March.

Further details and the ‘Hall of Fame’ (winners) of the previous editions of the award are available at South Asian Digital Media Awards webpage.

pressideas/ newspaper

Q.I. Press Controls’ IDS-3D Debuts in Ireland at Webprint At their Dublin location, QIPC will equip their manroland GEOMAN newspaper press.

Webprint (Adenium Limited), Ireland’s largest independent printer, is the first in Ireland to install Q.I. Press Controls’ (QIPC) closed loop control. At their Dublin location, QIPC will equip their manroland GEOMAN newspaper press with a full automation package. The investment was made from both a cost and quality perspective. Previous positive experiences with QIPC’s proven optical measuring and control systems at a different facility also contributed to Webprint Concepts Limited’s decision to choose QIPC again.

The Dublin facility is a relatively new printing location for Webprint. Just last March they took over the former Independent News and Media (INM) print plant at Citywest on the outskirts of Dublin. In order to expand business as intended, the printing presses needed to be upgraded. “Investing in press automation is mainly driven by costs, but quality is also a big factor,” said Donagh O’Doherty, managing director of Webprint.

“Given the significant rise in newsprint prices, the saving on start-up waste is more important than ever,” he said. “In addition, there should be more time for printers to maintain the press with this automation in place.”

To control colour and register on all 8 printing units of the manroland GEOMAN press, QIPC’s IDS-3D will be installed. IDS-3D will also control additional functionalities like damp and smart ink- and damp presetting.

Cut-off and side-lay ribbon control will be handled by the mRC-3D cameras. “We have been using QIPC’s press automation in our Cork plant as part of the KBA installation in 2006,” said Donagh O’Doherty. “Given these experiences, we know that with this kind of automation we can fulfil the aim that our newspaper printing and web offset printing techniques are the best in the market.”

more revenue. In short, we expect a lot of both the people of QIPC and its automation,” he concludes.

Erwin van Rossem, director of global sales & marketing QIPC, is thrilled with being awarded this prestigious order. “Webprint has done extensive research and compared the various options that the marketplace offers. After multiple site visits and in-depth analyses, they selected us to be their automation partner. Great to have our first reference on Irish soil.”

Webprint (Adenium Limited) is a privately owned and operated printing company, in

production at Mahon, Cork, Ireland, since 2006 and Citywest, Dublin, since 2021. It is the largest independent cold-set web offset printer on the island of Ireland. While originally founded as a contract national and regional newspaper printer, they now also offer print management and distribution for a wide range of commercial and newspaper clients in Ireland and Britain. Since 2009, they have built up an extensive portfolio of commercial products and clients. They provide compelling solutions for customers looking for print runs from 1,000 to 1.5 million copies. They have received numerous print quality, management systems and environmental awards and nominations.

“As said earlier, cost saving is more important than ever. Supported by QIPC’s full automation package, we will be able to reduce waste to a minimum, see reduction of ink and indeed there may be manningsaving opportunities down the line. On the other hand, the quality will become more consistent, which will increase customer confidence and satisfaction and generate

January 2022

15

digital printing

HP Indigo accelerates Industry 4.0 solutions HP Indigo is driving digital transformation and industry 4.0 innovation to help print service providers capture significant growth in jobs submitted through ecommerce platforms.

HP Inc. has unveiled new ways for print service providers to grow their digital-based business and put Industry 4.0 into practice by enabling better automated tools to enhance connectivity, productivity, and support customer growth as print service providers move to capture online business.

“We are seeing strong customer momentum in the past year alongside industry challenges created by the pandemic, with Industry 4.0 being a driving force of growth for Indigo customers who have embraced high-automation practices and adopt ecommerce driven web-to-print business practices,” said Haim Levit, HP Indigo Vice President and General Manager. HP attributes part of this momentum in particular, from continued strong growth in Labels and Packaging direct print volume growing 36% over 2019 levels and the commercial sector’s continued recovery from pandemic headwinds.

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.

16

January 2022

PrintOS Site Flow, an end-to-end production management solution for achieving zero-touch automation has fueled an explosive growth in customer order traffic through 2021. Connecting to over 600 brands globally, HP customers tapped into myriad of online order systems and ecommerce platforms. With Site Flow each PSP automatically receives, produces and ships an unlimited number of jobs per day. Site Flow reduces bottlenecks, touchpoints and labor-dollars, while being device and product independent; many of the core principles on which Industry 4.0 was built on.

Hundreds of PSPs are operating Site Flow daily,

which saw a 65% increase in job traffic in 2021. More than 460 million items were processed through the secure online platform, operating in 45 countries to deliver print products such as photo books, calendars, invitations, and greeting cards.

“COVID put a lot of power into the consumers’ hand, and our goal was to be the premier B2C print fulfilment supplier in Canada. An integral part of this is our ability to integrate our internal systems with our B2C partners as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Todd Cober, President of Cober Solutions.

“Using Site Flow helps to reduce the roadblocks altogether and enabled us to easily onboard new brands and grow our business.”

“We use Site Flow to produce work for brands that generate 2,000-3,000 unique orders per day during peak season” said Bill Duerr, President of Hatteras. “There is a great team at Hatteras, but labor shortages are real today. With Site Flow, I can give my press room manager the tools he needs to maximize the productivity of the good people we have.”

New Industry 4.0 solutions to drive growth through automation and efficiency Industry 4.0 practices are allowing HP Indigo print service providers to deliver thousands of digital print jobs every day. As a result, HP continues to invest and expand business possibilities for PSPs. HP recently announced the PrintOS Integration Hub @ hp.io, a portal where HP provides technical information on how to integrate with HP Indigo devices and solutions, and achieve automation across vendor solutions. Due to the upswing in

pressideas/ digital

ecommerce orders, printers need to increase automation through multiple systems, spanning from submission, printing, finishing and fulfillment solutions, through to shipping and tracking.

“Automation is the only way to consistently deliver high volumes of short run jobs while meeting customer’s quality and schedule expectations” said Gershon Alon, Head of HP Indigo Solutions. “Customers are struggling to hire and maintain skilled personnel. Cross-vendor automation increases employees’ efficiency and enables the production of much more work with existing staff and resources”.

An example of cross-vendor automation is the improved integration between the PrintOS Production Pro DFE for Commercial Print and Heidelberg Prinect, which automates production and avoids human errors.

Customers can now maintain a unified automated workflow, for both their analogue jobs and their digital Indigo press jobs, and manage them from their Heidelberg MIS. “The enhanced connectivity between Heidelberg Prinect and HP Indigo presses enables Heidelberg customers to integrate

the Prinect Business Manager (MIS), the offset prepress capabilities, and digital presses into one workflow,” says Christopher Berti, Vice President Product Management Prinect. “That brings the benefits of higher efficiency, fully leveraging the original investment (e.g. offset prepress system), and the flexibility of using the same workflow for both worlds: offset and digital printing.

It helps close a major gap on the road to printshops achieving end-to-end integration”.

“The Prinect integration with Indigo digital presses enables a single data entry point via JDF, reduces touch points and therefore human errors” said Liesbeth Van Assche, Process Architect at Artoos Group. “We send our jobs from Prinect to the HP Indigo digital press and our press operator does not deal with any job parameter settings, file preparation, imposition, or proofing. Press operators are 100% focused on printing the job and insuring the quality of the job”.

Automating colour is also a key focus area for HP Indigo. On top of the alreadysupported Idealliance G7 color certification, PrintOS Color Beat now also automates Fogra color certification for new-generation HP Indigo commercial and labels-and-

packaging presses including the HP indigo 100K, HP Indigo 15K, HP Indigo 12000 VP, HP Indigo 25K and HP Indigo 35K. The Fogra Cert PSD Colour Data allows print service providers to get a fully automated verification to the most widely used Fogra colour standards requested by print buyers and brands, validating that the press meets the highest colour standards. With a touch of a button. The compliance of a given print job is certified against Fogra PSD, Process Standard Digital (ISO/TS 15311-2) and can be easily communicated with the print buyer, the brand or the QA team.

Automatic Alert Agent 2.0 for HP Indigo Series 4 digital presses (HP Indigo 12000 and 15K). This inline inspection system scans every printed sheet and compares it to its digital print file, automatically identifying possible print defects.AAA 2.0 now automatically diverts defective sheets to scrap and reprints them, all in real time with no human intervention, and no interruption to production. The system leverages advanced Industry 4.0 Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, increasing accuracy and speed, to provide productivity and profitability for PSPs.

Kodak’s 2021 Sustainability Report underlines sustainable future by the company Kodak Publishes its 2021 Sustainability Report – sums up the company’s achievements and goals in driving more environmental and social sustainability.

Kodak is fully committed to a sustainable future of the company, its customers and the planet. This is underlined by Kodak’s 2021 Sustainability Report which sums up the company’s achievements and goals in driving more environmental and social sustainability. Reflecting Kodak’s global business activities from 2018 to 2021, the report, titled, “One World, One Kodak,” provides a view of sustainability efforts in place throughout the company and around the globe.

The 36-page report outlines Kodak’s programs, specifically on reducing waste and creating energy efficiencies, reducing emissions, conserving water and improving employee and community engagement. The report also details how Kodak responded

to the enormous challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic and leveraged its resources and technology in new ways to support the global fight against the virus.

In addition to Kodak’s latest sustainability achievements, the report reveals the company’s sustainability goals through 2025.

The publication highlights how innovative Kodak products are helping customers in the global printing industry become more sustainable by reducing energy, water and chemical consumption and eliminating waste.

Kodak’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “As One Kodak, our people across the globe have a shared responsibility to deliver sustainable growth for our stakeholders and help create a sustainable future for our world.”

“The events of the past few years have served to reinforce how interconnected we are. What happens on one side of the planet impacts the other,” said Jim Continenza,

January 2022

17

pressideas/ digital

Colours For Life: Canon launches new Colour MFDs to meet diverse business needs The new Colour MFDs offer wide-ranging capabilities to support businesses of all sizes – bringing Colours For Life to your world.

In a bid to enhance the colour printing ecosystem in India and support businesses with their ever-evolving printing requirements, Canon has extended its gamut meeting everevolving printing requirements of businesses with the launch of the imageRUNNER ADVANCE (iR-ADV) DX C3800 series along with imageRUNNER (iR) C3226.

The newly introduced iR-ADV DX C3800 series comprises of four advanced A3 colour laser multi-function devices (MFDs), the iR C3226 is a standalone A3 colour laser MFD. Both the models are aimed at expanding our footprint among Enterprises and large businesses, Jobbers (Copy Shop Owners), SME segment along with Government sector.

As colour printing is touted to create more visual impact along with offering a premium look and feel, the launch of new colour MFDs is in line with Canon’s vision to enable businesses with the best of printing solutions, thereby fuelling their growth by propagating the theme of #ColoursForLife.

Furthermore, the extensive line-up of the new imaging devices empowers businesses of all sizes with capabilities aimed at maximising productivity and user convenience.

Speaking on the brand’s first product announcement of the year, Mr. Manabu Yamazaki, President &CEO of Canon India said, “With the onset of a new year, Canon India is delighted to bring forth its imaging marvels as we introduce a slew of innovative and cost-effective colour MFDs i.e., imageRUNNER ADVANCE (iR-ADV) DX C3800 series and imageRUNNER (iR) C3226.

With this launch, we’re envisaging the colour MFD series to play a vitalrole in meeting the customer demands of economical colour printing. As India holds a huge market potential in printing across SMEs, Jobbers and Enterprise segments, we intend to play an active role in businesses adopting efficient and cost-effective colour printing, thereby painting their business success with #ColoursForLife.”

Commenting on the launch, Mr. K. Bhaskhar,

18

January 2022

Senior Vice President - BIS Segment, Canon India said, “Innovation has always been a driving force at Canon and with the introduction of the imageRUNNER ADVANCE (iR-ADV) DX C3800 series and imageRUNNER (iR) C3226in India, we’re all set to redefine the spectrum of colour printing across businesses – small or large, ranging from Jobbers to SMEs and Enterprises.

The newly launched series of colour MFDs reflect our commitment towards offering world-class technology, ease of use and high-quality printing to meet the ever-evolving customer expectations and provide them with maximum profitability, thereby ensuring business longevity. These devices are well-equipped to print vibrant image quality along with offering intuitive & safe usability for driving sustainable operations with seamless integration, further ascertaining that ‘Business Can Be Simple’.”

Enabling Efficient Collaboration The iR-ADV DX C3800 series integrates seamlessly with uniFLOW Online, a cloudbased print management solution to help businesses drive efficiency. Based on preconfigured workflows, the solution’s Filing Assist automates batch scanning, naming, filing, and routing of documents to various cloud destinations for further processing.

The flexible cloud connectivity allows employees to collaborate with ease, while the automated process eliminates error-prone and time-consuming manual filing for greater productivity. With the single-pass document feeder option, the series delivers swift digitisation with an industry-leading scan speed of up to 270 images per minute (ipm) and offers four different print speeds of up to 35 pages per minute (ppm) to meet varied operational needs.

Optimising Workplace Productivity The iR C3226 combines a wide array of practical features to help in-office workers maximise productivity. Built with a userfriendly 7-inch colour touch panel display, the MFD offers excellent visibility and easy navigation through various intuitive touch

operations. The user interface (UI) presents a smart Timeline feature on the Home Screen that displays the history of settings used, helping users complete routine tasks with one-touch and reduce time spent on repetitive operations. The MFD also provides users with the ability to customise preferences, offering personalisation of initial display screen, display language and frequently used functions. In addition to print speeds of up to 26 ppm, the MFD helps users work efficiently with various finishing options that lessen the manual collation of printouts, such as Eco-Staple, Staple-OnDemand, and hole punching.

The iR-ADV DX C3800 series and the iR C3226, are available at authorised Canon India distributors and dealers from January 2022.

pressideas/ digital

Kolkata’s Sarala Art Press buys Ricoh to answer short-run jobs Monotech installs RICOH PRO C5300S at Kolkata based commercial printer Sarala Art Press.

Sarala Art Press has opted for a RICOH PRO C5300S Digital production press for catering for their short-run jobs. The press has been installed by Monotech Systems Limited at the Kolkata based commercial printer.

production. Ricoh is a heavy-duty and robust digital press. We are already using signage machine from Monotech Systems and their services and our relations with them adds more to the decision opting for the Ricoh.”

Ardhendu Sekhar Rao, Owner, Sarala Art Press says, “We were using a Konica Minolta office printer for all the short-run jobs. Digital is a growing segment and since demand has increased it is time to opt for upgrading the digital press that can deliver high

“By adding Ricoh, we can deliver quality jobs that have brought customer delight. Also, the media flexibility has enabled us to print, develop and deliver a variety of applications that are making our customers very happy.

We are very satisfied with the quality and

performance, and it has already helped our digital business growth by 50%,” he added.

Built as a right-sized solution, the RICOH Pro C5300s digital production press offers a fusion of vibrant colour, agile media handling and a wide range of finishing options. With superior reliability, accurate registration and intuitive controls, they are ideal for marketing agencies, in-plants, commercial printers and franchise/pay for print environments looking for a total package — in a compact footprint.

Productivity Enhancement Budget, says Kuldeep Malhotra, Konica Minolta “The last two years have accelerated digital adoption across industries, making technology a necessity for organizations to survive and thrive in today’s evolving digital-first world. We at Konica Minolta, firmly appreciate the step the government has taken towards the technology upgradation and digitization for manual processes in this union budget. The budget has focused on the key element that is

productivity enhancement. We truly believe that the collaborative efforts of central and state Governments to generate more entrepreneurial opportunities will help our customers as well to be a part of the digital ecosystem where they can reskill themselves and be a part of digitalization.” – Kuldeep Malhotra, Dy. Managing Director, Sales & OP Marketing Division, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt Ltd.

January 2022

19

pressideas/ digital

SSV Digital installs Ricoh Pro C5300S First colour lab in India to get Ricoh Pro C5300S for wedding and photo album production

Monotech Systems has installed Ricoh Pro C5300S digital press at New Delhi’s photo colour lab SSV Digital. This is the first installation of RICOH in the colour lab segment.

Mr Rupendra Thakur of SSV Digital said, “We have been in the business for the last 8 years and grown successfully in photography.

A digital press was a good opportunity to upgrade from our existing traditional photo printers and there we opted for Ricoh.”

On the reason why the company decided

to invest in a digital press, Ravindra said, “Before proceeding we compared the print of Ricoh and another brand machine where Ricoh print quality was higher than that particular machine. The album printed from the Ricoh Pro C5300S is different in quality which is vouched, acknowledged and complimented by our customers. The advantages of the Ricoh Pro C5300S digital press include machine speed, colour reproduction, vibrant colours and consistency.

The colour productions are exceeding expectations and it can print a wide range of colours producing realistic photo prints.”

Union Budget 2022 is for revival of the economy, Neeraj Jain, Cosmo Films “We welcome the comprehensive budget announced by the Honorable Finance Minister to support the Indian economy. The Union Budget 2022 comes with a promise for the overall growth and revival of the economy. This year’s budget demonstrates the commitment by the government to strengthen infrastructure and employment creation. An increase in CAPEX expenditure

20

January 2022

to 7.5 lakhs cr from Rs 5.54 lakhs will boost economic growth and is very positive.

Target fiscal deficit for FY 22-23 at 6.4% of GDP is also aligned with the larger goal of economic growth without much impacting the financials. We are also eagerly looking forward to new legislation on SEZ units to simplify the SEZ operations.” – Mr. Neeraj Jain, CFO, Cosmo Films Ltd.

Mr Rupendra is also delighted with aftersales support from Monotech Systems.

Built as a right-sized solution, the RICOH Pro C5300s digital production press offers a fusion of vibrant colour, agile media handling and a wide range of finishing options. With superior reliability, accurate registration and intuitive controls, they are ideal for marketing agencies, in-plants, commercial printers and franchise/pay for print environments looking for a total package — in a compact footprint.

pressideas/ digital

KODAK ASCEND wins fifth EDP Award in a row for Kodak Kodak wins a 2021 EDP Award for its new KODAK ASCEND Digital Press.

Kodak has been selected as a winner of the European Digital Press Association’s 2021 EDP Award. Kodak earned the prestigious industry accolade in the “Industrial Print & Finishing Solutions – Best Folding Carton Solution” category for its new KODAK ASCEND Digital Press. This is the fifth year in a row that Kodak has won one of the coveted European industry awards.

KODAK ASCEND Digital Press is the first electrophotographic (EP) press designed to print heavy weight substrates at long lengths with CMYK and flat foil embellishments in one pass. The press uses eco-friendly KODACHROME Dry Inks which provide a non-hazardous working environment and sustainably recyclable print. The ASCEND Digital Press enables any company to enter the retail/point-of-purchase (POP) and folding carton markets with a more productive and cost-effective solution than current EP presses or flatbed inkjet. It provides a

complete press and embellishment system for about the price of a single-purpose digital enhancement press.

In the retail/POP area, the ASCEND Digital Press is a perfect solution for producing retail signage with sizes of up to 120 cm (48 in.) in length at speeds up to 572 sq m/hour (5280 sq. ft/hour). Short run packaging jobs for which the machine is ideally suited are, among others, small folding carton boxes, blister cards, food boxes and belly bands.

The press can also show its strengths of combining high-quality printing and in-line print embellishment in the production of commercial jobs, such as book covers, greeting cards, trading cards, etc.

Explaining their decision to grant this award to Kodak, the EDP Awards judging panel commented: “The fact that the jury nominated a universal solution like the KODAK ASCEND Digital Press for this

category is due to the uniqueness of the machine. More than just an ordinary toner press, it combines CMYK printing with foil finishing in a single pass, as well as printing on board and large format sheets. The press opens up new markets for users without having to forego classic digital printing applications.”

“We are thrilled to have won the prestigious EDP Award for our latest digital press.

The ASCEND Press is proof of Kodak’s commitment to the printing industry and investing in leading-edge solutions for digital print,” said Jim Continenza, Kodak’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The new ASCEND Press will help our customers capitalize on opportunities in the growing short-run packaging and retail POP segments without the long run requirements of litho, or the cost and complexity of large format inkjet.”

January 2022

21

MacDermid Calendar: Expressive Flexo!

A recent Flexo Marvel has been the latest MacDermid Calendar – a product that presents the vast capabilities of Flexo with regard to print quality, economy and luxury.

The technology that goes behind the beautiful calendar includes Esko’s CDI Crystal and XPS Crystal plate imager and exposure equipment and the plates used being MacDermid Graphics Solutions LUX ITP 60 (045 gauge). Jaychandra (JC) of VeePee Graphics took care of the prepress and he was very much involved since beginning in selecting right images, conceptualizing and responsible for producing this result. Mr Gopi and his team at iTek, Bengaluru took care of the printing and whose keen interest and effort helped through the final result.

Flexo is today a preferred technology and decisions fall in its favour due advantages of application, cost, quality as well as availability of convertors etc. Similarly, for brand owners – quality cost and consistency play important role.

The calendar represents the birds life impressively.

“We wanted to demonstrate, nature’s beauty and colourful world full of contrast and we found birds to be the most suitable theme we can use,” says Prasenjit Das, Sr Cluster Manager, MacDermid.

The secret behind the vibrant colours in the attractive images is the LUX ITP 60 plates which played a very important role to producing this quality. “Selection of right images, prepress done by VeePee and the experience of iTek resulted in producing this high quality calendars,” sums up Prasenjit. And the result is a beautiful CMYK + OGV rendering with cold foil matt and gloss varnish embellishment.

Key Notes : > Jaychandra (JC) of VeePee Graphics took care of the prepress –selecting right images, conceptualizing and producing great results. > Mr Gopi and his team at iTek, Bengaluru took care of the printing – his keen interest and effort help through the final spectacle. > Esko’s CDI Crystal, XPS Crystal plate imager and exposure equipment and MacDermid’s LUX ITP 60 – the technology behind the calendar.

22

January 2022

VeePee used multiple screening technologies in these images to achieve the right contrast in this first calendar project by MacDermid, which produced about 1000 copies to be distributed to all existing and prospective flexo printers in the county.

The premier LUX ITP plate product is LUX ITP 60, a hard durometer plate formulated with award-winning technology from MacDermid. LUX ITP features the convenience of flat-top dots right out of the box.

No additional platemaking steps or equipment are needed to take advantage of the print quality and consistency that LUX flat-top dots provide. Apart from the state-of-the-art technology at hand, good prepress skills with experienced printing knowledge with LUX ITP 60 plates played central role while producing such quality product. Paramount was the role of other inputs like the choice of substrate, ink and repro etc. which played their best part in producing this quality.

In addition to the quality that LUX ITP 60 is capable of producing, it comprises an environmentally friendly

technology and processing. “The LUX ITP 60 can be processed in either solvent or thermal processing systems, like MacDermid’s LAVA system. Trade Shops or Convertors do not have to keep two types of plates for solvent and thermal process. This helps in maintaining adequate inventory, less wastage,” explains Prasenjit.

“MacDermid Graphics Solutions Product Regulatory Department understands the importance of Product Stewardship. We are committed to offering safer products by understanding the health, safety, environmental and social impacts of our products throughout the supply chain. MacDermid is taking the leadership position in providing a dedicated consultation line answering customer’s questions about industry regulations and our products,” he adds.

Speaking of Flexo technology per se, he says it has many advantages over other printing processes especially in high-quality products. “The calendar we have printed via flexo speaks for itself and demonstrates flexo printing capabilities. One of the biggest advantages of flexography is that it can print a various range of applications and on many different substrates,” emphasizes Prasenjit.

Flexo is today a preferred technology and decisions fall in its favour due advantages of application, cost, quality as well as availability of convertors etc.

pressideas/ plc

“Similarly, for brand owners – quality cost and consistency play important role,” says Prasenjit.

There are surely some fears that come up when printers go for flexo. According to Prasenjit, “Probably availability of skilled man power is the biggest issue for any printer.

Though with the improvement of modern technology in prepress, platemaking and printing, with more and more automation, human intervention is getting reduced.”

MacDermid Graphics Solutions has announced plans for an exciting, collaborative endeavor, The Flexo Xperience Center (The FXC) where customers can see the flexo capabilities live. The FXC is founded by MacDermid and SOMA and is an expansion of their initial plans to install a SOMA Optima2 printing press at MacDermid’s facility in Atlanta, GA, USA, announced in December 2020. The FXC will include multiple industry-leading partners providing software, equipment, and consumables. The Flexo Xperience Center was conceptualized in late 2020 by the leadership, marketing, R&D, and sales teams at MacDermid and SOMA while discussing plans to install the printing press and plate mounting equipment at MacDermid’s facility.

The teams identified a need in the package printing industry for a wide-web flexo printing center with every aspect of the flexo process, including artwork, prepress, platemaking, print, print finishing, and print evaluation.

“The mission of The Flexo Xperience Center is to move flexo forward. This global center will combine both hands-on and virtual visits for a “one-stop-shop” for the package printing industry’s entire workflow to experience the latest flexographic printing innovations. In addition, the FXC will foster and host industry training, collaboration, research, experimentation, and learning, all designed to ensure package printing excellence. The center will be open to pre-media suppliers, trade shops, printers, converters, consumer product good companies, industry associations, educational institutions, manufacturers, and other players in the package printing market,” explains Prasenjit.

The latest calendar by MacDermid depicts Flexo’s coming of age as regards answering segments previously been answered by other technologies like offset printing. “Flexo is a quickly growing printing method, as such many industry suppliers are working on innovations to continually improve the entire flexo workflow. From advanced screening and high quality printing plates, to printing press automation, flexo can now compete in quality with other printing methods like offset and gravure,” asserts Prasenjit.

Advantage MacDermid MacDermid Graphics Solutions has been an innovator in flexo plates for over 50 years.

From the first capped digital plates, to the first inherently flat-top dot plates, MacDermid is focused on the future success of flexo printing. “We partner with the top industry suppliers, to ensure our plates work with the latest technology like advanced screening and UV led plate exposure,” says Prasenjit.

Besides, MacDermid’s LAVA thermal plate processing is optimized for processing 25

in. x 30 in. to 50 in. x 80 in. plates. LAVA integrates easily with the most popular frontend prepress systems and software, making it a plug-and-play solution for almost any workflow.

Some of the key features of LAVA Thermal Plate Processing are: • Press ready plates in less than an hour • Eliminates solvents and VOC’s in platemaking • Advanced design and improved ergonomics • Internal filter system for reduced footprint • Automated lid lift for work efficiency • LED illumination “I strongly believe that MacDermid Digital Thermal LAVA Workflow is the most effective complete end-to-end workflow,” affirms Prasenjit who concludes by affirming his belief that Flexo is the future and Flexible Packaging and Corrugation are the key growth areas of Flexo in near future.

“We are very confident that Indian, printers, convertors and trade shops will be excited to visit FXC, whether in-person or virtually, and improve their skills.”

January 2022

23

pressideas/ plc

EFI sells EPS business to STG affliate EFI completes sale of its eProductivity Software packaging and print productivity software business to an affiliate of Symphony Technology Group.

Electronics For Imaging, Inc. has completed a sale of its eProductivity Software (“EPS”) packaging and print productivity software business to an affiliate of Symphony Technology Group (“STG”). EFI will be prioritizing technology investments to accelerate growth in its industrial EFI Inkjet and Fiery businesses.

With the realignment EFI aims to capitalize on the growth opportunities available in its current segments and drive expansion into markets that are beginning the transformation toward digital.

“We have never been more excited about the opportunity in the industrial inkjet markets and our ability to leverage Fiery, the leading Digital Front End (DFE) technology for digital colour printing, to continue to drive the analog-to-digital transformation in all high-value segments of imaging – while increasingly serving new adjacencies including e-commerce, direct-to-garment, and other rapidly growing segments,” said Jeff Jacobson, EFI’s CEO and Executive Chairman. “We are making significant investments to continue to be the clear leader in the Packaging & Corrugated, Display Graphics, Textile, and Building Materials/ Decor markets.”

“The potential of the high-growth industrial inkjet markets is the impetus for us to accelerate our investments in market-leading products and services that drive the analogto-digital transformation. Industrial inkjet imaging is one of the greatest opportunities I have seen in my 35 years in this industry,” Jacobson added. “The sale of the software business provides our industrial inkjet and Fiery teams the focus that will best position them for success.”

Following the realignment, EFI is making investments in R&D to strengthen its position in core markets while entering new categories – including the development of technologies to address new applications for the textile space and for packaging.

“The future of print is digital, and this realignment further solidifies EFI’s technology

24

January 2022

leadership position and accelerates growing our innovation edge as a provider of the world’s leading digital printers for the Packaging & Corrugated, Display Graphics, Textile, and Building Materials/ Decor markets,” said Scott Schinlever, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager, EFI Inkjet. “This sets the stage for our customers to continue to produce more in less time, with less labor, at higher quality, with a reduced environmental impact, and will allow us to drive our level of inkjet knowledge and expertise into promising new market applications.”

“The Fiery portfolio of products incorporates world-class colour algorithms, advanced cloud technology, and many other bestin-class proprietary solutions that reduce production time and increase print quality,” said Weiss. “Working in close consultation with our partners, the investments we are making in the future of Fiery technology will foster even stronger solutions – including leading-edge cloud offerings through an EFI IQ suite of products that continues to help customers achieve new levels of automation, accuracy and profit potential in digital printing.”

Productivity Software: Investing for Growth under New Ownership EPS’ new owner, STG, is a leading private

equity firm that focuses on investing in software, data analytics, and softwareenabled technology services companies, and will support EPS to deliver enhanced value to its packaging and print customers and accelerate global growth. STG completed this acquisition on December 30, 2021.

The price and terms of the deal were not disclosed.

EFI’s upcoming Connect users conference will be a joint event for EFI and EPS customers. Leaders from both companies will highlight their technology enhancements and product roadmap strategies during the January 17-21 Las Vegas gathering.

pressideas/ plc

Lack of Paper endangers rebound of Graphic Industry Intergraf warns that the current paper crisis will have severe repercussions in the supply of print products for all economic markets and endangers the rebound of our industry.

The graphic industry supports all economic activities with their products, be it for information, news, entertainment, education, advertising or packaging.

Print plays a huge role in everyday life – so much so that it is frequently overlooked.

Our sector supplies the packaging for goods at the supermarket, the books, newspapers and magazines we read as well as the boxes our digitally ordered food, clothing, gadgets and much more are packaged in. These products are produced by 120,000 printing companies all over Europe that employ 600,000 people and generate a turnover of 80 billion EUR. While during the past two years graphic products have clearly witnessed a decline, demand is now almost back to pre-pandemic levels. In 2020 customers were forced to reduce print advertising and many switched to electronic means for their communication.

In mid-2021, this market has come back to print, but customers are now facing surging prices and uncertainty about the supply of raw materials.

The ongoing strike in some Nordic paper mills aggravates the situation particularly for paper grades such as LWC (Lightweight coated) and MWC (medium weight coated) paper. It is estimated that in some countries close to 50% of this paper for heatset printing comes from one supplier. The stocks of printing companies will not last until the strike has been settled and printers will be forced to announce to their customers their incapacity to fulfil the orders. This means that publishers will be forced to abandon print editions due to a lack of paper. The shortage affects all types of print products but is particularly detrimental to time sensitive printed matter such as the publication of newspapers,

magazines, books and advertising.

Intergraf has terrifying feedback from members that 40% of the paper needed from mid-February onwards cannot be obtained. The inability to print will cause large financial losses not only to the printing company, but also to the final customer. This will entail foreseeable shortages of many printed consumer goods and some products including food and medical supplies that cannot be put on the market due to a lack of packaging.

Beatrice Klose, Secretary General of Intergraf states: “Print is an essential and important part of our daily life. Many citizens rely on printed information. Apart from being a large sector of our own, our industry and our products support citizens, culture and all other economic branches in one way or the other. This support is endangered by the current tensions in the supply chain.”

Intergraf calls on the paper industry to ensure a collaborative approach and transparent discussion of the current and future development of graphic paper supply in Europe.

Intergraf calls on European as well as national authorities to take the current

situation seriously and ensure sufficient supply of raw material (fresh and recycled fibres) to allow a continuous production of essential goods such as packaging, newspapers, magazines, books, and other print products that serve European citizens in their daily life.

Voices from the industry “We have real bottlenecks in our paper supplies. We can see that this shortage will increase in the upcoming months.” – A large Sheetfed Printer “The situation about paper supplies is critical to the point that some print customers are forced to go digital.” - A large heatset printer “We have financial pressure both from customers and now also from our suppliers.

I am afraid that the present situation drives our customers even more towards the digital market and in the long run both we and our suppliers will suffer more. This is not a healthy development.” - A printer “We are losing loyal print buyers, catalogue users, due to production costs and shortage of paper. There is a big risk that those print buyers are not coming back. This jeopardizes our industry and we will suffer irretrievable damage.” - Large format offset printer

January 2022

25

pressideas/ plc

PSC solutions by DKSH in India and Bangladesh DKSH signs exclusive agreement with Printers Supply Company to promote their printing solutions in the East India region and Bangladesh.

DKSH Business Unit Technology has partnered with Printers Supply Company (PSC), based in Kolkata and will provide marketing and sales, distribution, and logistics as well as after-sales services to promote key products by PSC for the Printing Packaging & Converting business in East India region and Bangladesh.

industry, complemented by their in-depth knowledge of the technology sector, DKSH is the ideal partner for us to meet our objective of adding value to the industry and supporting the growth of our customers,” says Amitabh Luthra, Director, Printers Supply Company.

“This partnership will include solutions for flexographic printing for flexible packaging and allied products from a host of our client’s complementary products,” says Suhas Kulkarni, General Manager, Business Development Asia Pacific, Packaging, Printing & Converting.

“We look forward to working with Printers Supply Company to extend our services to our customers in the East India region and Bangladesh. This partnership will provide improved customer response rates, technical support with high service capability, and access to DKSH’s sustainable technologies and solutions,” says Suhas Kulkarni.

“With their excellent range of innovative and sustainable products for the packaging

Established in 1948, Printers Supply Company is a service-oriented organization

catering to diverse customer segments with a range of solutions for the printing and allied industries.

DKSH is a Market Expansion Services provider and offers sourcing, market insights, marketing and sales, eCommerce, distribution, and logistics as well as aftersales services. The DKSH Business Unit Technology offers complete solutions for specialized industrial applications.

Natgraph enters Reel-to-Reel Market Natgraph, provider of high-performance drying equipment for industrial print, enters the Reel-toReel printing and coating market.

Drying equipment provider Natgraph brings its drying capabilities and high energy efficiency to the Reel-to-Reel (R2R) coating and printing sector. The new Reel-to-Reel printing and coating solution boasts excellent control and product design reducing energy loss.

Natgraph’s extensive experience has been built on answering the needs of a diverse global market, from precise print finishing, automotive applications to life critical medical products and alternative energy innovation. With energy costs spiralling and awareness of environmental impact growing, energy efficiency is increasingly important. Performance and energy efficiency have always been key considerations for Natgraph.

•

• Three key features have been added to Natgraph’s new Reel-to-Reel machines so that energy consumption can be reduced by amounts exceeding 50%.

• Air recirculation and optimised exhaust flow rates ensure that every kW of energy is efficiently utilised.

26

January 2022

Natgraph’s Intelligent Energy Control System aligns dryer energy consumption with process activity. If the press, for example, is in a standby or make ready condition the dryers will go into a low power hibernation mode awaiting a signal to instantaneously recommence.

Heat exchangers preheat the intake air from the exhaust air which minimises the energy required to bring the cool air up to temperature.

The industry is very well served by innovators and suppliers of UV curing technology but much less so for water and solvent

drying options. This is the market segment that Natgraph will bring innovative, highperformance solutions to.

Andre Goodson, Natgraph’s Managing Director commented, “At present the options available to OEMS and end users are limited.

As a vertically integrated manufacturer we can collaborate with customers to design customised solutions for their specific processes, evaluating them fully and supporting their needs with an agile, service focused production capability.”

Natgraph is represented in India by Kunal enterprises.

pressideas/ plc

Scodix Design Awards 2021 Printonica Sri Sivarama Digital Press, India wins second place for Wedding Collection Photo Set in GCP category.

In a spectacular showcase of the best of digital print enhancement, Scodix customers once again pushed the boundaries in Scodix Design Awards 2021 competition. Scodix unveiled the winners of the Scodix 2021 Design Awards for digitally enhanced print.

Submitting jobs from every continent across the world, Scodix customers demonstrated the best of what the printing industry has to offer across the globe. An expert panel of judges selected winners based on design quality, application excellence and specialty of the print.

Eli Grinberg, Scodix CEO, states, “In keeping with tradition, we are excited to announce the winning submissions for this year’s competition. Even during the pandemic, and the difficult circumstances surrounding it, we are committed to upholding this contest to give our customers a global stage to promote their work. To every customer that participated, Scodix thanks you.”

Grinberg adds, “The 2021 Design Awards, as in previous contests, was made extremely difficult to judge due to the breadth of outstanding work. I am humbled to see and touch the amazing creations submitted and am deeply proud of the ingenuity our customers demonstrate in the way they use Scodix enhancement technology. I thank the

Scodix family of customers for their continued patronage and great sportsmanship. In conclusion, I say simply well-done to this year’s winners.”

•

And the winners are: •

•

•

General Commercial Print (GCP) – First Place: Haxan (Hakusan Printing, Japan) for Clear Bookmark; Second Place: Printonica Sri Sivarama Digital Press, India for Wedding Collection Photo Set; Honorable Mention: J Point, Bulgaria for Christmas Card Collection Folding Carton/Packaging – First Place: Shenzhen Wancai Smart Packaging, China for Hi-end Spirit Box; Second Place: CZK, Poland for Green Idea Brand Series; Honorable Mention: Germany S.A.C.I.A.G., Paraguay for CannaFusion.

Publishing – First Place: Estermann GmbH, Austria for Leolo Der Oktopus in Braille; Second Place: Haxan (Hakusan Printing), Japan for Shadow and Light Catalog Set; Honorable Mention: Bennett Graphics, United States for Plugged In Magazine.

•

Self-Promotion Print – First Place: Dfus Omanim, Israel for New Year Holiday Gift; Second Place: LPI – Letterhead Press, United States for Look and Feel Enhancement Collection; Honorable Mention: The Anstadt Company, United States for Win Big Promotion.

Technology – First Place: Haxan (Hakusan Printing), Japan for Kanamono Art Deep Sea; Second Place: Traffic GmbH, Germany for Reversed Foil Electric Card; Honorable Mention: Haxan (Hakusan Printing), Japan for 2021 Desktop Calendar.

The winning submissions, as well as many of the other competing entries, will be displayed online, at industry events and Scodixsponsored activities.

January 2022

27

pressideas/ plc

Input costs push DuPont Cyrel price up 7% DuPont announces global price increase for Cyrel Solutions products due to cost increase in critical raw materials.

DuPont Electronics & Industrial is implementing 7% price increase on Cyrel plates, effective March 1st, 2022. Over the past year, DuPont has continued to incur significant cost increases in critical raw materials for Cyrel Solutions; freight costs have also increased drastically for critical modes and routes. “The organization has been working hard to mitigate cost impacts and will continue with this effort. However, this price increase is necessary due to the significant and prolonged impact,” explains Tucker Norton, Global Business Director at DuPont Cyrel Solutions.

Tucker added, “Despite global challenges in logistics, our team is working tirelessly

to keep our customers around the world supplied at required levels. Especially during this pandemic, we continue our commitment to meet our customers’ needs for high quality products.”

committed to delivering our products in a timely and efficient manner to support your critical needs and is working to ensure our performance, quality, and reliability as we navigate inflationary pressures.

The DuPont Cyrel Solutions team remains

Cosmo Films PAT growth of 65% Cosmo Films, the global provider of films for packaging, labelling, lamination and synthetic paper and an emerging player in specialty chemicals, polymers & pet care recently declared its financial results for the quarter ended December 2021.

Q3 FY22 EBITDA has increased by 44% (vs. corresponding quarter) on the back of higher speciality sales, better operating margins and improved performance by subsidiaries.

Enhanced EBITDA together with lower finance cost and lower effective tax rate led to increase in PAT by 65%. Increase in EPS was still higher at 75% due to impact of buyback of shares in December 2020.

The Board of Directors has declared second interim dividend of Rs.10 per equity share for the FY22. Together with first interim dividend, total dividend for FY22 would add up to Rs.35 per equity share compared to Rs.25 for FY21.

During the quarter, the Company has received sanction under Production linked

28

January 2022

Incentive (PLI) scheme for production of speciality films for use in electronic products.

The incentive under the scheme will be for five years on 100% production of the new plant.

Commenting on Company’s performance Mr.Pankaj Poddar, Group CEO, Cosmo Films Ltd. Said, “In coming years, the Company’s growth will be driven by Specialized Polyester line (commissioning in FY 23) and new BOPP line (commissioning in FY25), continuing focus on specialty sales and diversification into specialty chemicals & Pet care business (under Zigly brand).

Zigly’s pilot launch has delivered better than the forecast and the Company looks forward to rolling out its digital first Omni channel business model.

Textile Chemicals business which started commercial production in Q2 FY22 has taken off well. Within the first three months the Company has commercialized 40+ products and has started supplies to 40+

customers. The Company continues to conduct extensive trials with the customers and expects to add newer products and customers in the coming months.

The Company has also published its first report on sustainability and ESG initiatives on its website. The Company continues to work on several sustainability projects which shall further create favourable environment impact besides cost optimization.”

pressideas/ plc

Seigwerk expands with new blending center in India Global printing ink specialist, Siegwerk, expands operations in India with a new blending center with stateof-the-art equipment and powered by solar renewable energy.

Siegwerk, one of the leading global providers of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications, commissioned a new solventbased blending centre at Siegwerk’s Bhiwadi facility in India. The new blending centre, spread across 3400 Sq.m, is an addition to the existing 100% Toluene free manufacturing plant. This new blending facility is also equipped with an ultra-modern quality control lab, an energy efficient air handling unit and a solar power generator for the entire blending centre, reiterating Siegwerk’s commitment to sustainability.

The state-of-the-art facility will have an extensive blending capacity of over 13,500 metric tones and the capacity of the solventbased warehouse will be escalated from the initial 150 MT to 700 MT now. Siegwerk Group has invested INR 212.2 million (INR 21.22 Cr) into the new blending facility.

The facility was inaugurated virtually by Dr.NicolasWiedmann, CEO, Siegwerk Group, Mr. Ashish Pradhan, President, Siegwerk Asia and Mr. Ramakrishna Karanth, CEO, Siegwerk India region.

Mr. Ashish Pradhan, President, Siegwerk Asia commented, “Siegwerk’s pathbreaking innovations and developments in our production technology has made us industry leaders. The packaging ink industry in Asia has grown by more than 10% in the past 2 years and there has been an over proportional increase in the flexpack business which has boosted our confidence in expanding our manufacturing capacities in the India region. In the past year, we have built a lot of customer-first offerings and we intend to build on this robust momentum in 2022, starting with this Blending Center which fully operates on solar renewable energy, keeping with our endeavour to leave a positive impact on society. Siegwerk will ensure continued customer satisfaction through quality, delivery and after-sales services that will provide immense value for our stakeholders”.

to providing safe printing inks and coatings solutions to customers. The current capacity expansion move with the induction of the state of the art blending centre reaffirms our commitment to keep innovation alive and to keep our customers contented. We now have a blending capacity to suit the growing needs of our customers in India region. Decades of customer relations has resulted in our synergistic growth in the Indian market. The new centre will augment our efforts to bring in new products, capabilities and innovation.”

Sustainability & Safety measures at the center The facility wholly runs on sustainable power, through its roof top solar panels with an installed capacity of 301 kWp. The facility has an automated fire safety mechanism, with automatic addressable fire and smoke detection system for fire detection and fire walls and foam sprinklers at the dispensing stations for firefighting. There is also a hydrant system all around the plant including water monitor and hose reels.

Speaking about the expansion Mr. Ramakrishna Karanth, CEO, Siegwerk India said, “Siegwerk has always been dedicated

January 2022

29

Event Review EFI Connect 2022: We are LIVE in Las Vegas !

Opening keynote was hosted by EFI CEO and Executive Chairman Jeff Jacobson, who set the tone with a talk-show style format with a number of guests including Marco Boer of I.T. Strategies, new eProductivity Software CEO Gaby Matsliach, EFI CTO Doug Edwards and EFI VP of Worldwide Marketing, Ken Hanulec.

The 22nd edition of EFI Connect 2022 took place at Wynn Las Vegas resort where leaders (over 600 reported attendees) from the print industry from across the world gathered for the great event.

“We are LIVE in Las Vegas for EFI Connect 2022!” EFI Executive Chairman and CEO Jeff Jacobson kicked off the week with his opening keynote. Special guest Marco Boer joined to talk about a ‘renaissance of new applications for industrial inkjet, giving a shout out to technology like EFI Cubik for flooring decoration and EFI Reggiani in apparel.

Jacobson’s keynote speech analyzed the printing industry even as he talked about EFI and its latest developments. He also discussed the recent sale of eProductivity Software along with the new CEO of eProductivity Software, Gabriel (Gaby) Matsliach.

IT Strategies Vice President Marco Boer and Jacobson discussed the present day challenges and opportunities facing the printing industry, including labour and supply shortages. Boer brought to the fore the impending threat of labour supply shortage in the near future. Boer suggested print service providers should see solution in automation.

The PSPs that survive and thrive will be the manufacturers that know how to optimize their operations with automation, he said.

Updates on EFI products and the company’s focus on packaging printing innovation were made at the event. “2022 is going to be an exciting year for EFI from a packaging perspective,” announced Ken Hanulec, VP of worldwide marketing, EFI, during a press conference at EFI Connect 2022. “We saw substantial growth in our packaging business last year,” Hanulec said, “and we’re forecasting to double that substantial growth this year.”

EFI conducted a live demonstration of the new EFI Fiery FS500 Pro DFE at EFI Connect 2022. The EFI Fiery FS500 Pro processes

30

January 2022

graphics-intensive jobs up to 50% faster than previous EFI Fiery DFEs. It provides an extensive collection of innovative new features that address top challenges print businesses face, such as shorter runs, faster turnaround times, increased security standards, the need to reduce costs etc.

The company debuted its Fiery Impress DFE, a scalable, flexible server, and colour management solution for inkjet label and packaging applications as well as for inline manufacturing lines that need variable print.

The Fiery Impress DFE can drive entry-level, mid-range, or high-volume inkjet equipment on a range of hardware platforms. The Fiery Command WorkStation is standard with the Fiery Impress DFE. Connect 2022’s educational offerings included a two-day, accelerated Expert/ Professional training for certification on Idealliance G7 print specifications.

Hall of Fame Pitcher and MLB All-Time Saves Leader Mariano Rivera was the star attraction at the EFI Connect 2022. The all time great baseball player is working to transform the lives of underserved minority youth with an occupational training program through the Mariano Rivera Foundation. During the keynote session, several of the foundation’s graduates joined on stage and virtually to

explain that the vocational training programs provided them with an occupation and a sense of purpose.

The foundation has also instituted vocational training program for the printing industry.

The foundation’s new graphic arts industrysponsored activities began in 2021 with a training program in Gainesville, Florida. The program will expand through a new Mariano Rivera Foundation center to be built in New Rochelle, New York. EFI was also an early collaborator with the foundation — helping the foundation understand the certifications crucial to the students’ future success in the printing industry, such as the Idealliance G7 certification.

At Connect 2022, several of the foundation graduates received their certifications online.

pressideas/ event review

Additionally, EFI used the inspirational session to compel several of its printing industry partners to support the foundation.

Connect 2022 is the place where EFI users and industry leaders come together to learn, network, and create revenue generating ideas that make image driven businesses more successful. This year’s conference gave keen insight on how to make businesses grow – with more educational courses, user community meetings, panel discussions, and networking events.

Event highlights include a full agenda of MIS/ERP and Web-to-Print lessons for all skill levels, product demonstrations, user breakout sessions, sponsor exhibitions, and numerous networking opportunities designed to solve process and technical challenges, cultivate and share revenue generating ideas, and foster long-lasting business relationships.

Classes were offered for a wide array of products, including EFI Monarch, Pace, PrintSmith and PrintSmith Vision, PrintStream, Radius, MarketDirect StoreFront, Online Print

Solutions, Auto-Count DMI, and PrintFlow, and for the markets we serve, including commercial print, corrugated packaging, sign and display graphics, industrial textile, wood decoration, and more.

Rivera brought history to life through print, talking through his T-shirt design that reflected his start in his beloved Panama, to Yankee Stadium, to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mariano Rivera Foundation

On the day two of EFI Connect 2022, eProductivity Software CEO Gaby Matsliach opened the first general session, speaking to the group’s next chapter as an independent, global software company that empowers businesses by designing and deploying market leading transformational technology.

In one of the most inspiring EFI Connect general sessions we’ve ever had, EFI CRO Frank Mallozzi was joined by Larry Weiss and Luis Villa from Atlantic, Tomorrow’s Office along with MLB Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera. Rivera received a standing ovation as he entered the stage at EFI Connect 2022 to speak about his incredible baseball career and impactful, passion-driven work as founder and president of the Mariano Rivera Foundation.

The group discussed the Mariano Rivera Foundation’s remarkable print technology vocational educational program, and Mariano shared his life story and the motivation behind his mission to give back and uplift underserved youth.

EFI welcomed four special guests to EFI Connect: Christian, Daniel, Arnez and Victor – students in the Mariano Rivera Foundation’s program in Florida. The young men were recognized during the keynote presentation with Mariano Rivera for their recent Fiery certification and inspiring personal achievements. The MRF provides transformational programs for underprivileged youth that empower the students for the future, including opportunities for vocational training in graphic arts and print applications.

EFI COO of Fiery Toby Weiss took the EFI Connect audience through some of the EFI Fiery innovation including improvements across colour and imaging, productivity, management and connection.

EFI CTO Doug Edwards and VP of worldwide marketing Ken Hanulec joined Jeff Jacobson on stage during EFI Connect 2022 to look ahead to key strategic initiatives in the year ahead.

Inkjet COO Scott Schinlever gave the EFI Connect audience an update on its extensive portfolio and new products on the horizon and also an insight into ‘what’s next for EFI Inkjet?’

CEO of eProductivity Software Gaby Matsliach shared a message from Bill Chisholm, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Symphony Technology Group (STG), praising the eProductivity Software team’s strength and commitment to customer relationships and the talent within the business, and outlines plans to build on its strength and relentlessly pursue growth through innovation.

“We always will talk about seeing around corner, anticipating where the puck is going versus where it is… I knew digital could be a really good play for UPS,” says digital innovator and UPS CMO Kevin Warren during a fireside chat with EFI CEO Jeff Jacobson at EFI Connect.

EFI CRO Frank Mallozzi turned the tables and asked some of the print industry’s top trade press and analysts about emerging growth opportunities in digital printing at the final EFI Connect 2022 general session.

January 2022

31

Students' Corner

Paper base tube packaging replacing plastic Development of Paper tube packages by using al Foil, Paper and Lamination.

Paper-based packaging is a versatile and cost-efficient method to transport, protect and preserve a wide array of items. It is engineered to be sturdy, yet lightweight, and is customizable to meet product- or customer-specific needs. Corrugated containerboard is used to ship and transport everything from electronics to fragile glassware to perishable goods for industrial and residential use; paperboard packages food, medicine and toiletries for handy storage and display; paper bags give customers a sustainable option to carry their purchases home; and paper shipping sacks are often used to package and ship bulk materials like cement, animal feed or flour.

Paper tube packaging is becoming popular globally. With the use of paper based tube packaging, we can reduce use of plastic from 30 to 50 percent in the application.

Paper tube packaging is safe and durable.

It provides a unique packaging alternative.

Paper tube packaging is lightweight that makes it easier to transport. They also provide good protection to the packaged product from damage and contamination. It is also eco-friendly and thus contributes to conserving the environment.

Applications of paper tube package include: fruit sauces, creams condiments, mayonnaise tube pack and cosmetic creams for example, sun screen, face creams, conditioners etc.

Aluminium foil is an important material in laminates and has wide application in food packaging. Its barrier function against the migration of moisture, oxygen and other gases, and volatile aroma, as well as against the impact of light is generally higher than any plastic laminate material. Therefore, aluminium foil is used in the laminates when insufficient barrier properties are the limiting factor for shelf-life stability of food. The barrier properties of aluminium-coated plastic laminates, which can offer an alternative to aluminium foil laminates, are somewhat less efficient. The use of aluminium foil in rigid, semi rigid, and flexible package for in-pack thermal processing allows the selection of package geometries that ensure rapid

32

January 2022

heating and minimum heat damage during processing. On the tightness of packages, the mechanical stability and quality of sealing is of particular importance. The chemical stability of aluminium foil in contact with food depends on the composition of the food items. With present toxicological knowledge, the use of aluminium as well as inner coating of the foil is considered to be safe in packaging material.

Paper tube packaging is being widely used in different industries like cosmetics, food products, etc. There are many advantages of paper tube packaging. One of the principal advantages is its recyclability and thus being environment friendly. The paper tube has today evolved to have enhanced environmental performance.

A newly updated version of paper-based tube-pouch is shaped like a tube, and is simple to squeeze like a pouch. The new paper tube is excellent for application in the food, toiletry, and pharmaceutical sectors.

For example, with the advantage of thinner film material, the conventional tube-pouch is more comfortable to squeeze and uses 30% less plastic than the type of laminated tube widely used for toothpaste. The new paper tube-pouch keeps the tube pouches’ functionality while demonstrating even better environmental performance by employing a paper-based material for the body, making a 50% reduction in plastic volume. Compared to the traditional type of laminated tube widely used for toothpaste, the tube-pouch uses thinner film material, making it easier

to squeeze. The new paper tube-pouch maintains the functionality of plastic tubepouches while demonstrating what is touted as better environmental performance by employing a paper-based material for the body, which reduces its plastic volume by half. Coupled with a redesign of the plastic parts of the head section, this enables plastic to be reduced by a total of 65%.

Although plastic has been replaced with paper, the tube-pouch maintains its shape even when the volume of content inside decreases. The application of paper for the outer layer means that design and selling promotion can fully utilize the benefits of the material’s feel and texture. It is making the paper tube ideal for effectively communicating more original and organic product thoughts to consumers.

The paper tube-pouch represents a new solution that can meet the needs of manufacturers, consumers, and society as a whole by reducing the impact on the environment, enhancing user-friendliness, and also offering new possibilities for design and the need for efficient circulation of resources by developing eco-friendly packaging and containers that sacrifice nothing in terms of functionality while making use of more sustainable materials, such as recycled and biomass plastics, mono materials, and paper. This making the body of the tube from paperboard reduces the use of plastic by 70% compared with a plastic tube. Tube and pouch package is

pressideas/ students’ corner

HP acquires Choose Packaging HP expands foothold in sustainable packaging. Choose Packaging is the inventor of the only commercially available zero-plastic paper bottle.

HP Inc. has acquired Choose Packaging, a packaging development company and inventor of the only commercially available zero-plastic paper bottle in the world.

a sustainable package – in form of a tube and pouch, offering an improved product to package ratio.

Paper based and plastic based tube and pouch package A new paper-based version of the existing tube-pouch is shaped like a tube and is easy to squeeze like a pouch. Tube and pouch package promises source reduced format for a wide range of ambient to hot filled products in food and non-food applications.

This improves the overall recyclability of our packaging.

Multi plastic film along with reducing the amount of plastic used for paper based tube or pouch.

Paper tube packaging is being widely used in different industries like cosmetics, food products, etc. L’Oréal launched first paperbased tube when its collaborative work with Albea made it possible. But the companies said it would not to be the last – more L’Oréal brand were in line to follow. The Anthelios moisturising sunscreen body lotion is eco-packed in 200ml paper-based tubes.

L’Oréal takes up the roll out of this product to the global markets. These paper-based tubes contain 45% less plastic. Made using bio-based and FSC-certified cardboard, the tubes reduced overall plastic content by 45%. Speaking in a video published on La Roche-Posay’s YouTube channel, the brand’s international marketing and innovation manager Othman Bennis said: “Today, acting for the environment has become absolutely crucial.”

Written by – Prajakta Nare (Student PVG COET) , under the guidance of Prof Swati V Nahar (Assistant Professor PVG COET)

Choose’s patented technology provides an alternative to plastic bottles and can hold a wide variety of liquid products. Its novel, paper-based bottles are made with naturally occurring and non-toxic materials and pave the way for a new standard for bottling solutions globally.

“This acquisition is a great example of how we continue to strengthen our capabilities in attractive verticals like sustainable packaging while also driving progress against HP’s broader sustainability goals,” said Savi Baveja, Chief Strategy & Incubation Officer, HP Inc. “Choose has built a truly differentiated technology and we are excited to welcome this talented team to the HP family.”

Targeting the $10 billion fiber-based sustainable packaging market, HP had earlier introduced the 3D printing-enabled Molded Fiber Tooling Solution designed to bring customizable, fiber-based products to market faster and more affordably.

With the integration of Choose into its Personalization & 3D Printing business, HP intends to scale its technology and customer footprint to expand the addressable market.

There are more than 150 million tons of single-use plastics produced each year and HP plans to tap this market with fiber-based, 100% plastic-free packaging.

“As a plastic-free packaging development company, we’ve successfully created technology that can provide a viable alternative to plastic bottles to help eliminate single-use PET packaging,” said James Longcroft, founder and managing director, Choose Packaging. “HP’s world-class capabilities and expertise can help scale our impact at a global level. We are thrilled to join the HP team and couldn’t have chosen a better match in terms of our shared goals for business, technology, sustainability, and a values-oriented culture.”

Choose works with many large global companies including Accolade Wines, one of the biggest wine companies in the world with over 50 brands including Hardys, Banrock Station, and Grant Burge available in more than 130 countries; Henkel, one of the world’s largest consumer and industrial goods companies; Malibu Rum, one of the strategic international brands in Pernod Ricard’s global portfolio; and many more.

“At Accolade Wines, we put innovation and sustainability at the heart of everything we do in our mission to be the world’s most innovative wine company. We are excited to see Choose join a recognized leader like HP who puts these topics at the top of its agenda. Consumers are demanding more sustainable alternatives and we look forward to continuing our work together to be the first wine company globally to deliver 100% biodegradable packaging across some of our leading brands including Banrock Station and Hardys,” said Sandy Mayo, Chief Marketing Officer, Accolade Wines.

“Henkel drives active progress towards a circular economy by creating smarter packaging for the benefit of people and the planet,” said Berthold Schreck, R&D Vice President Laundry Care, Henkel. “Choose and HP bring together a game-changing combination of packaging technologies and we are excited to collaborate to develop new sustainable packaging solutions and reduce plastics in our consumer goods products.”

January 2022

33

signage printing

Mimaki’s ‘Global Innovation Days’ - To unveil new printers and highlight pioneering technology behind customer success.

Global manufacturer of inkjet printers and cutting systems, Mimaki has announced that it will be hosting its second ‘Global Innovation Days’ virtual event on the 2-4 March 2022.

Bringing customers, partners, and industry peers together for yet another inspiring networking and educational experience, the second installment of Mimaki’s popular event will feature 3-days of webinars and interactive virtual sessions under the theme ‘Technology Innovations’. Mimaki Europe will hold exciting product launch followed by 3-days of expertled webinars, interactive sessions, and live demonstrations of Mimaki’s diverse product portfolio.

Setting the tone for this exciting, technologyfocused event, Mimaki will open the first day with the launch of brand new Mimaki products for the sign and graphics market.

These latest additions to Mimaki’s extensive portfolio have been developed to further enable Mimaki’s diverse and innovative customer base to run highly productive, competitive print businesses.

A series of expert-hosted webinars on the second day will provide fascinating insights into how Mimaki’s technology innovations for the sign and graphics, textile, industrial and 3D sectors are opening doors to new applications, production improvements, and business growth. The sessions include ‘Technology Innovations Supporting Sustainability’, which will cover the latest trends enabling environmentally conscious print service providers (PSPs) to improve the sustainability of their production methods and end products. ‘Technology Innovations Enabling Customisation’ will focus on the Mimaki solutions driving new applications and business opportunities in the industrial sector.

Other sessions will feature engaging guest speakers, including Mimaki customers and industry specialists, as well as interactive Q&As to provide attendees from all market sectors with a valuable and energising experience.

“We’re excited to, once again, host a virtual

34

January 2022

event that will bring the industry together to talk innovation,” says Danna Drion, General Manager Marketing EMEA, Mimaki. “Across the board, our customers have proved to be some of the most innovative companies, navigating their way through unprecedented challenges over the past couple of years and still maintaining their businesses or, in some cases, growing them. This is our chance to engage with these inspiring companies and share knowledge and insight that could help drive their business even further forward this year and beyond. This event will showcase the technology that has supported our customers’ continued innovation, as well as the new solutions that we are bringing to the market to enable future opportunities for success and growth.”

The third day will be broadcast live from Mimaki’s Experience Centre. Packed with detailed demonstrations of the latest Mimaki technology, this day is dedicated to providing a deep dive into the numerous production benefits and high-quality applications achievable with these solutions.

pressideas/ signage

Toppan increases stake in Max Speciality Films With the new development, the Indian BOPP film manufacturer becomes a consolidated subsidiary of Toppan. identifies priorities in the packaging business to be catering to sustainability-related demand, establishing networks facilitating local production for local consumption, and accelerating global expansion.

Toppan has increased its stake to acquire a majority shareholding in Max Speciality Films Limited (MSFL), Indian manufacturer of biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films. Headquartered in Punjab, MSFL has been an equity method associate of Toppan since 2017, when Toppan acquired a 49% stake. Effective, February 1, it has now become a consolidated subsidiary.

In addition to enabling Toppan to make a full-scale entry into the BOPP film business in India, the investment will support efforts to expand the company’s network for supplying mono-materials to diverse customers in global markets, contributing to the creation of a sustainable society.

With production bases in Japan, other parts of Asia, and North America, Toppan operates a wide-ranging packaging business centered on GL BARRIER (Toppan’s proprietary range of transparent barrier films), a transparent vapour-deposited barrier film that enjoys the leading share of its global market.

Toppan’s Medium Term Plan, announced in May last year, takes Digital & Sustainable Transformation as its key concept and

MSFL was founded in 1990 and has its headquarters and manufacturing base in Punjab, India. The company manufactures and sells BOPP films, predominantly for food packaging. Since making its initial investment in MSFL, Toppan has participated in the business as a minority shareholder.

Increasing its stake from 49% to 90% and bringing MSFL on board as a consolidated subsidiary will enable Toppan to strengthen its business in the growing Indian market for BOPP films, which are anticipated to see demand as a more readily recyclable mono-material for packaging. The addition of MSFL and its extensive knowledge of the Indian market to the Toppan Group facilitates an accurate understanding of the needs of a huge market of 1.3 billion people and secures a film development and manufacturing base in a location that will be key for enhancing the global supply network for mono-materials.

Synergies are expected to be produced by bringing together MSFL’s BOPP film manufacturing know-how and Toppan’s

forming technologies for barrier and other films to drive global expansion of the supply network for sustainable packaging. Adding MSFL to Toppan’s existing packaging business network, meanwhile, will enable a full-scale advance into the expanding Indian market and strengthen business in India as a destination for sustainable packaging developed by Toppan.

“Demand for sustainable packaging is growing every day, and development of packaging and materials that meet those needs has become essential,” said Masahiko Tatewaki, Managing Executive Officer of Toppan’s Global Packaging business. “Furthering our partnership with Max Speciality Films, its experienced team under CEO Manohar Kumar, and its unique BOPP film products and technologies will be a significant advantage as we expand our packaging business.”

Events Calendar SIGN & LED EXPO

mediaexpo 2022

Labelexpo India 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

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

Labelexpo Europe 2022

PAPEREX 2022

PAMEX 2022 - Postponed

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

Date: 10 MAY -22 to 13 MAY-22 Venue: India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, NCR Delhi

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

Screen Print India 2022

15th Printpack India

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

Date: 26 MAY -22 to 30 MAY - 22 Venue: India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, NCR Delhi

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

RNI:CHA/ENG/2001/3989