A record-breaking Labelexpo India 2018!

Labelexpo 2018 was 28 percent larger in size, with 250 exhibitors occupying a total floorspace of 7,073 sqm compared to 200 across 5,899 sqm in the 2016 edition. A total of 9,851 visitors from 55 countries visited over the four days of the show, which is 22.7 percent more than its last edition. This makes the 2018 edition the biggest Labelexpo show in the region to date.

Lisa Milburn, managing director for Labelexpo Global Series, said, “We are absolutely delighted with the overwhelming success of this year’s Labelexpo India. The fantastic visitor number surpassed all our expectations, and the sheer volume of sales achieved over the four days showed how valuable the show has been for generating new business. It is also resounding proof that the Indian label and package printing market is booming, with printer demand for new technology and innovation moving at an incredible rate.”

Machines sold at the show…

The show was a catalyst for machinery launches and numerous sales achieved by many of the 250 exhibitors on the show floor to Indian converters, including Indian company Monotech Systems, who launched and sold two Jetsci Colornovo UV inkjet presses, and made a further eight sales at the show; Multitec announced the sale of two 8-colour presses; HP Indigo, sold its 6900 press, and Vinsak sold two of their USAR slitter rewinders in addition to two

Synchroline presses on behalf of Italian manufacturer Lombardi on day one of the show. They also announced a further four orders placed at the show floor. Lombardi Synchroline-530 is an eight color Flexo Label with cross cut unit sold to Ahmedabad based Prakash Printers and Coaters Pvt. Ltd. While, Lombardi Synchroline-430 is an eight color Flexo Label printing press with a Toro unit for stamping, foiling and embossing sold to Delhi based Polylam Printers Pvt. Ltd.

Other machinery sales were achieved by Nilpeter, Omet, Xeikon, Rhyguan, Brotech, UV Graphic, SNM Enterprises, Hyden Packaging, Marks Print, amongst others.

New launches…

New launches at the show included IEEC’s Ozonash and Lab Corona Treater; and Alliance Printech’s Alliance A3 flexo press. Veepee Graphics, a pre-press trade house, launched a mobile application for its customers. Ludovico Frati, system engineering, BOBST, who were showcasing their M5 for the first time in India, said,“We at BOBST are pleased with the number and quality of visitors at Labelexpo India. It is a focused show that provides an excellent platform for strengthening customer relationships and gain new business. All days were busy and visitors found our products a very good fit for their requirements, especially as regards the advantages of high automation in the production of trending label specialties.”

FUJIFILM Sericol released Sericol JJ UV LED inks in India. The company has been testing the Sericol JJ ink with Illumina UV LED lamps and found exciting results. They have partnered with UV lamp manufacturer Illumina whose UV LED lamps can be retrofitted on an existing press and save 80 percent machine power consumption compared to conventional UV. Moreover, with this newly introduced Sericol JJ ink system, printers can now achieve speeds of 150-170m/min, much quicker set-up time, increased productivity and less wastage in the printing process.

Monotech Systems’ Colornovo full color UV inkjet label production press are equipped with Kyocera inkjet printhead and runs at the speeds of up to 70 m/min, churning in 600 x 600 dpi resolution, along with CMYK +W in various print width configurations. The press utilises a web control system from Grafisk Maskinfabrik, a Danish company known for precision equipments for labels, hot-foil, screen, digital print, laser dies and more. The company also displayed other products including Intaglios Gravure Cylinder Engraver, Flexo CtP Systems from its partners ThermoflexX and Kodak.

Partnerships announced…

Also reflecting the buoyant mood of the industry, several strategic partnerships were announced, including Domino and Multitec, who have entered into an agreement for producing a hybrid digital press; and Konica Minolta Business Solutions and China- based Brotech Graphics who are partnering to source accessories for the Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 190 label press in India.

Brand Innovation Day

Complementing the Expo, an extremely well attended Brand Innovation Day took place on day one of the show. Brand owners and designers from a wide range of sectors took part in an exclusive series of seminars and educational sessions aimed at equipping them with expert insight into making the most out of their brand, how they can overcome key challenges on the path to future growth, and stay ahead of the competition in a fast-paced industry. Speakers included the World Packaging Organisation, General Mills and Twinings, with attendees from companies including Reckitt Benckiser, Landor, Bosch and Adobe. In addition, Andy Thomas-Emans, strategic director for Labelexpo Global Series, moderated a lively panel discussion on product decoration, joined by representatives from SMI Coated Products, Esko, HP India and Avery Dennison.

Major displays…

H.B. Fuller India at Labelexpo India 2018 showcased its Lunamelt PS 4015 sealing adhesive, which is designed suitably to the Indian climate and conditions, delivering excellent adhesion to a wide range of substrates, including foamed polystyrene, aluminium, paper and rock wool. Developed for self-adhesive bonding of PE courier bags and for tape applications, this product is claimed to combine excellent tack and adhesion properties with high cohesion and high temperature resistance. Lunamelt PS 4015 is suitable for quick closing of courier bags, keeping them securely shut during transit, and also for any tape or label product that requires high tack and quick grab.

Kodak highlighted its Flexcel NX technology at the show, besides its workflow solutions.Hersh Lulla, manager – marketing, flexographic packaging division and print systems division, Eastman Kodak Company said, “Labelexpo platform is huge and labels is one segment which is growing year on year.” Kodak also demonstrated its Prinergy Workflow suite, especially the recently introduced Prinergy Cloud solution, which offers a host of new services such as decision analytics, ink and plate usage and dynamic print planning.

Arrow Digital highlighted a range of label printers and finishers which includes ever popular EFI H1625 LED printer, Anytron Any 002 laser printer and OKI Pro 9000 series printers, which provides a complete solution for label printing. Sam Patel, CEO, Arrow Digital, stated that ever since the early days of the company’s involvement in supplying label printing machines and equipments, they have been one-stop shop for high-end products. “Today, we are proud to be complete solution provider in the label and packaging market,” he adds. EFI H1625 LED is a hybrid mid-level production printer and Anytron Any 002 is roll-to-roll digital laser printer for small batch printing while OKI Pro 9000 series is A3 colour printer for white and clear spot. In addition, the showcase from Arrow Digital included Arrow Eco-300 roll-to-roll label cutter and Arrow DuoBlade F sheet cutter.

Kuldeep Malhotra, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, shared, “The Indian printing industry seems to be bullish as Indian GDP is growing. We are focusing on inkjet, especially IPD division. Our MGI roll-to-roll printing system and KM1 are major contributors to our growth.”

Konica Minolta also displayed AccurioLabel 190, which offer high image quality of 1200dpi, close to offset printing. It can handle media upto 250 GSM and can print on variety of media at a speed of 18.9 m/min. “The ROI Is fairly good and within 12-18 months, printer can achieve it. Besides, India being a multi-lingual country, it gives an option to personalise the labels easily,” concluded Kuldeep.

A Appadurai, Country Manager, HP Indigo and Inkjet presses, India and Sri Lanka, said, “Packaging is a shining star and is the fastest growing segment in the printing industry. Around 13 crore labels for Coca Cola India were printed on HP Indigo 20000 in 85 days, with 9200 unique artworks. We are catering to both big brands as well as smaller ones.” At Labelexpo, HP displayed a lot of applications in 60% of the booth space. Besides, five of their customers shared stories of their success and applications. The company also showcased HP Indigo 6900 digital press for the first time in India, which can print silver ink. “We also launched two security inks for brand protection,” he added.

Sajan Abraham, General Manager – South Asia-Novexx Solution, said that the market is growing at a rate of 20-25% and there is lot of automation happening and customers are looking for 100% accuracy. “India is a very big market and more than 70% is untapped. We are giving live demos of print & apply, bottle labels and carton packaging. We are also showcasing XLP 504 printer and a small segment of consumables as well,” he added.

Multigraph displayed MultiCut M5 diecutter and M3 splitter rewinder inspection system. Among the crowd-pullers at the expo was Standard Printers Providers which showcased its latest state- of-the-art Taiyo STF series flexo label press suitably designed for printing on a wide range of substrates. So far, the company has installed three Taiyo STF presses in India. The press handles a range of substrates from 20 microns to 350 gsm paperboard. The shaftless press with multiple servo motors has a short web path with movable cold-stamp unit and print cylinder with support ring.

Mehta Cad Cam Systems showcased its Gloria fiber laser metal cutting machine along with Eva and Erica laser engraving machines, which are suitable for the label industry. A unique product from Canon, LX-D5500 label printer for low volume job was an attraction at the show. The printer is a perfect system for full color on-demand printing of 200 mm per second. It can cater high-definition print in 1200 dpi with 400-600 mm label/tag output.

Dilli presented its NEO PICASSO, a high speed digital label printer than can run at 50 m/min in the resolution of 1200 dpi.

The press is designed for full colour process (CMYK) with optional white. Joong-Rae Cho, Deputy General Manager-Digital Press Team, Dilli, said they are quite happy to be LabelExpo India 2018 where trade visitors positively react to NEO PICASSO.

OneVision has recently released three new Automation Suits for different markets—Wide Format Automation Suite, Book Automation Suite, and Label Automation Suite. At Labelexpo India 2018, the company presented the Label Automation Suit, which is a 2-in-1 solution for label production as it combines production planning and print data optimisation. With the comprehensive Label Automation Suite, digital label printers can speed up their production by automating time-consuming manual tasks. “This suite simplifies complex incoming files to ensure an errorless and fast printing process. Throughput will be significantly increased by combining multi-customer orders in a single collect-run. The Label Automation Suite simplifies the label production of label converters. As a single unified system it manages complex PDF workflows and offers you maximal transparency and reliability in all production steps,” shared Nilay Patel, Director of Technology, OneVision Software (India) Pvt Ltd.

VINSAK also launched it’s new Table Top Re-winder machine, which is useful for verification of the quality, as well as for the correction of wound materials. VINSAK also showcased the new version of the Reel Lifters – VRL350/250 is equipped with safety locks on the rear wheels, which are to be used to hold the cart in place once in the desired position and as a safety feature to keep the cart from rolling while in the stationary position. Their other partners ABG International found a host of leads at the show for their Digicon range of Digital Converting equipment, Iwasaki International launched the IF330 Intermittent flexo press and an upgraded version of the TR2 press with additional features, Pantec AG offered it’s market leading ‘Rhino’ & ‘Swift’ solutions for Foiling and Embossing, and Schober technologies offering their range of rotary tooling as well as IML die cutting machines. Neeraj Sharma, Executive Director, VINSAK, said, “The main interest of participating in Label Expo India is to showcase the new technology and demonstrate the full functioning of machines. It re-iterates our commitment to the market to bring cutting edge technology solutions to our converting fraternity. Visitors were more focused this time, venue was better organised and there was good response from India as well as from overseas visitors.”

Sanjeev Popli of Popli Graphics shared that they have the best of the brands with them. “We offer a complete solution to our customers. We are launching analogue solvent free plates here. Besides, we are offering chemical-free plates from Dupont,” he added.

Knowell Corporation, which engages in import and export, conversion and distribution of a commendable range of industrial and automotive adhesive tapes, graphic films, security films, polycarbonate films and sheet, presented a complete combo of products. The company’s portfolio consists of POLITAPE, 3M, Nitto, Sabic, Yih Hwa, Teslin, Aero, Signcraft and others. Chintan Mehta of Knowell Corporation mentions that Labelexpo India is the right place to network with the right people.

LMAI Awards

The 2018 LMAI Awards, sponsored by Avery Dennison, also took place on the first evening of the show, which was extremely well-attended by exhibitors and association members at Labelexpo India 2018.

Rajesh Nema, honorary secretary, LMAI, said,”It was a great experience to attend Labelexpo India at Noida. Team Tarsus did a great job to gather so many exhibitors from around the world and showcase them to the Indian printing fraternity. LMAI is proud to be associated with Tarsus for organizing these shows.”

Next edition…

The next edition of Labelexpo India will take place from October 28-31, 2020, where a further show growth of 15 percent is anticipated as the show takes on additional space at India Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida.

Avery Dennison collaborates with Himalayan Drug Company

On the sidelines of the expo, Avery Dennison Corporation has announced its collaboration with herbal health and personal care company Himalayan Drug Company on a liner recycling programme to divert liner waste from the landfill towards recycled paper products. As a company strongly committed to sustainability, Himalayan Drug Company has been concerned with the accumulation of waste, in particular waste generated from the labels on their products, which provides critical information for regulatory, branding and customer requirements. Avery Dennison’s liner recycling programme, newly launched in India, provides the solution to support the company’s sustainability goals.

“The Himalaya Drug company is extremely proud to be associated with Avery Dennison for this path breaking initiative related to recycling of silicon coated release liner used in our pressure sensitive labels. This programme is indeed a positive step forward to empower Himalaya to achieve our environmental goals,” said Gagan Deep, Head of Packaging Development, Research and Development, The Himalaya Drug Company. Adithan AG, General Manager of Packaging Development, The Himalaya Drug Company mentioned that this is a proud moment for them being collaborated with Avery Dennison’s Liner Recycling program. Integrally, with Avery Dennison, the Himalayan Drug Co. has been successful in executing recycling of label release liner, making a significant transformation in the Pressure Sensitive Label ecosystem where the liner was either landfilled or incinerated till date.

“The enthusiastic support from Himalaya team motivated us to achieve success in this recycling program, said Parag Bagade, Head – Technical Marketing, Label and Graphic Materials, South Asia Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa, Avery Dennison, “I would like to express my gratitude towards Himalaya team, Mahajan Resources and the supportive management and colleagues at Avery Dennison for making this program a success.” Through this collaboration, Avery Dennison, Himalayan Drug Company will be able to divert over 140 tonnes of label release liner waste which would otherwise be discarded and disposed of in landfills or incinerators.