Labelexpo 2025. Evolution of digital labels and packaging equipment!

Labelexpo 2025. Evolution of digital labels and packaging equipment!

In the ever changing and evolving technological advancements in label printing and application processes, change remains constant, leaving very little space to remain complacent. One needs to remain abreast of evolution and stay updated and adopt new developments in whatever way possible. Staying stuck to technologies that are undergoing change, longer than necessary with chance of becoming obsolete,  may bring in a feeling of uncertainty and negativity. 

It does not mean one should immediately forget everything and start changing, but it would be worthwhile to stay abreast and consider accepting indulgence in evolution. In the early 1970s, the author was in process of setting up a factory in the suburbs of Delhi to increase the production of their popular fountain pen inks. Friends in those days cautioned that ball pens are a disruption coming in, however countering that, it was felt fountain pens are here to stay. But what happened is history now, fountain pens are just a show of affluence for some, ball pens rule in mass usage, the fountain pen ink business became negligent and miniscule. Printing technologies in India to produce self-adhesive labels or stickers also transformed from the earliest screen printing manually in sheet form to roll form by letter press, flexo to digital and hybrid. The industry is in that transitional mode of contemplating whether digital will takeover and disrupt. The general opinion in this phase is that both digital and analogue will co-exist as of now. Even digital printing technologies are evolving in multiple tangents. Labelexpo Europe 2025 at Barcelona is around the corner, and it will be good indicator of how the digital label printing and converting is evolving. The author interacted with leading digital label printing equipment providers to understand their presentations at this important show.

At the very outset it is important to understand that while the narrow web label printing has evolved to wider width, it has in its advancement entered the flexible packaging and carton converting arena as well. In the foray into futuristic converting, the digital finishing, embellishment and converting are also undergoing the digital path to evolution. Label printers while considering investments, are not anymore investing into digital presses, limiting themselves to only manufacturing labels, but also considering increasing their capabilities to produce shrink sleeves, pouches, diverse forms of flexible packaging and folding cartons.

HP Indigo: My recent article on Trigon digital Mumbai is an ode to this expanded product range on digital printing and converting. HP Indigo has supported such endeavors and are exhibiting at Barcelona. HP Indigo offers full digital print solutions that enable converters to allocate the right job to the right press. They will showcase the HP Indigo V12 which runs at speeds up to 120 meters per minute and offers full digital print solutions that enable converters to allocate the right job to the right press. Proven to achieve breakthrough milestones in high-volume output, including record-setting runs.

HP Indigo 6K+ that combines a new integrated SmartControlSystem, alongside AI-powered PrintOS tools for greater accuracy, reliability and real-time insights. HP PrintOS, AI-powered solutions and automation software tools to streamline production, boost creativity and accelerate growth. HP PrintOS and HP Nio, users can control workflows form order to shipping, turn data into insight and enhance performance across every operator.

Domino will be at booth 3E91 displaying their latest digital label printing solutions. Ajay Raorane Vice president Domino Printech India LLP says,” With the rise of e-commerce and the government’s push to support startups, we expect Increased demand for quick, high-quality label printing. While India still has a large installed base of conventional printing, the percentage growth of digital appears higher due to a smaller installed base. We feel the trend will grow as more installations happen.” Ajay further expressed that with digital also expanding into flexible packaging, it is a very exciting time for the entire packaging industry. He firmly believes that this is a time of transformation. 

They will exhibit; The Domino N730i, a high-performance 1200 DPI press using their own Brother Bitstar printhead, capable of printing at speeds up to 90 meters per minute. The Domino N610i, monochrome printers, the Domino K600i and the Domino K300, which can print at impressive speeds of up to 150 and 250 meters per minute, respectively. According to Ajay, Digital printing has come a long way. What started as a solution for short runs is now being used for medium and even long runs, where the added value of digital, like variable data printing and image-level personalization, brings real benefits to brand owners.  The presses are getting faster, more reliable, and offer greater profitability for converters. Digital printing can also support sustainability goals by reducing waste, lowering excess inventory, and minimizing obsolescence due to regulatory or consumer changes. This is a time of transformation.

Xeikon will be present in Hall 3 at Labelexpo displaying their Xeikon Titon TX500 20” wide dry toner press, Xeikon PX3300 HD 1200dpi UV Inkjet press, Xeikon LX3000 330mm wide dry toner press. It is a similar range that they displayed at the last Drupa. Vikram Saxena Sales General manager at Xeikon says, “In my opinion buyers for high end digital printing solutions are less, as compared to Europe or North America. Most Indian Label convertors seek low or mid budget digital printing solutions. Lower running cost plays important role for Indian buyers instead of top quality or sustainable solutions.” He further stated that the Indian label printing market will grow by 13.29% CAGR upto 2030 according to Mordor intelligence report and will reach  $4.59 billion by 2030. He stressed the need for awareness regarding sustainability; Indian Label convertors often ignore this point.

Durst Group exhibiting at Labelexpo Europe 2025 Booth E79, Hall 3 showcasing its next-generation digital printing platforms, including both hybrid systems and roll-to-roll configurations. As per the Labelexpo Europe 2025 website, Durst is keeping the details of its new press G3 launch under wraps until the show, describing it as a ‘compact, scalable’ 8-color LED-UV press. Hybrid presses can make use of an almost unlimited combination of digital and conventional print, decoration, and converting units. An example at the Durst stand will be the 9-color 420mm-wide Durst KJET, incorporating the company’s LED-UV inkjet print engine, four flexo units, two multi-purpose lamination units, turn-bar and semi-rotary die-cut.

Durst Indian agent Venkatesh Selvaraj mentions, “The technologies being unveiled are both new and forward-looking, developed to meet the future demands of label converters and the full details will be revealed exclusively at Labelexpo.”

Guangzhou PULISI Technology Co., LTD will be exhibiting at Labelexpo Europe Stand 5D81 displaying Two variants of UV Inkjet Digital Press; 1. Hybrid Digital with Flexo to optimise both Technologies in one press and printers can use this combination for value-addition production of Self-Adhesive Labels, Shrink Sleeve, IML and boards. 2. A standalone UV inkjet press designed for the digital segment, utilizing inkjet technology with a resolution of up to 1200 dpi with addition of Online Digital Embellishment possibility, enables users to address various market needs in label production and flexible packaging.

Amit Sheth Director at Pulisi says, “Digital printing in true sense has so far not fully evolved as an acceptable technology for both short and medium to long run jobs. Digital is growing but considering its pros and cons, one must learn and then decide as in reality it is not just that at touch of a button you print what you need. There is a lot more to consider.

Monotech Systems Ltd. will be exhibiting at Booth E50 in Hall 5. Showcasing running live, their advanced Track and trace solution – Tracesci® Loop a compact tabletop system for variable data printing, code connected packaging, brand protection and consumer engagement. In addition, they will display high-quality printed application samples from their digital inkjet label press JETSCI® KolorSmart+ and the dSpark digital embellishing and finishing system.

T P Jain Managing Director Monotech says, “Digital label printing in India is witnessing steady and accelerated growth with increasing demand for shorter runs, personalization, faster turnaround times, and high-quality output driving adoption across multiple industries. While conventional printing will continue to dominate in terms of overall volume, digital will outpace conventional in percentage growth. Digital label printing is no longer just about speed and quality it’s evolving into a platform for intelligence, security, and brand engagement.”

Arrow Digital will be exhibiting at stand 4A10. Showcasing Arrowjet water-based digital pigment ink label printer with in-line primer coater. It is a futuristic sustainable solution which printers are looking for. This press available in 330mm and 700mm can print at a speed up to 150 meters per minute.

While digital is now growing and if we talk of percentage of growth, it looks robust because at the smaller base number of about 70 to 80 presses from established brands a 15% growth rate translates into just 10 to 12 presses in a year. However, it is interesting to note that in a large customer base, not just the bare population of the country but the printing companies that are operational in the packaging space, digital once the adoption starts will grow fast.

Already the widths have grown wider, and the speeds have gone up to 120 meters per minute. The economies of scale may eventually trigger the downward trend in cost of consumables. The preference of going beyond the CMYK regime using Extended Color Gamut (ECG) printing to  reproduce a greater percentage of Pantone spot colors, increases possibilities of catering to a wider range of package printing needs. While it is a fact the digital is just a fraction of the conventional or analogue printing but now that digital is finding acceptance, it will remain an industry to watch.

Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Ltd. New Delhi

Trigon Digipack; trailblazers in digital, growing in fast forward mode.

Trigon Digipack; trailblazers in digital, growing in fast forward mode.

In December 2018, I wrote a story on Anil Namugade and his company Trigon Digipack https://harveersahni.blogspot.com/search?q=trigon+Digital. As circumstances evolved, from becoming employee to enterpreneur in 2007, Anil initiated his maiden startup Trigon in 2008, as a proofing and mockups service provider. Commitment and hard work led him to success, and in 2015 he bought his first HP Indigo label press and in the three years thereon he was already recognized as a trailblazer in digital label and packaging. Unstoppable thereafter, he kept leading Trigon to more success with 3 wide web and one narrow web HP Indigo.

The Pandemic had put on hold many businesses but for Trigon it amounted to keep providing service to their customers. During the pandemic in 2020 they decided to install a wider 760mm HP Indigo 25K first in Asia to get into short runs of flexible packaging and laminates which was already being done on their smaller width 330mm HP Indigo 6900. They saw a huge opportunity in short and medium quantity runs for startups and there were few suppliers focused on catering to that demand in a proper way. Anil saw that it was time to expand to cater to this opportunity. That is why they took a bold step to acquire the first HP Indigo 25K in India together with total inhouse finishing and converting equipment for lamination, production of pouches and shrink sleeves, in fact the complete set up to provide labels and flexible packaging.

Customer growth and retention is the way of life at Trigon as they are a one stop solution provider. By catering to more than 400 startups, SMEs and their existing FMCGs brand owner customers, Trigon has registered unprecedented growth in digital printing and converting. With the startups community growing so fast, Anil experienced business growth, so decided to expand yet again. In 2024 they moved to a new additional 50000 square feet facility in Vasai near Mumbai  and invested in another digital press installed at new factory, an HP Indigo 200K to increase capacity in flexible laminates. The converting capability was also enhanced by installing a 3D flat bottom pouching machine to cater to a premium market segment and be the only company to offer such pouches with digital printing. At the new facility, they also installed a whole line of equipment to produce rigid boxes and canisters, to cater to the demand of their existing customers. All this was done to become a ONE STOP packaging solution provider and be at the buyer’s doorstep when a solution is needed.

Anil says, “we always research the needs of customers in various segments and share knowledge, such that their confidence in our capabilities grows continuously and they believe in our vision of offering the best futuristic technology, remaining ahead of competition.” Trigon has attained the position as a market leader in digitally printed and converted packaging. Their customers are convinced of them providing packaging that will enhance their brand visibility and demand. Trigon is experiencing a rise in domestic demand but enquiries from international customers are adding exports to their focus.

Anil does not subscribe to the thought process of the label and package converting fraternity that digital is only for short runs, so how can one grow with startups? He explains that most startups initiate their work with multiple SKUs and once they order for example, 500 for each variant, it becomes a substantial order to start with. When there is an order to produce 5 or 6 variants, for them it is just one single job. They do not have to make any cylinders or plates or job changes on the go. Digital technology has a huge advantage with possibility to print on demand. For example, a dry fruit company cannot operate with only one product but maintaining an overly large and varied inventory can be inefficient. In addition to selling on an e-commerce platform, timing is a crucial factor for achieving success. Trigon has understood that the name of the game is quick production, good quality and on time delivery. For catering to such needs of their customer base we have invested to setup the whole manufacturing ecosystem in our factories.

Responding to question on how they reach out to new customers or vice versa, Anil expressed that despite them having a technically strong client servicing team, it is mostly word of mouth publicity. They give respect and importance to all customers irrespective of their size. Reference from existing satisfied customers has built up credibility and brand equity which has provided inertia for their growth. Trigon’s team is very active on social media and digital marketing, which generates substantial enquiries.

The general perception in label and flexible packaging industry is that digital is expensive and this fact is a big deterrent which does not justify the huge investment. “It is a misconception that digital is expensive, mentions Anil.” He further adds, “If a customer has 10 designs for making 2000 pieces each. How can you justify and cost of plates, cylinder, set up time, press time in changeovers and the time in producing 10 different sets of small quantities? In digital as I mentioned earlier it is just one online job of 20,000 pieces, which justifies the cost eliminating the plate and cylinder cost plus the time which is very important”. Moreover, at Trigon they just do not only print a design that a customer brings in, but they also study their job its marketability and add their own expertise in colour management and embellishing capabilities to enhance the packaging for the customer. Since prepress is the heart and soul of any print, they have invested in high-end sophisticated equipment to ensure excellence.

Trigon operates out of a total shopfloor area close to 100,000 square feet in both units at Goregaon and Vasai, put together with 150 workforce, four digital presses one 330 mm wide while the rest are 760 mm wide running at speeds of 30 to 35 meters per minute. Post press is the backbone of any digital printing business and for that reason they have invested in a wide array of digital finishing, embellishing and converting machines which also justify their need for a large shop floor. Anil says if not really the largest, then at least they are definitely amongst the top five companies worldwide in terms of the number of clicks made on their HP Indigo presses. Whether they will diversify to other printing technologies? Anil says that they have grown in digital and there is so much more happening, so there is not much need to change courses as yet, but then one never  knows, They are driven by customer demand, and what course is to be traversed hereon is difficult to mention at this stage. One cannot really comment on the efficacy, advantage or disadvantage of various technologies without really indulging. All processes have their plus and cons. Trigon is driven by their acquired customer profile which is limited to small, medium and customized runs  and are comfortably growing in what is suiting them best.

Talking of growth of digital printing and web converting, Anil feels that with a total of less than 10 machine of wide web digital printing now in India, the potential is huge. In his estimate this segment is registering a CAGR of 15-20%. There seems to be no reason for volumes to slow down as the country moves ahead. A young population’s demand for new products is providing the emergence of new brands offering frequent changes to attract the new generation, providing reason for digital printing and converting to make it convenient to respond to such changes. Regarding comparison of converting costs, there is no way that in volume converting digital will match the cost in volume converting as compared flexo or roto gravure. Marginal reduction of prices of consumables in digital may happen as volumes and competition escalate. As for different digital technologies, most have fairly decent quality and reasonable speed but for consistently producing high quality at good speed, Digital is the preferred technology for Trigon at the moment.

They already export 15-20% of their production but now with expanded infrastructure, they plan to enhance exports yet remaining focused to Indian demand without any compromise. India is one of the fastest growing economies and it is the market that has shown immense resilience. Trigon’s investment in the first HP presses 18k, 25k and 200K were all the first ones in India. They have been trendsetters becoming trailblazers. and have taken risks in investing which with hard work are paying off well. Presently operating at 80% capacity, it may as well be time for expansion yet again. Anil Namugade sums it up,  “Partnership with brands  and their needs make us to grow every time a requirement emanates; it is an opportunity for us, and we respond with full fervor.”

Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Ltd. New Delhi July 2025

LABELS FRATERNITY LAUDS LMAI’S PANEL DISCUSSION

LABELS FRATERNITY LAUDS LMAI’S PANEL DISCUSSION

LMAI, the labels Manufacturers association of India organised a panel discussion titled, “Label buyers’ challenges with quality, Sustainability & Innovation” on the 2nd of May 2025 Hotel Radisson Blu, New Delhi. The event was attended by a “house full” of leading label printers and suppliers as sponsors. The distinguished panel consisted of leading brands Nestle, Diageo, Reckitt Benckiser, Amway, Dabur and Sun Pharma. The panel moderated by the author Harveer Sahni, Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited and member of Board of Director LMAI. The panel on stage consisted of Arijit Mondal(Nestle), Sanjay Ghoshal( Diageo), Naveen Stuart (Reckitt Benckiser), Swati Gupta(Amway), Sidharth Sharma(Dabur) and Mohit Mittal (Sun Pharma). The delivery of responses by panelists to questions by the moderator, left the audience spellbound. Ruma Ghatak head Packaging at Nestle was a special invitee. The program was initiated by the hard-working LMAI secretary Jaideep Singh who had made untiring efforts to organize this amazing event, this was followed by the welcome speech by the LMAI President Rajesh Chadha. 

Pradeep Saroha director label expo updated the audience on the next edition of Labelexpo Europe in Barcelona Spain. Jaideep Singh shared a presentation of the upcoming LMAI biennial conference at Udaipur from 3-6 July 2025. Organising committee member Sandhya Shetty conducted the agenda efficiently. Dinesh Mahajan Vice President LMAI gave the vote of thanks. This was followed by an interactive question and answer session.

The congregation was highly appreciative of the knowledge delivering panel discussions and their responses to LMAI team and the moderator are as follows. The responses are reproduced here unedited and as received.

Mrs. Kusum Dunglay Director Redunn Labels Gurgaon: A truly impressive and well-executed event. Congratulations to LMAI and the brand owners for putting together such a memorable event.

Manish Hansoti, Founder and Managing Director S.Kumar Group Ahmedabad: Thank you for putting together such an incredible event. Your careful attention to details, from the label printer’s perspectives created an atmosphere that perfectly matched with unanswered questions from label printers to Brand owners. I especially appreciate how you handle without any boring topics. The event’s success is a testament to your planning abilities and dedication. I am truly grateful for all your hard work in making this event so special.

Anuj Bhargava, Founder Kumar Labels NOIDA: Well organised event by LMAI. Intriguing questions by Label Pitamah Harveer Ji. Brand owners shared valuable insights. Always good to connect with fellow industry colleagues. Many thanks to LMAI for organising this cosy event.

Rakesh Mahajan, Director Prakash Labels Noida: It is refreshing to see buyers and sellers coming together to address common challenges. This exchange can drive innovation and growth in the label printing sector.

Yoshita Goel from Any Graphics Noida: The LMAI panel discussion held on 2nd May 2025 was a remarkable success and quite knowledgeable. The interactive session among the panelists was intellectual and brainstorming towards the printing and packaging industry.

Yogesh Agarwal Print Pack New Delhi: The event was very well-organized, and the panel discussion was insightful and engaging. Sincere thanks to Harveer Sahni Ji for moderating and conducting such a meaningful and well-curated session.

K M Manoj Director Avery Dennison: It was great to see some of the prominent packaging professionals share their views about pressure sensitive labels. The conversations  around emerging regulations, how labels can be more sustainable and actions to tackle the common challenges were insightful.

Ranesh Bajaj Managing Director Vinsak: Well organised and very informative panel discussion. It was great to hear brand owners sharing details which are critical to the growth of label convertors as they align their future plans.

Bhaumik Mehta Director Flueron Inks: It was a pleasure for us to have sponsored this event for our friends and colleagues in the label industry. The panelist, the moderator and the audience were all in sync on the topic of discussion. It was insightful to see how the brands perceive procurement, supply chain partners and their own responsibility towards sustainable solutions. What struck out was the Q and A which the panelists took their time and put the answers in perspective on the business.

Innovation and Sustainability not just in products and services but in growth and prosperity is as much essential for all partners involved and this to me was a fantastic outlook. Cheers to LMAI for hosting this and giving us an opportunity to be a part of this amazing initiative for the industry.

Inderjit Singh Toyo Inks: We are thrilled to have attended the panel discussion on Label buyers’ challenges with focus on quality, sustainability and innovation organized by LMAI (Label Manufacturers Association of India). The discussions reinforced the importance of collaborative efforts to drive sustainability, ensuring regulatory alignment while adopting innovative and sustainable approaches.

The event was an incredible experience, filled with inspiring discussions and I had the pleasure of meeting and connecting with some amazing brand owners and partners. Looking forward to applying these new learnings and continuing the conversations to fulfill the brand owner’s requirements.

Gautam Kothari Managing Director Worldpack: LMAI Event Sheds Light on Label Buyers’ Pressing Challenges. The LMAI event held last evening proved to be a timely and insightful gathering for stakeholders across the label manufacturing ecosystem. With a sharp focus on the challenges faced by label buyers, the panel brought together key voices from FMCG, pharma, and logistics sectors who shared first-hand accounts of the evolving demands and operational bottlenecks in label procurement and usage. Overall, the LMAI event succeeded in bringing buyer concerns to the forefront, sparking necessary dialogue around innovation, transparency, and strategic partnerships in the label industry.

Ashwani Kumar RSM Kurz: The recent LMAI event fostered a productive dialogue between brand owners and industry leaders regarding key challenges and potential solutions in the label manufacturing sector. Discussions highlighted the detrimental impact of price pressures and reverse auction practices on innovation, alongside the complexities of liner recycling. Brand owners underscored their requirements for superior quality, competitive pricing, and dependable partnerships, with Swati emphasizing the role of partners in brand protection. Mr. Naveen (Reckitt) articulated that effective anti-counterfeiting necessitates products being both easily recognizable and difficult to replicate. The increasing significance of track and trace technologies for ensuring product authenticity and enhancing supply chain transparency, as demonstrated by Dabur’s application, was also a key takeaway.

Pradeep Saroha Director Labelexpo India: “The LMAI’s ‘Amazing Brand Owner Evening’ was a resounding success! The interactive event brought together numerous brand owners and printers to discuss innovation and sustainability. It was a fantastic platform for networking and exploring new ideas.”

The panelists also commented.

Arijit Mondal Global Packaging Development Lead Nestle: Thank you Harveer ji and panelists for super engaging discussion. It has been a super enriching experience to meet all of u in person and our super capable label fraternity. I am looking forward to another time together in the near future too.

Swati Gupta Senior Manager Open Innovation and Packaging Development Amway: Thank you, Harveer ji and all fellow panelists. Great perspectives and learning!

Sidharth Shankar Sharma DGM-Purchase Dabur: Thanks Everyone for being such a wonderful fellow panelist. Special thanks to Harveer ji for bringing us to such a platform.

Sanjay Ghoshal Head of Packaging Diageo: Thank you very much Harveer ji and the LMAI. It is my honour and privilege to be part of such an elite panel and such an august audience. It is truly a great platform for the exchange of thoughts and wisdom between the demand and Supply side of label/labelling industry.

Naveen Stuart Cluster Packaging manager – Health – SoA Reckitt Benckiser: Thankyou sir and everyone at LMAI. It was a perfectly organised event and an excellent platform to share views.

Mohit Mittal Senior Manager Packaging Development Sun Pharma: The LMAI panel discussion event was a well-organized and insightful event, bringing together key industry stakeholders, innovative technologies, and valuable networking opportunities. The sessions were informative and addressed current challenges and future trends in the label manufacturing sector. Looking forward to more such impactful gatherings in the future.

Jaideep Singh Director Zodiac Reprographics Hyderabad: Thank you each one of you to add immense value to the panel discussion event with your insights on the perspective of labels in each of your industries .We  as label printers feel reassured labels will play an important part of your brand perception and create an impact  and value perception which is important to grow your industry through the value our labels will be able to provide.

Deepanshu Goel, Founder & Managing Director Creative Graphics Noida: This was an ensemble of renowned packaging development specialists. Great learning!

Amol Naval, National Manager, Maxcess India: We had a wonderful experience at the LMAI event. It was both interactive and informative for all attendees, offering a valuable platform for close engagement and networking with existing and potential customers. Thanks to the LMAI team for organizing such an insightful gathering that brought together end users, label manufacturers, and solution providers under one roof.

Raman Anandchahl Neovation Graphics Private Limited Gurgaon: It was a pleasure to attend such a well-conducted event. The entire session was highly informative, especially for someone like me who is always eager to learn. This event was also particularly special for me, as my elder daughter, Nitya Anandchahl, who joined our business just last month, was introduced to the industry for the first time here. She interacted with the panelists and many other industry stalwarts throughout the day. I was truly happy to see how warmly everyone welcomed her and wished her success in the future. Seeing the next generation step in with such enthusiasm makes me feel assured that the future of our beautiful label industry is in safe hands.

 More Images from the event:

Faridabad, a hub for label presses part-1-The Printers House!

Faridabad, a hub for label presses part-1-The Printers House!

The last Labelexpo India 2022 was witness to an interesting evolution in the display of high-end label printing presses. For the first time since the inception of this show, the European and American presses running live were missing.

However, the flexo presses displayed at this all-important label exhibition were made in India. This was an indicator towards the Indian press manufacturers to have come of age. These Indian manufacturers are now, not only announcing sales in India but also succeeding in the global label arena. An interesting part of this evolution is that most of the successful brands of flexo presses that have been developed come from Faridabad, the neighboring industrial suburb of New Delhi. Faridabad is a part of NCR Delhi and a major industrial hub of the state of Haryana. It is famous for henna production from the agricultural sector, while tractors, motorcycles, switch gears, refrigerators, shoes, tyres and garments constitute its primary industrial products. There is reason why most of the leading brands of Indian made flexo presses are from this city. These presses include Multitec, Webtech, NBG, Label Flex and many other smaller ones. Even UV Graphic technologies now headquartered in NOIDA, started their manufacturing in partnership with Faridabad based Multitec. 

The credit of printing equipment manufacturing industry flourishing and growing in this city goes to the establishment and transformation of a company founded by Kishan Das Kohli, a man who fought for the independence of India prior to its partitioning.

The Printers House now renamed as TPH Orient group was founded by Kohli in 1946 as an agency house bringing global printing technology to India. He was responsible for installations, commissioning, providing technical expertise and operators for the imported equipment. For the pioneering work he did for the printing industry in India, he received numerous awards that included the Kohinoor Ratna award. An enterprising businessman, he started manufacturing printing presses in India in the mid-1960s initiating his maiden startup manufacturing unit in Faridabad to build letterpress and offset printing presses there. Around this manufacturing unit, an ecosystem of mechanical engineering professionals and engineering companies was built and went on growing. Many companies now making flexo presses or any other type of presses in Faridabad first started out as their vendors. Making any type of press requires components such as frames, cylinders, etc.

The Printers House helped create the infrastructure and this supply chain in Faridabad, which is what makes it ideal for printing press manufacturing hub. Later another company Sud and Warren led by Baldev Sud, Arora and Ahuja  also commenced manufacturing  slitting machines and later web-based computer stationery. The company did not grow as envisaged and some of their ex-employees are now narrow web label press manufacturers

I, the author, having had two factories in Faridabad since the 1960s, producing stationery and silicone release papers under the brand Weldon, had  heard a lot about The Printers House and the kind of work they had done. Weldon’s vendors in earlier days used to print their packaging on the old traditional treadle presses and when the Mercedes automatic presses from TPH were launched, it was a game changing moment. The author reminisces an evening during a party in connection with Printpack India in 1991, he was introduced a tall smart man who was surrounded by print industry stalwarts of that time. He was  Manmohan Kohli, heading The Printers House (TPH) and was the son of the founder K D Kohli. Manmohan was an alumnus of ETH Switzerland, a university of science and technology from where he passed out as gold medalist engineer.

He pioneered the evolution of printing technology in India. Under his leadership TPH became a name to be reckoned with globally, having installations in over 60 countries. Manmohan Kohli, a legend in Indian printing equipment industry,  passed away in June 2022 at the age of 83 years passing the reigns of the company to his only young son Rishab Kohli who now aged 28 years heads TPH as Managing Director.

The first few years of Rishab’s schooling were at New Delhi based Sanskriti School and thereafter he was sent to Gordonstoun school in Scotland. Finishing school in Scotland, he joined Georgetown university in Washington DC where he studied economics and had the opportunity to go through numerous internships in Washington DC including prominent lobbyist firms and international organisations. Completing his education at university, he initiated his career in the United States in finance/investment banking in the US where he worked between the US and Europe extensively. Thereafter he returned to India and in 2020 he took over the reigns of The Printers House now renamed The TPH Orient group, as CEO. Backed by his experience and pedigree in business he envisioned to create a group of companies in India that would cater to the printing , packaging, and other industries.

On assuming the leadership in TPH, Rishab worked with numerous partners across the globe to acquire technology and bring it to India. He saw the label segment growing rapidly and felt there is high reliance on imports on capital equipment in this segment. On his indulgence, TPH  launched their flexo and inkjet label press, extending their application to packaging as well. Given the infrastructure available at TPH, Rishab has decided to produce equipment with economy of scale to make it cost effective and such that customers feel secure with their investment and service. He felt the technical expertise to produce flexo and digital label presses of global standards was still needing upgradation, so he or his team travelled to acquire appropriate technologies.

Rishab mentions that development of the first fully digital ink delivery system made by them in India that successfully printed a full color label at high speeds is huge achievement for TPH. Being the first of its kind developed in India, it will remain as one of the most memorable moments. With the ability to print at 1200 DPI with in-house dynamic RIP (RIP stands for Raster Imaging Processor software), it is a prime competitor to the established leaders in the field of digital label printing. He gives credit for support, guidance and help to the late Ramani Vishwanathan who was a pioneer in digital printing in India. He helped Rishab create this technology. Justifying his move into Digital label printing equipment he states that Inkjet is crucial for label printing due to several macroeconomic factors and market forces. With the rise in short run jobs and customization in packaging, a roll fed digital press is crucial to meet the needs of end clients. Additionally, with the speeds of inkjet presses increasing and head technology advancing at the pace that it is, the mid to long runs may also be catered to by inkjet.

As regards the flexo press developed by them, he asserts, “It is the fastest Indian made machine of its kind at this moment. Additionally, we offer sleeve technology and narrow web along with wider width options.”

The TPH Orient group is now a diversified group of companies and a market leader in printing machinery, packaging machinery , printing consumables , engineering services for defence, aerospace, and solar. They have 800 employees spread over a 20-acre campus and 6 factories in Faridabad working in numerous segments. They also now manufacture inkjet presses, flexo presses, folder gluers, web offset presses, printing chemicals etc. They have one of the largest CNC machine shops in north India and perhaps largest in Faridabad. According to Rishab, TPH Orient group is the largest Indian exporter of printing machines with exports to 60 countries. They have service engineers and offices in 12 locations in India and presence worldwide. They are considering extending manufacturing operations in foreign locations.

Talking of challenging times in his short career, Rishab says, “Covid was a tough period, but we got through it, taking every day at a time. But a lot was learnt, and we came out of it stronger.” In his journey so far, a key member of TPH board of directors, Naveen Chahal, has been a mentor to him. Being an extremely experienced person, his guidance has helped the turnover grow to over 15 times the figure when Rishab took over. In printing and packaging Rishab acknowledges the guidance of Christoph Mueller, director Koenig and Bauer, for his guidance in quality enhancement of their products.

Rishab Kohli sums up his vision for the future as, “The key for Orient in the printing and packaging industry is to provide a holistic solution to the printing and packaging community worldwide. We have a simple goal which is to be the largest equipment supplier in our field coming out of India and ideally Asia in this segment. With our infrastructure , scale, and history this is a realistic and an important 5-year goal.”

 Written by Harveer Sahni, Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited New Delhi August 2024

Driving profitability in labels!

Driving profitability in labels!

 Driving profitability in labels, with embellishments, digital printing & hybrid printing

Self-adhesive or pressure sensitive labels industry in India has grown steadily right from the time of its initial entry into India to be indigenously produced in the mid-1960s when a screen printer manually created the first label. Thereafter, label manufacturing has evolved and completely transformed  technically over the years. Initially, small and slow very narrow web letter presses, 4 or 5inch wide, from the eastern part of the world were used to print with blocks and die-cut labels with flatbed dies in roll form. These presses eventually started going wider in printing width with growth in demand. The need for increased production in 1980s brought in the adoption of rotary flexographic printing presses. However, since the flexo plate technology was just evolving, usage of letterpress block printing was still growing. It was in the new millennium that developments brought in prepress and plate making technologies, made it possible for printers to decrease their dependence on letterpress printing technology and invest in flexo presses that eventually became modular and print widths going wider with increased speeds.

Toward the middle of the first decade of the new millennium, the pop and Mom retail stores, known as Kirana stores catering to consumers, started being replaced by the entry of organized retail outlets and with it, came the increase in demand for labels and packaging. When it was realized the customer’s point of purchase decision to lift the product off the shelf is the driver for sales, brands felt the imperative need for attractive labels and packaging. Different print technologies started being employed and presses with advanced capabilities started being developed and offered. While all this transformation was happening, the label industry in India was all along registering a robust double-digit growth. It was largely accepted fact that even though labels are a very small part of the large packaging industry, it was more profitable. Due to this, the number of label printers kept growing, investments also came in from established offset printing companies. With cheaper label presses coming from China and availability of good affordable machines in India, the label printing capacities have grown exponentially. This increase in capacities, the pandemic, the strikes in Finnish paper mills, the Ukraine war, the re-emergence of Covid in China,  etc. brought the margins in the labels industry under intense  pressure. Raw material prices have since escalated, freight rates, salaries and overheads have increase while competition does not leave room for increase in selling prices. In such a difficult scenario, label converters are looking at options to drive in profitability.

Opinion and comments of label printers across India was sought on how to drive-in better margins in the label production in the given circumstances. Three questions were posed to all, their response is somewhat similar, yet some do have apprehensions about the steps that are suggested whether they will actually drive in margins? However still, a direction on the way forward appears to be an imperative. The  printers in the diverse geographical zones who contributed their views are as follows;

North:

Anuj Bhargava, Kumar Labels NOIDA hereinafter referred to as (AB)

Rajeev Chhatwal, Kwality Offset New Delhi (RC)

West:

Mahendra Shah, Renault Paper, Palghar (MS)

Himanshu Kapur, J K Fine Prints Mumbai (HK)

Priyank Vasa, Unick fix-a-form, Ahmedabad (PV)

East:

Manoj Kochhar, Holoflex Kolkata (MK)

South:Raveendran Selvarajan, Seljegat Sivakasi (RS)

Lakshminarayanan Parthasarthy, Signode India Ltd. (Wintek) Bangalore (LP)

Question: Do you agree that Embellishments, Digital printing & Hybrid printing or converting are important steps to get better prices for labels?

AB: Yes, value added labels do add to margins. However still, the main buyers are few. Startups or premium products cannot add volumes where multiple players offer value additions. 

RC: Embellishments certainly will get you a better price if you have a technical edge over your competition. Just a  different printing process does not get you more price from customers. One needs to decide which process to use to get better return based on machine capabilities .

Hybrid is still not suited for the Indian Market. However good converting and finishing is important for short runs on digital to reduce wastage.

MS: Yes, I agree. With increase of just-in-time orders, shorter runs and demand for innovations,  it is economical and faster to produce with Digital printing. Embellishments complemented with other capabilities, aid improvement in value addition.

HK: More technical the labels are, better is the margin. Unfortunately, large companies expect more for less. The basics of costing has been lost by most label converters. Embellishments also add to costs, but to recover those costs is difficult.

PV: We aim for the best process fit for a job, be it digital, flexo, hybrid or offset. That is the only way to master production cost. Digital embellishment always gives an edge and keeps business secure but does not always guarantee increased profitability, it comes with its own limitations. 

MK: I agree that Embellishments, Digital printing & Hybrid printing or converting are important steps to get better prices for labels. Value addition invariably leads to a better realization. Brand protection elements such as hologram, security inks, security designing also add value.

RS: Not only embellishments, but also innovations along with having capabilities for attending to needs of customers are important. If food and pharma customer needs labels with water-based inks, we need to have those capabilities. If they need booklet labels it becomes an imperative to be able to create them. Every printing process has its own specialty so when you are able to create labels with Hybrid and digital technologies, then of course selling prices are better.

LP: QR codes and AR (Augmented Reality) in labels, connecting consumer to the brand – is what we see as way forward for profitability . Embellishment leads to aesthetics, shelf appeal, increased sale and brand value for better profits to the buyers and converters.

Question: Have you taken any steps in this direction to increase your capabilities?

AB: We are always focused to value added labels. We have capabilities do embellishments like 3-D effects, embossing, textured foiling, screen printing and many other such processes that enhance the aesthetics of product.

RC: We have already invested in converting equipment with finishing and embellishing capabilities like foiling, Screen printing, Lamination etc. Our range of labels includes- Foil stamped/embossed labels, labels with tactile effects, Laminated, 3-D embossed, Variable data and Holographic labels etc.

MS: Since long, our customer profile is such that embellishments and employment of multiple print technologies is an imperative, for this reason we invested in hybrid presses many years back. Currently to achieve just in time capabilities we are investing in digital printing which will also give us additional production time on our main printing presses.

HK: We have always invested to be a capable company, right from inception so have the capacity to do all types of embellishments.

PV: Yes, we have added digital capabilities. Having multiple printing technologies at our disposal, enables us to pick and choose processes that are best suited for a particular job depending on the complexity of decoration required. 

MK: We are constantly trying to scale up our capabilities of adding diverse authentication features and other embellishments such as foiling, registered hologram stamping, variable data printing and finding new materials that are unique.

RS: At Seljegat we always endeavour to stay invested and capable with the latest developments. We have already installed machines with multiple capabilities, and we prefer all inline. We can do embellishments, special varnishes, multilayer labels, digital for variable or personalized labels, embossing, etc. We are always ready to cater to the changing needs of customers, nowadays pharma and food companies are demanding labels to be done with water-based inks or low migration inks, we have immediately empowered ourself suitably to serve them. In today’s time if we cannot deliver that extra, then we get lost in the crowd of intense competition.

LP: We are already having all capabilities and exploring AR in labels as next step towards Brand connect and Brand promotion. 

Question: What in your opinion are factors that can drive in better margins? Please mention steps at given prices of inputs.

AB: Label companies should invest in making labelstocks for captive use, negotiate hard while buying machines and for buying raw materials.

RC: As competition gets aggressive, systems need to be designed to reduce wastages, increase productivity and buy raw material at competitive prices. Making our internal systems strong is the only way out to drive-in better margins.

MS: We started the process of optimizing production costs, long time back. We collected data of all ongoing jobs for past 3 years and calibrated all processes as per the following;

a) We dwell on actual time needed for the job and check if the processes are complying with targeted numbers.

b) If not complying what’s the core reason and if for some reasons not meeting norms,  can solutions be found?

c) Evaluating, if no solution is possible, is the job generating profit for the company? 

d) If not , either get the price increase or discard such jobs to save time for more sustainable jobs.

HK: Rather than controlling the input prices on which we have no control, we should focus on getting better prices from clients. We need to factor-in the basics like label waste that is completely non-recyclable and cannot be salvaged. Label machines are capital intensive we must add the impact of cost of investment in the total price of end product.

PV: To improve profitability;

Freight cost management is an imperative, it can save lot of money.

Process improvements and wastage control is necessary. One should start with small steps like exact web sizes, proper sheet layout, special sizes for volume jobs, ink management and keeping a track of low moving stocks.

Refrain from unhealthy competition.

Learn from your mistakes as a team. Take all complaints seriously. Try implementing simple solutions. 

Update monthly  performance chart of individual operators,  give them incentives for faster turnaround and increased capacity utilization. Take corrective steps to reduce downtime due breakdowns. 

·      MK: Key to improve margins is to provide customised solutions by understanding what the customer needs. We try to incorporate various levels of authentication, embellishments and decoration to tailor solutions that best meet their needs. If a customer cannot afford to pay for the hologram, we focus on enhancing the printed authentication features keeping costs under control, and yet get a price that enhances our profitability while the customer appreciates the value we deliver.

RS:  For driving in better margins, the instant reaction is to buy cheaper but if we have to think of steps at given raw material prices then one has to research internally and implement changes. As a first step we have opted for equipment and steps for faster changeover time between jobs to increase productivity. We have invested in a system for make ready to be completed before one job ends. The changeover time for us has reduced from one and half hour to just thirty minutes. For job set up we were using fresh labelstock but now we use rejected, old and leftover unusable stocks. Next, we are now switching over to LED UV as its operational and lamp replacement cost is lower. New equipment has been ordered and will be installed soon. We plan to install an automatic butt slicer for non-stop production. Reducing wastages is also on our radar and we constantly work on it.

LP: The following steps are necessary to drive in profits;

Watertight operations, control on wastages and minimising set-up waste.

Reducing overhead costs, improving efficiency and OEE (Overall equipment effectiveness).

Propose embellishments to customer making the label more premium to claim better realisation.

Summation:

Price increase is an ongoing process, the impact of inflation is felt every year along with that of other unavoidable circumstances. So, manufacturers need to gradually increase selling prices to maintain a healthy bottom line. Unfortunately, that is an ideal scenario but in actual the selling prices are driven by market dynamics and competition. In the present situation, for the label industry, it is time to look internally and evaluate. Based on the views of the printing fraternity it is largely agreed that embellishments, security features and innovative concepts on labels that enhance the shelf appeal and lead to better sales volumes for brands, can help get better prices. The simpler the label is, more is the competition. As indigenously produced label presses have come within the reach of middle level printers, the competition in that segment has become intense. Moreover, with organized retail and ecommerce becoming the predominant selling systems, need for more decorative labels, IT enabled labels and personalized variably printed labels  with security features has escalated.

Not long-ago setup of label jobs took an hour or more with 2 or 3 persons on each press and at least 100 meters of material being used before final saleable production commenced. With increased automation, advanced automatic registration controls, higher speeds, etc. now a single operator can setup a job in just a few meters in about 15-30 minutes, with increased productivity, less wastages and quick changeovers between jobs by keeping the next jobs ready. Using exact size materials and not generating offcuts is also a necessity. These are changes that add to margins and reduced operational expenses.

Food and pharma safety and health concerns are matters of importance for discerning customers, this, along with statutory rules for toxic or unsafe materials used in converting labels, are to be avoided. There is an increased demand for non-migration and water-based inks because UV inks are considered somewhat hazardous for direct food contact and skin contact applications. Printers need to have such capabilities to supply as demanded by print buyers. Most companies feel that to reduce costs there is need for internal production systems and the workflow to be strengthened or monitored continuously to reduce downtimes at each stage, opt for more automation to reduce manpower and use energy efficient machines, equipment or systems.

Finally, time has come when EPR (Extended producer responsibility) compliance has become mandatory. Sustainability and circular economy are becoming a social responsibility for earth to be a safer planet. Large FMCG companies and brands have already started opting for or expressing preference to buy from certified green companies. It will not be out of place that producing in compliance, may as well add to cost but it may also qualify for better pricing for this good social cause.

Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman, Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi February 2023

Mumbai to Toronto, successful in digital labels.

Mumbai to Toronto, successful in digital labels.

Born to Malayali parents in the south Indian state of Kerala, Hari Nair CEO of Digital Labels in Toronto  does not sound like a Malayali, on the contrary he sounds like a typical Mumbaikar (Local longtime residents of Mumbai). The Malayali people are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast.

They are predominantly native speakers of the Malayalam language. They constitute the majority of the population of Kerala. It is pertinent to mention here that Hari is proud of his Indian heritage and firmly believes in the oneness of being an Indian rather than be recognized as a part of separate religious or caste-based segment of the society. Long years ago, Hari’s parents had moved residence to Mumbai, where he grew up. They lived in Santa Cruz, close to airport. He did his schooling from Kalina Education Society and  college in Parle college. He followed this with Masters in Organic Chemistry from Bombay University. Finally, he completed his MMS (Master of Management Studies) from Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. Post education in 1989 he along with a few others were hired by Suresh Gupta former Chairman Huhtamaki-PPL, which at that time was Paper Products Limited (PPL) promoted by the late Sardari Lal Talwar and his family. Paper Products Limited or PPL was later acquired by multinational Huhtamaki. Sardari Lal Talwar’s son in law, Suresh Gupta had joined PPL when it was facing tough times. Suresh Gupta fondly called SG, was in the process of transforming the company from purely owner driven to  professionally managed one. An elaborate program of in-house training was put in place. The program was designed by SG and his colleagues to suit their specific needs, may they be technology, sales, customer or people handling. They were transforming the company to project their acumen in offering the latest in packaging. So, he hired these youngsters and trained them. He would not let them to take it easy. They were initially trained in flexible packaging, learning every part of the process including slitting. Hari mentions, “SG had long term vision.” He achieved success by implementing his ideas. These new incumbents included 6 or 7 persons to be groomed as his core management team. Hari Nair was one of them and who considers Suresh as his mentor and remains in awe of his capabilities to transform a company that was just Rupees 35 Crores when Hari joined and under SG’s leadership PPL had crossed Rupees 2300 Crores when SG retired.

Hari started his career at Thane (Mumbai) plant of PPL in flexible packaging division. When SG introduced Shrink Sleeves 1993-94, Hari was sent to Fuji seal Japan for training him and taking other persons from the company along with him, for training. In 1997 he was moved as General Manager to Hyderabad plant of PPL. Hari came to Canada in 2001 from his last posting in India at PPL Hyderabad. When asked why he moved to Canada, he is not sure, but then says, ”I always thought it will be good for his daughter plus I was fascinated by the west.” Each time he visited these countries on his business trips, he was in awe of the infrastructure, the roads and facilities.

Comparatively, he felt India was always “work in progress” and in his lifetime, it will never be like this in India. He yearned to live in these countries and drive on these roads, though today he says, these were stupid reasons. He feels as one matures and looks back; the realization comes that they were not the right reasons however his vison for his daughter Mythili getting better education has worked well. Since so many children are coming to Canada to study, she would also have had to do that but now that she is here, it is working out for her, she is a doctor and moving on well with her life. When they shifted to Canada his family had no clue what they were going to be up against, on arriving in Toronto they were all holed up in one room of a town house in which four families were living, sharing kitchen. It was an extremely challenging situation from the life they had been leading back in India.

On landing in Toronto, he tried looking for jobs in the field that he was experienced in and approached companies in similar fields. Sandeep Lal the then owner of Metro Labels called him for an interview and in response felt Hari was overqualified and he did not have a position for him at that time. For a full year thereafter, Hari did not get a break and he was so distressed that he even sent a message to his mentor SG that he might want to come back to PPL. The experienced mentor and a professional management leader that he was, SG advised him that while he was welcome to return, yet he did not want Hari to regret later and feel he did not try hard enough. SG asked him to wait for some more time and try some more, things will work out. That was the motivation coming from a mentor that made him hang on, it was the encouragement that changed his mind. A year later while he was contemplating moving out of the packaging industry, he saw many youngsters joining banks as the jobs were there on offer. On a suggestion from a friend, he did a course in financial securities hoping to get a bank job. He was then living at Kingston Ontario and met almost all the bank manager there, looking for a job.

While he was searching for a job in banks, Hari stayed connected and following up with Sandeep Lal at Metro Labels. A year had elapsed and one fine day he got two calls, one from a bank offering him a teller’s job for 10 dollars an hour and that too for just 10 hours each week which was not enough to feed a family, and the second job offer came from Sandeep Lal which Hari accepted and joined Metro Labels as an estimator. The job was entirely different from what it was in  India, the workload was heavy. One of the first lessons he learnt was that in India if you are dealing with large customers the price for a particular customer remains same for all quantities of same label but in Canada, each job is estimated and quoted separately. In 6 to 8 months, he became the plant manager for Metro Labels. A year down the line he felt the discomfort as the environment was a lot different from the time, he worked in Paper Products in Mumbai. After having spent over two years  there he quit Metro Labels and joined another label company Labelad. He joined as a supervisor and gradually moved up and stayed there for the next 7 years. While in PPL he had worked a General Manager and had handled from production to selling more like as an entrepreneur but in Canada the work system was entirely different and here Hari worked completely in production.

During his tenure at Labelad, while he was attending a Fasson seminar, the speaker mentioned that there were two big opportunities in North America and those were flexible packaging and digital printing. Sitting at a round table along with his colleague Chris Henderson from sales in Labelad, referring to digital printing, Hari said to Chris, “this is the future.” They parted on that note and forgot about the incident. Six months later Chris was at Hari’s office asking him if he remembered his comments on digital and whether he wished to start something. With an affirmative reply, both indulged, and Digital labels was born. Chris had spent 14 years in Labelad and it was an ideal combination with Hari as the production person and Chris as the Sales expert. From experience Hari felt that the HP Indigo 4000 series could not sustain a business expense but when the 6000 series came it became a different story and once it was two years of launch of that model, they felt comfortable to buy the press. Within six months they came in contact with Charlie Maclean President from ASL Printfx and decided to get into an association with ASL investing in Digital Labels, taking a small part of the ownership. Since they also had interest in digital. It was a win-win situation as ASL could use the digital capabilities of Digital Labels who could in turn have access to ASL’s sales network. ASL has grown and is very focused in high-end jobs like wine and spirits and for short runs and personalized variable print jobs, Digital Label’s capabilities are an important resource.

Digital labels are into manufacturing of all segments of labels, shrink labels and decals, but mostly concentrating on short and specialized runs. To start they had huge challenges as both partners were into service before and had no business background, so banks were reluctant to fund them. Working capital dried up soon. Once they got over the initial hiccups and proved their capabilities it became smooth sailing. The first 6 months were tough as buyers did not trust them since they were new in labels business but then a Godsent opportunity came to them when a scented candle manufacturer who was having trouble with current vendors of labels, approached them. That business came to them as a big saviour. Once orders from that customer came in, they were operating better and later when ASL came into the picture, things changed for good.

Chris and Hari have worked tirelessly, and their efforts have been fruitful as Digital Labels has been growing in the last few years at around 25% each year. Their business is now around 7 million Dollars, and they plan and make efforts to reach 10 million in the next 3-4 years  from organic growth alone. They presently operate from a premises admeasuring 8000 square feet and the space it is fully utilized. Due to shortages faced following the pandemic, they had to increase their inventory. They rented a lot of space around their present premises so that they could maintain enough stocks to service their customers well. They operate with 25 employees, presently working 8-10 hours basis. They are a slim trim enterprise who are very careful with expenses and very focused to grow their business. Commercial real estate in Toronto is expensive so they feel that for any expansion that becomes imperative, they will try to rework their present setup and increase the working shift for the time being.

His wife Surekha with whom Hari got married in 1994, is from Goa. She is a social worker by training and now since 2007, she is working for the social services division of the city of Toronto. Their daughter Mythili was born in 1995. Hari remains connected with all his friends in India. But has no business with India. He still remains in awe of Suresh Gupta whom he looks at as a mentor and feels he has yet to meet anyone as smart, knowledgeable and professional as him.

Nostalgically and pensive in thoughts he says, “Whatever I learnt in my journey in profession so far, it has been from him”!

Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi December 2022

“From Cartons and Commercial Printing to 100% Labels!”

“From Cartons and Commercial Printing to 100% Labels!”

Narinder Chhatwal hailed from a family of traders in Lyallpur, a city which is now in Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947. Lyallpur was named after the founder of the city the then Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, Sir James Lyall, for his role in establishing the canal colonisation project. In 1977 the Government of Pakistan changed the name of the city from Lyallpur to Faisalabad (‘City of Faisal’) in honour of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, who made several financial contributions to Pakistan. Faisalabad is the third-most-populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and Lahore, respectively. It was in the turbulent times of 1947 during the division of India into India and Pakistan, that the Chhatwals migrated to New Delhi. After completing his schooling, Narinder Chhatwal took up a job in the iconic Kwality Restaurant in coveted location, New Delhi’s Connaught Place, a venture set up in 1940 by P L Lamba and his brother-in-law I K Ghei who grew it as a multilocation restaurant chain. Narinder worked there until 1961. There was a strong urge to have his own business, so he set up a unit to produce ice cream cups but as situation warranted then, he left this venture and rejoined Kwality Restaurant yet again in 1964. Despite the stable job, the entrepreneur in him was restless and the urge to set up his own production unit re-surfaced and he finally quit the job permanently to start a printing unit nostalgically named Kwality Carton Manufacturing Company, in a single room rented at Kirti Nagar, New Delhi in 1966-67 using the manually fed treadle letterpress printing machine. He manufactured Ice cream cups, lids, cartons for Ice cream bricks and in fact a host of printed packaging items. In 1971 he could get an allotment for an industrial plot from government at Naraina Industrial Area and he moved the unit to this location where from, they operate to this date.

 
A little over a year after moving into their Naraina factory they bought their first offset printing press, a 712 single colour Dominant, a year later they bought another similar press and followed it up with a 714 Dominant. Falling short of space, the adjoining building was available, so they bought it as they were growing. In 1982-83, expanding further they acquired a two colour Planeta. Once into offset printing, Kwality was in expansion mode, they were adding equipment every alternate year. At this time, they renamed the company as Kwality Offset Printers. In 1986 Narinder Chhatwal’s son Rajeev an 18-year-old had joined business. Rajeev did his initial Schooling at Springdales School Delhi followed with graduation from Delhi University. The post partition Punjabi families who left all that they had, back in what had become Pakistan were hard working and were quick to start from scratch to regain their stature by sheer hard work. The second generation were all following their father’s footsteps and would be helping their parents in the work, spending time after school or college on the shopfloors of their startup units. For them, the shop floors became the training ground, and they learnt the nuances of business hands on. Rajeev was no different, with a  father like Narinder mentoring him and passing on the experience to his son who was a quick learner, he settled down in the business quickly. He however did go for a short training program at Heidelberg Germany. With his joining in, the business accelerated and soon the space in their Naraina factory was again falling short. In 1988, they bought out yet another next-door unit to make room for more production space so now the factory is operating from three adjacent plots. The same year they bought their first four colour offset press a secondhand Roland. Expansion became a routine process. They believed and were convinced that as far as possible it is better to operate from a unified single location in one city. This way the management which was Narinder Chhatwal, and his son Rajeev Chhatwal were not split and would remain a support to each other.

 

 

Until 1995 Kwality offset was producing Cartons, some commercial printed items and wet glue labels. In 1995-96 they decided to become a hundred percent label manufacturing unit which was only wet glue labels. The story of their entry into wet glue labels is interesting. In the early 1990s when the number of breweries started to grow and bottling speeds were on the rise. To label bottles at 250 bottles per minute, the labels needed to be perfectly die punched and stacked to run on highspeed lines. The normal flatbed dies would not work well. Kwality, because of their experience in ice cream cups and lids production were well versed in ram die punching and their workers were well trained in the process. Their manufactured labels ran extremely well on the high-speed labelling machines at breweries and distilleries and soon the word spread of their capabilities. This helped them get the orders from many other breweries and liquor producing companies. It was just a matter of time that they became the largest suppliers of wet glue labels in north India, though they were supplying pan national. It is interesting to note that normally people print and then get into label finishing equipment, here because of their knowledge of finishing the ice cream cup lids by hydraulic ram punching got them into high end big volume label printing. Their first customer for beer labelling was a government owned Haryana breweries at Sonepat making a popular brand of beer those days “Rosy Pelican.” Their success in making the perfectly die-punched wet glue labels also got them their first break in corporate world with orders from the multinational brand owner Nestle.

 

 

It was in the year 2000 when self-adhesive labels were gaining in popularity, the Chhatwals invested in a Mark Andy 2200  narrow web label press and in the following year, they also increased their investment in sheetfed offset by installing a six colour Heidelberg press. In 2002 they installed another sheetfed offset a five colour Roland with UV and online coater. Hereon, expansion became an ongoing process, they added three Mark Andy presses, a Gallus and a Xeikon in 2018 to make their entry into digitally printed labels with an ABG Digicon series 3 finishing and embellishing machine, which also has hot foil stamping , embossing and screen-printing capabilities. These investments enabled them to add multiple security features on labels. Increasing their footprint in flexo they also set up inhouse platemaking with Kodak Flexcel. Rajeev’s father Narinder Chhatwal passed away in 2008 until when, he was still attending business, though the reins had been passed on to his son Rajeev.

 

 

Rajeev’s other siblings include a younger brother who is into real estate and a sister who is a homemaker. His wife Shalini is also a home maker. His son Krish completed his business management from Sydney and joined business at Kwality offset four years ago. Two of those initial years were passed in facing the pandemic and last year in 2021 he got married. Krish’s wife Sanya, an expert in baking, after completing a course from APCA Malaysia, is running her own business, a bakery named Delhi’ce in Gurgaon making specialty cakes. Rajeev’s daughter recently completed her study in architecture and is now pursuing her career as an architect.

 

 

Having put in place a full-fledged team to manage all production, Rajeev, and son Krish personally look after sales and marketing. While Krish looks after all new customers, Rajeev manages and caters to, and successfully retains all old customers. The present spread of business is with three flexo presses, one digital label press Xeikon, Abg digicon, one Roland and one Heidelberg sheet offset press in a shopfloor admeasuring approximately 60,000 square feet. Total workforce is 130 persons all in one location at Naraina Industrial Area New Delhi. With no more space left for expansion at present location, they have bought a 2200 square yard plot at Manesar south of New Delhi for another factory to fuel their further expansion. When asked about future plans, Rajeev expresses that they are not really concerned about just volumes, they are more oriented to implement better and innovative technology and be profitable to grow the bottom line instead of focusing on bigger turnovers. Kwality has been growing at about 10 percent per annum and they are committed to maintain the growth rate. Conscious about the environment they have tied up with approved and certified waste management agencies as also cooperating with Avery Dennison on their waste management endeavours. They even try and source most of their paper materials from FSC certified vendors. Despite the aftereffects of pandemic, the father-son team are committed and firm to keep the expansion and investment in new technologies an ongoing process. Their resolve years ago to give-up cartons and other commercial printing to stay with 100% manufacturing of labels is unique in today’s situation. These days offset printers do integrate forward to produce labels and vice-versa label printers, in an effort to grow turnovers, expand into print packaging. They wish to remain specialty label printers, investing into innovation.

 

Written by Harveer Sahni, Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited New Delhi March 2022

PS: Printing Magazine may publish this article giving credit to author Harveer Sahni and Blog https://harveersahni.blogspot.com  

Successful LMAI digital print technologies event in south India

Successful LMAI digital print technologies event in south India

The narrow web label industry is a smaller segment of the larger diverse printing and packaging industry. It remains in focus for being the face of all products and an imperative identity providing part of any package. It is estimated by many that the Printing industry in India is growing at over 12% per annum. Some segments get slower and there are others like packaging are growing at a faster pace of 17% to compensate the shortfall by registering better growth. The label industry has been growing in a very wide band between 10 and 25%, the growth has always been in double digits. While Offset is the largest segment of the printing technologies employed yet the past 2-3 decades have seen growth in adoption of other printing processes like flexography, Roto

In recent times the convenience of “just in time computer to print capabilities” has resulted in adoption of digital printing by many printers such that the segment is registering robust growth of 30%. The narrow web label industry that is largely employing flexographic printing has been conservative and hesitant in adopting digital printing for labels because of higher investment in capital equipment, expensive inks and costly printheads needing replacements resulting in costlier labels in comparison to those produced on their existing equipment. The return on investment appeared to be unattractive. It was just a matter of time that the growth of digital printing of labels in India would start to attract investment. Finat, the European label Association with global membership had reported a couple of years ago that European investments in digital presses for labels in a year had exceeded that in flexo presses. We now see an evident interest and indulgence in this digital label printing technology by Indian printers as well.

Recognising the need for knowledge and understanding  digital printing technologies since label printing and converting is in an evolutionary phase of adopting digital printing, while still growing with analogue, LMAI-The Label Manufacturers Association of India organized a program titled “DIGITAL PRINTING IN LABELS – THE WAY FORWARD” for the benefit of its members only. The program took place at ITC Welcome Hotel, Chennai on the 20th of December 2019. Unlike the other printing processes digital printing has largely four different tangents; Dry toner printing, Liquid toner printing, UV Inkjet printing and water-based Inkjet printing. To deliver the knowledge, leading companies came forward to sponsor the event as also to make very interesting presentations. The following speakers from their respective sponsoring companies made presentations;
 
  • Dry Toner Digital: Xeikon. Presenter; Vikram Saxena, Sales General Manager Xeikon India (Part of Flint Group)
  •   Liquid Toner Digital: HP. Presenter; Ashok Pahwa, Sales Manager-Indigo & Inkjet Solutions (HP India Sales Pvt Ltd).
  •   UV Inkjet Digital: Domino. Presenter- Ajay RaoRane, Asst. Vice President-Digital Printing Solutions. at Domino Printech India LLP
  •   Water Based Digital: Astronova Inc. Presenter-Goutham Reddy, Regional Sales Manager
  • Non-speaking support Sponsors: Avery Dennison and Durst Phototechnik AG
After welcoming more than eighty delegates present and after felicitating the sponsors, LMAI Secretary Rajesh Nema handed over the moderation to Harveer Sahni member LMAI Board of Directors.
 

Sahni updated the audience on the journey traversed by the label printing industry in India. Starting from the first self-adhesive label made by screen printing process in 1965, he covered many landmarks in the evolution that included the first flat-bed very narrow web Japanese label presses to produce labels in roll form in 1972, rotary label converting in 1982, flexographic label printing in 1993, adoption and development of UV flexo from 1997 onwards, setting up of LMAI in 2002 and the first installation of digital label presses toward end of the decade of 2000.

All the speakers gave important insights in the technologies offered by them and emphasized the need and importance of short runs, personalization and variable data on labels and for that how Digital Printing capabilities are fast becoming a necessity.

Goutham Reddy from Astronova explained the cost effectiveness of water-based process and also dwelled on their offering equipment to print on finished packages, 

Ajay Rao Rane of Domino highlighted the strength of UV inkjet and achieving a higher colour gamut besides printing opaque UV white that is needed for transparent films, 

Ashok Pahwa demonstrated the success they achieved in personalization of leading brand of beverages giving another dimension to retail marketing of fast moving consumer products and finally 

Vikram Saxena of Xeikon informed that digital printing was picking up pace with over 32 high-end installations reported in India. He further informed the benefits of dry toner digital printing technology and that it did not require any precoated media.

It was encouraging to note that despite the event being organized in South India many printers travelled from all over India to attend and to learn the nuance of this emerging technology. Some of the printers seen at the event included Gee Kay-Bangalore, Seljeget-Sivakasi, Fairfix-Tirupur, ITC-Chennai, Manipal Technologies-Chennai, Prakash Labels-Noida, Kwality Offset-New Delhi, Pragati Graphics-Indore, Speclabel-Kolkata, Total Print-Mumbai and Zodiac Graphics-Hyderabad.

LMAI founder members Raveendran of Seljegat, Sandeep Zaveri of Total Print, LMAI founder promoter Amit Sheth and Board member Ajay Mehta of SMI were present at this important industry event.

An interactive question answer session was followed by a vote of thanks by Rajeev Chhatwal Vice President of LMAI. The evening ended with networking cocktails and dinner.

Indian Label Industry: LMAI Conference 2019, KOCHI, Kerala

Indian Label Industry: LMAI Conference 2019, KOCHI, Kerala

Grand Hyatt Kochi
India’s label association LMAI’s 5th biennial conference is planned to be the biggest and most successful event of Indian label industry. The event is scheduled to be held at recently opened property, HOTEL GRAND HYATT, KOCHI, BOLGATTI from 25th – 28th July, 2019. Perched on 26 acres of plush green land on the serene Bolgatty Island, Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty is a waterfront urban resort overlooking the backwaters of Vembanad Lake.


Grand Hyatt Waterfront




Leading label printing companies and suppliers will meet to discuss, evaluate opportunities, learn and strike business partnerships that shape the future of their businesses in relaxing ambience and surroundings. LMAI conference has been growing in strength and numbers over the years.







2017 LMAI Conference at Agra





The last conference was held at Agra with 550 delegates. The LMAI leadership is expecting the attendance to jump up to 600 delegates. An elaborate knowledge sharing, entertainment and technical program is being put in place to deliver value to the LMAI members coming from all over India.






About the city Kochi: Kochi (formerly known as Cochin) is a city in southwest India's coastal Kerala state, fondly referred to as “God’s own country”. It has been a port since 1341, when a flood carved out its harbour and opened it to Arab, Chinese and European merchants. Sites reflecting those influences include Fort Kochi, a settlement with tiled colonial bungalows and diverse houses of worship. Cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, typical of Kochi, have been in use for centuries.



St.Francis Church Kochi
St. Francis Church was the original site of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama’s burial when he died in Kochi in 1524. Santa Cruz Basilica is known for its pastel interior, including an imitation by Fra Antonio Moscheni of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper." Paradesi Synagogue, founded in 1568, features imported Chinese blue-and-white ceramic floor tiles. The surrounding quarter, once home to a large Jewish community, is now filled with antique shops and old spice warehouses. Mattancherry Palace, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century and later renovated by the Dutch, showcases vivid Hindu murals.

 

Label Manufacturers Association of India, LMAI has a strong support of the label industry suppliers as sponsors which has been growing steadily, making their conference, the most important label event in India. 





The following leading industry suppliers from across the world have registered as sponsors and there are still a few more on the waiting list;

SR. NO

NAME OF SPONSORS

CATEGORY

1

AVERY DENNISON INDIA P LTD

PLATINUM

2

SMI COATED PRODUCTS PVT. LTD 

DIAMOND

3

PULISI INTERGRAPHIC

DIAMOND

4

GALLUS

GOLD

5

VINSAK INDIA PVT. LTD.    

GOLD

6

HEWLETT-PACKARD INDIA SALES PVT LTD.

GOLD

7

DOMINO PRINTECH INDIA LLP

GOLD

8

MACDERMID

GOLD

9

PERFORMANCE SPECIALTY PRODUCTS (INDIA) PRIVATE LIMITED

GOLD

10

J N ARORA & CO. PVT LTD

SILVER

11

NUMEX BLOCKS INDIA PVT.LTD.

SILVER

12

APEX ASIA PACIFIC PVT LTD

SILVER

13

FLINT GROUP INDIA PVT LTD

SILVER

14

MULTITEC AIDS PVT LTD

SILVER

15

LOPAREX INDIA PVT LTD.

SILVER

16

INTER FILMS INDIA PVT LTD ( DRAGON FOILS)

SILVER

17

FLEXO IMAGE GRAPHICS PVT. LTD.

SILVER

18

BALDWIN VISION SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.

SILVER

19

INSIGHT PRINT COMMUNICATIONS PVT LTD

SILVER

20

GEW

SILVER

21

BOBST FIRENZE SRL

SILVER

22

ROTOMETRICS INDIA PVT LTD

SILVER

23

NILPETER INDIA PVT. LTD

SILVER

24

ZHEJIANG WEIGANG MACHINERY CO.,LTD.

SILVER

25

WELDON CELLOPLAST LTD ( LUSTER)

SILVER

26

WELDON CELLOPLAST LTD ( BROTECH)

SILVER

27

ROGLER

SILVER

28

WELDON CELLOPLAST LTD ( MARTIN AUTOMATIC)

BRONZE

29

COSMO FILMS LIMITED

BRONZE

30

LINTEC INDIA PVT LTD

BRONZE

31

ACME ROLLTECH PRIVATE LIMITED

BRONZE

32

HUBERGROUP INDIA PVT LTD

BRONZE

33

MONOTECH SYSTESM LTD

BRONZE

34

REPRO GRAPHICS PRIVATE LIMITED

BRONZE

The LMAI leadership will soon be closing the registration of sponsorship for this, three nights four days event.

Kuldip Goel





LMAI President Kuldip Goel says, “Unlike exhibitions, the LMAI conference intends to bring together the Indian label fraternity at one venue for four consecutive days. The suppliers get a chance to spend full time with their prospective customers in a relaxing atmosphere” he further adds, “Since many delegates come with family, it brings about a unique bonding within the industry, creating the feel of belonging to a large entity, the Indian Label Family!”.  








Marriott Kochi




The conference registration process has started from 1st April 2019. In the first phase registration has been opened for LMAI ordinary or printer members so as to give them the first option for accommodation in the main event venue i.e. Hotel GRAND HYATT, KOCHI, BOLGATTI. Registration will be on first come first basis. Registration for Associate or supplier members will begin a little later. Once the main hotel venue is full, additional delegates will be accommodated in another property i.e. MARRIOTT, KOCHI a short distance from the main event venue. Adequate arrangements are being made to transport delegates to and fro, between the two hotels.






Manish Desai
LMAI Conference Chairman Manish Desai says, “We have already held the previous conferences at Goa in western India, Jaipur and Agra in North India and this time we moved it to South delivering value to our members. LMAI being a pan national association is committed to bringing value and fellowship amongst the Indian label community spread across the length and breadth of India”.  He also mentioned that the south India based members who found it inconvenient travelling long distances to north will also be able to attend conveniently and bond with their peers around the country.

Only members in good standing who have paid their membership fees are allowed to register. Non-members can only register by first becoming members of LMAI. This conference is slated to be better and bigger than ever before.

It is time yet again for the vibrant colourful world of labels to congregate in Kochi to experience the friendship and fellowship with global suppliers and competitors.

Contact for conference registration;
Event Organizers – Mercury Integrated
Contact Person – Felicia Lobo
Mob No – 9152326871/ 022-26115502
Emai Id – lmaiconferencekochi2019@gmail.com

Contact for membership registration:
Manish M. Panchal
(Admin Secretary)
Label Manufacturers Association of India
A-418, Mayuresh Trade Center,
Plot no: 04, sector-19, Vashi Turbhe Road,
Vashi, Navi mumbai: 400 703
Ph No : 8097333995

 Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited New Delhi India April 2019

Trigon Digital Solutions, successful in digital printing of labels

Trigon Digital Solutions, successful in digital printing of labels
On the 22nd of November 2018 at the LMAI Avery Dennison Awards night, held on the side lines of Labelexpo India, the winner announced in digital printing category-Wine and Spirits was Trigon Digital Solutions, Mumbai. Just over a week later, on the 29th of November 2018, Trigon was declared the Printweek India “Digital Printer of the year”. This was Trigon’s fourth award; the first two were Printweek “Pre-press Company of the year” awards won in 2015 and 2017. It is an incredible performance by a company promoted by first generation entrepreneurs just 10 years ago, with no previous experience in running a manufacturing company. They moved into roll form digital printing of labels merely 3 years ago. They have invested in a digital printing press at a time when we are witnessing the evolutionary shift of label production in India from conventional processes to digital. Digital printing is a segment of label industry that leading label manufacturing companies have been extremely hesitant to invest in, due to high cost of equipment and consumables. Anil  Namugade the co-founder, along with partner Milind Deshpande, have promoted Trigon Digital and successfully led it on its digital label journey.

 

After graduating in Economics from Mumbai University Anil Namugade, also a Printing Technologist from the Government Institute of Printing Technology, took up jobs as a scanner operator from 1994 to 1997 in few of the leading pre-press houses in Mumbai. Here he acquired immense knowledge in repro-colour separation and prepress. In 1998 he joined Heidelberg as a software specialist and continued to work there until 2003. Anil joined Kodak as packaging and proofing specialist in 2003. It was a purely technical job where he developed his passion for proofing, learnt the nuances of colour management and the imperative need of good prepress for excellence in final print. During his stint with Kodak he was also handling technical and sales support which helped him gain experience in selling as well. Unfortunately, by 2007 Kodak was seeing a decline in business and as restructuring process was being put in place, he had to exit Kodak. Suddenly that one day he found himself jobless, away from a stable job in an MNC(Multi National Company). He firmly believed in and followed a simple mantra of success and excellence; “Look at problem as an opportunity and learn to grow and excel”. Drawing inspiration from this mantra, he along with partner Milind Deshpande who is also a printing technologist, set up their maiden start-up venture Trigon Digital Solutions. 

 

From past experience and knowledge he had acquired from working in the previous jobs, Anil knew that customers needing packaging, wanted to see how their product would look, before they opted for actual printing and production. He saw the opportunity in this need, so Trigon was set up as a proofing and mock-up producing company. His knowledge of prepress and colour management helped him to achieve his goal. Earlier it used to be the creative agencies that visualised and created a format for packaging, Trigon creating an actual marketable mock up for the companies was a new and welcome development for brand owner companies. The first equipment they invested in was Kodak Approval NX that printed in sheet format and started to take up proofing and mock-up creation for customers. Finding success in their endeavors he soon realised that being closer to the customer is an imperative.  In 2010 Trigon opened a facility in Bangalore and followed it up by setting up a unit in Delhi in 2012. In 2015 they went international by setting shop in Dubai and later an office in Singapore. All the units except the office in Singapore are equipped with Kodak Approval NX.

 

In 2015 they saw the opportunity in customers demanding label mock-ups in roll form, so in their Mumbai facility they invested in an Epson Surepress to produce samples including Flexibles, Laminates and Labels by digital printing in roll form. Moreover, the production on Kodak was turning out to be expensive and limited to sheet format. Soon their customers upgraded from demanding just mock-ups to ordering short runs for their specialised marketing needs.  They also started to see business emanating from the shrink sleeve segment as also a growing demand for other roll form variants. The slow speed of Surepress could not cater to the demand they were getting and also there was a limitation that it could not produce shrink sleeves. At this time in 2017 Trigon decided to take a major step of investing in an HP Indigo 6000 digital press and enhance their capability to produce a larger range of products. A year down the line in 2018 Trigon yet again upgraded their HP Indigo 6000 to HP Indigo 6900 which had enhanced features. On this HP 6900 they could do inline primer coating saving them the time and valuable space, print metallic inks and florescent inks. With a widened customer base and enhanced capabilities they now cater to applications in FMCG, Liquor, Personalised labels, Variable Data labels, QR codes and a lot more. They now produce and sell a range besides labels, offering flexible packaging, complex laminates, lamitubes and shrink sleeves. Anil Namugade firmly believes that digital is the future of printing and innovative packaging. Dwelling on the general apprehension of label printers regarding ROI (Return on Investment), he feels that it becomes better from an expanded vision of providing specialised services to the customer. These services that Trigon offers include brand management, database management including validation, preparing the mock-ups for test marketing before indulging extensively, offering creativity to customers for their evaluation and aiding decision making, personalisation or customisation and incorporating variable information on each label or package at short notice. Their experience in pre-press has helped them greatly and he believes that by adding full post press setup Trigon has become a one stop shop for the needs of brand owners. The additional cost of digitally converted products needs to spell value for customers to justify the cost. Anil asserts that the vision for success of flexo graphic printing and Digital printing should be looked at separately and not as a comparison. 

 

Trigon Digital Solutions plans to remain focused in digital Printing. With already a facility in Dubai and an office in Singapore they are a global entity and they will be expanding their global reach by establishing a setup in U.K. in 2019-2020 as they already have customers in 18 countries including UK and Europe. They have endeavored to remain logistically close to customers to be able to provide service at their doorstep. Surprisingly due to their business model of being linked to packaging development, marketing and brand management, their revenues do not come from purchase budgets of customers but come from their marketing budgets. Trigon making optimum use of space operates out of around 1800 square feet shop floor area of all facilities put together. Headquartered in Andheri East, Mumbai they have a workforce of 102 persons. At Trigon every new creation is a challenge but developing it is not. Anil proudly says innovation, technology, extensive knowledge of prepress, and having “People with Passion” in their team has always been a winning force for Trigon. They are committed to improve upon what the customer wants or brings to them for creation of a label or package that will spell success for their products and brand. 

 

Written by Harveer Sahni Chairman WeldonCelloplast Limited New Delhi December 2018