Rajkot-based flexible packaging printer and converter Balaji Multiflex, a unit of Balaji Wafers, is expected to commission its newly ordered HP Indigo 200K digital press by October this year, Pranav Bhalara, director of Balaji Multiflex, told Packaging South Asia.
The HP Indigo 200K press was ordered by Balaji Multiflex during the recently concluded drupa 2024 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The deal was announced at the HP stand at drupa in the presence of Bhalara and officials from HP. The decision to go for a digital press is an attempt by Balaji Multiflex to diversify its technological capabilities.
“The HP Indigo 200K press is most likely to be installed before October and start operating sometime in October. We are contemplating organizing an open house to celebrate this. Nothing is finalized yet but we are thinking about it. The open house will allow us to meet our industry friends. I think it’s nice when friends and peers from the industry are here,” Bhalara said.
Bhalara stated that Balaji decided on HP Indigo because HP has a great ecosystem. “We have been looking at digital technology for many years. Finally, after years of research, we settled for HP. I feel that HP not only has great technology, but also has an ecosystem. This is very important, especially in India,” he said.
HP unveiled the Indigo 200K press in 2023 aimed at the flexible packaging printing market. The HP Indigo 200K digital press, prints at a speed of up to 56 m/min (183 ft/min). According to HP, the HP Indigo 200K digital press showcases a 30% increase in speed and 45% boost in productivity compared to the HP Indigo 25K. It features color quality based on the HP Indigo Liquid Electro Photography (LEP) and One-Shot Color technologies and offers the widest available range of ElectroInks.
Talking about digital technology in flexible packaging printing, he said digital is more like a complementary technology rather than a competitive technology vis-à-vis traditional technologies. “Somebody would use digital in 25% of operations, somebody would use digital in 50%, somebody would use digital in 100%. So, it all depends on the perspective of the company,” Bhalara said.
At present, Balaji Multiflex operates multiple gravure presses from Pelican and W&H.
drupa needs to sort some things out to remain popular
The 2024 drupa took place after eight years as the 2020 edition was scrapped due to the Covid pandemic. The number of visitors this year was much lower than in 2016. Bhalara feels that if drupa has to remain successful, they need to iron out some issues.
“If you have noticed, a lot of people were not able to procure visas. Not only Indians, but I heard that a lot of people from Africa and other Asian nations were not able to get visas. Then you have the high costs of exhibiting and visiting the expo. No doubt 2024 was a good drupa, but that is because it was taking place after eight years. If there were not such a big gap, the visitor numbers would have been even lower, I feel. So, for drupa to remain popular and successful, the organizers need to sort these issues out,” he said.
