As far as globally established consumables suppliers such as SMI and Convertech are concerned, the show occasioned the release of new products like many of their global exhibitor counterparts. Almost every piece of equipment, software and consumable at the show included enhancement and innovation. SMI introduced a new ‘no-look’ labelstock at the show as well as a new UV curable filmic label stock with re-closable adhesive properties for use on handy portable products such as wet wipes. SMI continues to innovate as it becomes a global supplier. In the past year, the Mumbai-headquartered company extended its supply base by adding a slitting and distribution plant in Dubai. The company again showed its phone-based app for selection and calculation of labelstock requirements that we saw at the Gulf Print & Pack show in Dubai.
Convertech, a supplier of steel doctor blades, introduced its new Sureprint Series 1000 doctor blades that are aimed at improved performance and wear and tear in use with aggressive and abrasive inks. The Sureprint Series 1000 is positioned between the company’s carbon steel and its Excel Pro long-life doctor blades. The company also showcased its long-life Excel Pro premium blades at Labelexpo to a continuous stream of old customers, and from what one could see, many new enquiries as well.
Raw material suppliers
Rajesh Khatwani, sales and marketing director and Harshal Mahajan, all India sales manager of SMI at Labelexpo Europe. Photo PSAIndia-based polymer suppliers such as Garware, Jindal Poly and Cosmo Films brought a range of new label face stocks and films for flexible packaging to the show. Increasingly, the line between labels and packaging is getting blurred as converters address the burgeoning market for in-mold, wrap-around and shrink wrap labels on better equipped, wider and faster label presses.
Garware Polyester brought its new colored thermal lamination soft touch film to Labelexpo together with its PET high shrink film (PETG) for shrink wrapping containers in a variety of shapes. Its portfolio includes PET lidding films including lock seal and peelable and re-closable films with anti-fog features. With its full set of polyester-based face stocks, release liners, flexible packaging and PET and BOPP thermal lamination films, Garware’s strong marketing and sales team at the show was busy meeting up with old customers and new enquiries.
Montech India’s Neeraj Thapa, Tejinder Singh and Jimit Mittal at the Monotech stand at Labelexpo.Monotech’s digital inkjet press based on Kyocera heads and capable of printing CMYK plus white and
coating at 600 X 600 dpi with 4 grey levels was shown running their Turkish OEM partner’s stand in Hall 7 at Labelexpo. Photo PSA
Cosmo Films showed its universal printable coated BOPP label face stock in transparent, white and metallized varieties in several thicknesses and compatible with all process and ink technologies. A manufacturer of BOPP synthetic paper for more than 25 years, the company showed its new universal printable synthetic paper that is much whiter and more printable than earlier and has excellent lay flat properties. Apart from labels and packaging, this material has many other applications such as washable children’s books.
With a number of suppliers for film-based face stocks and globally competitive manufacturers of release liner materials, adhesives and coatings, the Indian label stock industry is poised for further growth and stronger exports. Maharashtra-based Globus International showed its release liners in Brussels—silicone coated as well as liners that work with flouro-silicone and without silicone.
Holostik showed its variety of products incorporating multi-lens, registered hot stamping foil and self-adhesive labels with 3D effects. Also shown were high resolution holograms, holographic hot stamping foils and shrink sleeves with holographic effects, all essentially demonstrating the company’s capabilities in security and other types of value-added labels.
Indian equipment suppliers
Indian manufacturers of accessories such as corona treatment systems, LED curing, doctor blades, pressroom furniture and shafts indicate that the local environment for manufacturing products including label presses with industrial components is developing. IEEC showed its latest model of CE marked corona treater with a color HMI control for the narrow web segment. Mona Equipment showed its pneumatic shafts in a variety of diameters and widths that it has already been exporting to Europe and Africa in addition to its frictional locks for web handling, printing and converting operations.
Monotech
Monotech Systems, which has become a versatile manufacturer and exporter of bespoke inkjet systems for overprinting and other specialty and variable label solutions, is now turning its attention to the production of webfed inkjet presses for several applications including labels. While it did not show a running Colornovo JetSci UV inkjet label press at Labelexpo, it has already shipped the first Colornovo label press to a Shanghai customer through its OEM partner there. Monotech has so far exported its inkjet solutions to a dozen countries from Turkey to China.
The company has about half a dozen global partners who were extremely helpful at the show in meeting with a large number of potential customers, most whom were essentially interested in a high-quality but competitive full-color label press. The Colornovo JetSci based on Kyocera heads is a 4-color CMYK UV inkjet press that claims to match the quality of European presses at an extremely competitive price. Monotech’s Jimit Mittal feels that the combination of channel partners for distribution and OEM partners can give the Colornovo JetSci label press strong sales over the next 18 months.
Multitec
Amit Ahuja, director Multitec Aids in front of the new S2 press at the Multitec stand at Labelexpo BrusselsMultitec launched and gave a live demo of its S2 narrow web flexo label press at the show, which incorporates the idea of using a metal sleeve with side bearers as the plate cylinder. Multitec claims that the sleeve is more robust and easy to manufacture in all geographies and is economical to manufacture. No air mandrel is needed for mounting and there isn’t any notch system for locking that is traditionally used on narrow web flexo plate cylinders. Each print unit has a direct servo motor for the print sleeve and an additional servo motor for the impression cylinder. The press at the show had been sold to a Russian customer while another export order has also been booked.
UV Graphic Technologies
Abhay Datta, director, UV Graphic Technologies at Labelexpo Brussels. Photo PSAUV Graphic Technologies, well known for manufacturing and exporting coating machines and UV coaters as well retrofitting UV systems on all types of presses and coaters, showed its automated universal video flexo plate mounter at Labelexpo. Director Abhay Datta says, “This is the only flexo plate mounter available anywhere that can work for any label press. It can mount plates on traditional cylinders with shafts and bearings, and sleeves and cylinders with bearers without any adapters.” The company also showed a water-cooled UV LED system for flexo presses as well as a storage system for plate cylinder and anilox rollers at its stand.
UV Graphic Technologies has developed a full servo narrow web flexo press with an in-line rotary hot foil stamping system with indexing and foil saving systems. The first 10-color press with hybrid curing using both conventional and LED UV systems will be demonstrated at the company’s new factory in Greater Noida by the end of the year.
