Two years after its merger with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ryobi MHI Graphic Technology (RMGT) had a splurge of new exhibits at drupa 2016. At the 850 square metre stand, RMGT’s focus was on productivity and quality enhancement. Vinay Kaushal of Provin Technos, the exclusive distributor and service agent of RMGT in India, was thrilled with the response received at the show. Kaushal said, “The response has been amazing to say the least. Our focus has always been on how to help our customers’ improve their profitability. We have completed many deals at the show.” According to Kaushal, Provin is on course to have a solid 2016-17 – much better than the last financial year.
Three new presses were shown at the RMGT stand– the RMGT 10, 1,050 mm format offset press and RMGT 9, A1-size offset perfector press, both with LED-UV curing; and the RMGT DP7, B2-size liquid toner type digital offset press, jointly developed with Miyakoshi Printing Machinery.
The 6-color RMGT 10 is capable of printing on 1 mm thick board set up in a carton configuration with in-line quality control, non-stop feeder and a coater that also uses LED UV curing and is compatible with stock that ranges from 0.04 mm to 1.0 mm. This 1050 mm format offset press can perform non-stop printing on heavy stock thanks to a newly developed automatic non-stop feeder and delivery shutter. It is also equipped with a chamber coater, and demonstrations featured varnish coating using an LED-UV curing unit, which allows enhancement such as spot coating and chemical embossing.
The 8-color RMGT 9 A1-size press has two LED-UV curing units, one over the perfecting device and the other at the delivery section, enabling one-pass instant-curing perfecting. It has a fully automatic simultaneous plate changer for reduced makeready time down to 75 seconds, be it for 1 color or 10. New features on both models include a large-screen display enabling the operator to monitor printing quality and operating status from the delivery section and an inline printing quality control system.
DP7, the 4-color B2 press is based on a Ryobi 750 offset press structure using Miyakoshi’s high viscosity liquid toner technology. The press is not ready yet and RMGT is not accepting any orders for it as of now. However, the press is aimed at those printers who need the advantages of a digital offset press that can flexibly meet the need of a custom print production for small runs.
Before drupa, Provin Technos had conducted a pre-drupa event in the five cities of Kochi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Surat and Delhi in April 2016 and had made a lot of effort in reaching out to the printers. This extra effort may have produced unexpected results for Provin. Kaushal says, “Most unusually, we received orders for new multicolor presses even before drupa in the months of March, April or May. This was really a pleasant surprise for all of us.”
RMGT is also performing well overall so far after the merger of the two companies. In the first half of the financial year, the company reported a rise in exports to Europe, the US and the rest of Asia due to the depreciating value of the Yen. It reported sales of £83.5 million generating an operating profit of £3.1 million.
