Daisuke Mori of Konica Minolta with other delegates at the event venue. Photo IPP
Established in 2017 by two experienced printers, Kamal Malik and Ravinder Kumar, Printology Xperts recently installed an MGI JetVarnish 3D digital varnish and foiling machine that comes with an Artificial Intelligence Scanner (AIS). The finishing machine is capable of adding spot UV coating and hot foil stamping on printed work while reducing the time taken to finish the print jobs that require special effects.
The machine was introduced to Indian customers at Printpack 2015 in Greater Noida and has now been installed at various locations across the country. Performing at a speed of 2298 A3 sheets an hour, the AIS scanner of the JetVarnish uses artificial intelligence to create an automatic varnish and hot foil registration for the inkjet heads over the preprinted sheets. The MGI JetVarnish comes with a software suite developed by MGI that includes management tools such as a job cost calculator, workstation image editor, reprinting utility, and the AIS smart scanner setup and variable data controller.
Samples printed on the MGI JetVarnish 3D on display at the event. Photo IPP
The machine is loaded with features such as a new 3D high gloss coating formula at 99% gloss units, 3D raised effects and 3D spot coating among others. Malik first spotted the machine at drupa 2016. He was so fascinated by the machine that he was compelled to learn more about its various capabilities and did so by taking time at the event and thus realized its value and importance.
Since his purchase of the MGI JetVarnish, Konica Minolta has helped Printology create a new segment for the work that it can do. Kumar said that the machine allows designers to carry out a variety of innovative print work on the machine that allow companies to distinguish their print products and stand out from the others. “Attractive products catch the customer’s eye and can give print enormous impact and with the JetVarnish, it is easy to add those special effects,” says Kumar.
The company plans to take up a variety of additional print work including visiting, invitation and wedding cards and menus.
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
