On 20 June 2025, Epson held a ribbon cutting ceremony and trade press viewing at its Digital Label Press Solution Centre in the Okhla Industrial Estate, New Delhi with a live demonstration of its SurePress L-6534VW – its UV inkjet digital label press capable of speeds up to 50 meters a minute. Epson claims that the press is built for production volumes of up to 1 million linear meters per month, although its first two customers and users in the New Delhi NCR region, who were present at the event, are currently reaching much lower monthly volumes – volumes they nevertheless hope to triple as demand picks up.
The 6-color press has six print or jetting arrays comprising a total of 66 piezo inkjet heads that can print the four process colors – cyan, magenta, yellow, and black in addition to high opacity white in the fifth station or a special Orange ink to enhance the color gamut. Or, as was demonstrated – a special UV varnish for printing on multiple label stock paper and film substrates.
These would include textured papers ranging from 18 mm to 320 mm microns with matt, glossy, and spot UV varnish printing in a single pass. It was also suggested in the discussion that unsupported film stocks from 48 and 60 microns could be printed and varnished.
The ink jetting process includes precise UV pinning after each inkjet station mounted around a drum platen. The press transport can reverse and execute subsequent passes for increased color saturation and or a higher build-up of the varnish for tactile, haptic, and security effects with great accuracy.
On this label press, Epson’s PrecisionCore printheads can deliver print at 600 x 1200 dpi resolution using the company’s variable-sized droplets starting from droplets as small as 3.2 picoliters. Paired with high-opacity white ink, UV pinning, and the drum platen system, the label press works on labelstocks and substrates generally available in the Indian market without any primer.
The heads are self-cleaning with the cleaning chemical tank inside the machine and they merely need to be wiped for spatter at the end of a work shift. There are dual tanks for all the inks and varnish that automatically hot-switch when needed.
Following the demonstration Okuzono Kazuomi, general manager, IIJ, sales and marketing, Epson presented the company’s history and its footprint in India which is overwhelmingly dominated by its presence in the home and office desktop inkjet printer market apart from its wide industrial use in the proofing, signage and textile printing segments. Marking 35 years in India, with headquarters in Bengaluru, Epson India has a presence in 40 cities in the country.
“India continues to be one of Epson’s most strategic markets, particularly in the heavy-duty industrial printer segment. The Label Press Solution Centre reflects our strong commitment to the Indian label industry. Through this facility, we aim to deepen direct customer engagement and showcase the value that Epson brings to the table,” said Kazuomi. He added that Epson’s newly developed water-based inkjet label press would be shown at Labelexpo Europe in Barcelona this coming September.
According to LK Vasudevan of Epson India, the SurePress L-6534W digital LED UV inkjet press can produce high-quality, durable labels while integrating all the functions required for filmic and paper-based label stock. These functions include variable printing, security codes and marks, and textured and haptic finishes using its inline varnishing station for matt and gloss finishes. The solution recognizes the need to add value, decorative, and anti-counterfeiting effects for premiumization in a single pass.
The all-in-one label production system comprises technologies and know-how developed inside Epson fully in its control for quality and future improvements. The printheads, the low migration food-safe UV inks, the LED pinning and curing lamp units, media feeding, control systems, and RIP software in-house. Epson currently supplies approximately 20 million printheads a year not only for its numerous products but also to OEMs for a variety of inkjet printing solutions globally.
Apart from Epson’s RIP, the press is also compatible with Esko software. Our readers will be aware that Epson acquired EFI’s Fiery front end, workflow software and RIP business in 2024.
Targeted at label printers, converters, and manufacturing businesses, the Solution Centre offers hands-on exposure to the advanced features of the SurePress L-6534VW. Visitors can engage in live demonstrations, substrate testing, and technical consultations, enabling informed decision-making in real-world production conditions. The center is meant for training Epson India engineers as well as customers and their operators. It is planned to also help label converters develop and show go-to-market solutions to prospective brand owner customers.
Senior general manager of Sales and Marketing at Epson India Prabagaran, said, “This initiative is not just about presenting a new technology, it is about empowering label printing businesses to rethink their operations to enhance efficiency and unlock greater creative potential.”
Epson is one of the pioneers of digital label printing in India although its earlier press only achieved a footprint of three installations in a decade. The SurePress L-6534VW was also shown at Labelexpo India in 2024 where Epson showed great optimism about it over the next two or three years and talked about the upcoming demo center in Delhi. With two SurePress L-6534VW presses already installed in the Delhi NCR, it seems more committed this time and hopes to install about three or four presses a year to eventually achieve a 25% market share of the fast-growing digital label press market in the country.
Slightly re-edited with additional information on 23 June 2025 at 10.33 am — editor.
