The
author is indebted to respondents who provided some important inputs for this
article. They include Ajay Rao Rane of Domino, Shayyakk Mukherjee of Konica
Minolta, Vikram Saxena of Xeikon, Jimit Mittal of Monotech, Venkatesh Selveraj representing Durst and Appadurai of HP.
 |
| HP Indigo |
Unlike the sudden spurt in growth of self-adhesive
label industry that we witnessed in China some years back, Label printers in India have
moved on steadily and cautiously. We are now considered to be either already a
bigger population than China or about to surpass them in numbers, yet in times
of growing demand of label and packaging, our label industry continues to
exhibit resilience and achieve a steady double-digit growth. Our printers have
adopted the evolution of printing technologies with varying degrees of
indulgence based on their customers' need and wish to deliver creativity and
innovation. Indian label printers moved on to adopt evolution as it occurred, from
flatbed label printing to semi-rotary intermittent letterpress, flexo, digital
flexo and combination printing with flexo, screen, gravure, etc. all in-line.
However, when it came to digital label printing, the industry treaded this path-breaking
technology with extreme caution and calculated steps. In January 2018, an
article in Labels and Labeling mentioned that in around 2008 the first HP
Indigo press was installed in China and by 2018 the number had swelled to 180
and thereafter registering almost 40 new installations, small and big, every year. While in India the first HP Indigo
press was also installed at Janus International in 2008, the same time as in
China, yet by 2023 the total high-end digital label presses are around 40-45
but with all small and big included this figure may have reached 60-65.
 |
| Xeikon |
The author
interacted with leading digital label press manufacturers to ascertain a
percentage of growth of their installations, it was not possible arrive at a
concrete number. This is so, because the base numbers are so small that the
percentage growth rate may become misleading. Take for example; if a
manufacturer has only two prior installations and just one in the current year,
then it means a fifty percent growth in numbers. For sure it will not convey
the actual scenario. The statement made by HP Indigo country manager Appadurai sounds
more relevant. He says, “We have seen a Triple Digit CAGR in the Linear meters of
Jobs printed with customers in India . This is the most important metric of our
business. We expect not only to sustain this growth but to scale it even
further.” Appadurai’s statement does reflect a realistic look at the growth of
digitally printed labels. However, to arrive at a realistic figure that will
indicate the growth in the installed base of digital label presses, we need to dwell
on the number of installations, which
grew from 22 in 2017 to 60-65 in 2023. With these figures in hand, one can calculate
that the CAGR rate to be 19%. Vikram Saxena of Xeikon, who mentioned the growth
of installations to be 18-20% was the nearest to the figure that the author has
arrived at. While at the higher end HP continues to lead in the number of installations and in the volume of investments, Monotech excels in the over all number
of installations mainly due to the price advantage. Those entering the digital
arena are looking for affordable equipment to start with and later upgrade. At
the current rate of growth, we can expect 12 to 15 installations per year, it
includes the big ones and the affordable ones.
 |
| Konica Minolta |
“I believe the future of label
printing is firmly in the realm of digital printing” says Shayakk Mukherjee of
Konica Minolta commenting on future of digital label printing in India. The
market of digital label printing, after the initial holding off until market
matures, has been looking up and rapidly growing as more and more established
label companies have invested in the technology that accords the ability to
produce high-quality, cost-effective, and customizable labels in shorter runs. The
growth of ecommerce has acted more like a catalyst for increased demand for
personalized and customized labels at short notice. Increasing focus in India
towards the young population, with encouragement from Government, a whole community
of startups is emerging giving a definite fillip to creation of jobs and
innovating with new products that will appeal to their own generation-next. The
startups need to have labels and packaging in smaller quantities in the initial
stages of their journey into manufacturing. All respondents have mentioned the key
advantages of digital label printing and its ability to enable shorter runs and
faster turnaround times. The vision at HP is quite expansive, they state that
digital label printing besides just labels
is also increasingly being used for packaging. Appadurai adds, “The trend in
the label printing industry is the increasing focus on sustainability, with
many companies seeking to reduce waste and environmental impact. Digital
printing technology can help in this regard by reducing the need for excess
inventory and minimizing material waste.” Corroborating the view Ajay Rao Rane of Domino
Printech says, “Labels and
Packaging converters are engaging and trying to understand the benefits they
would achieve through digital printing and taking a well-informed decision
about investing in the latest technology.”
 |
| Domino |
Most
contemporary or emerging technologies initially face a lot of hesitation by
investors but once they are able to establish their fruitful deliverance, they
do find people who will adopt them, though the cost of end product so
manufactured does play a definitive role in decision making. Labels too have
faced a similar situation. The convenience of digital printing was an awe-inspiring
development, triggering wish of ownership, but the cost of labels as compared
to those produced by analogue process was, and still is, a deterrent. With time
the convenience of producing from computer to print without the need of extensive
pre-press, plate making and long setup time, attracted many a printer’s
attention. Coupled with the ability to produce customized and personalized
labels with variable data many jobs became a necessity to be produced on
digital label presses. Now when rapid growth in the number of installations
there is some ease of pressure on input costs but still it is much more than
those printed by flexo presses. According to Jimit Mittal at Monotech, with the
increase in number of digital equipment, the cost of logistics and consumables
can be optimised to a certain level. Digital is no longer just for short runs
but can also satisfy medium runs cost-effectively delivering value addition to
any customer workflow more than the run lengths only. The HP team agrees that the
gap in cost of printing on flexo and digital will narrow with an increase in
numbers while the thought process at Domino is that the cost comparison between digital and flexo
printing will vary depending on the specific job requirements and should be
evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Venkatesh Selveraj states, “In Durst
digital solution the production cost gap is already narrowed down.” The gap in
cost for both flexo and digital is substantial. Vikram Saxena at Xeikon sums it
as, “This question is an irrelevant question. Both are not competitors but
complimentary technologies.” Increasing print length does not mean that the job
will become cost effective on digital on the contrary shorter runs are better.
This is so because in flexo the prepress, plate cost make-ready and setup adds
up on a small size of the job.
 |
| Durst-Omet Hybrid |
In the
last few years, as the growth started to pick up, the rhetoric was, that
digital printing is good only for short runs. Well, that seems to be changing
now. Increasing widths and speeds are driving in change, on as to how labels
are being made, using digital label presses. They improve production
efficiency, allowing label printing companies to produce a wide range of products
with reduced setup costs and time impacting overall cost. In fact, the product
portfolio of these presses has expanded to include flexible packaging and
folding cartons. Equipment like Durst has already achieved a speed of 100
meters with a wider width enabling production of IML, Lamitubes, Shrink
sleeves, Flexible Packaging and folding cartons. Ajay at Domino made an
interesting comment. “There is continuous
evolution in the Digital printing segment, resulting in faster and wider
machines which offer a better TCO(Total cost of ownership) to the labels and
packaging converters, helping converters to produce more jobs in lesser time. HP
for that matter is a trailblazer in going wider at higher speeds. Their 25K
press installations already deliver 740mm width and are attracting investment
from producers of standup pouches, flexible packaging and shrink Sleeves. Their
latest offering HP Indigo V12 press that was showcased at the Labelexpo Americas
last September, which prints at 120 meters per minute, will surely change the
way medium-long run label jobs are printed. They call it INDIGO FIRST strategy.
A label converter having both digital & Flexo presses will obviously put
short runs on digital and medium or long run on Flexo, but the V12 will change the sequence. 80% of jobs will become
suitable to be printed on HP Indigo V12. As per Jimit Mittal at Monotech, speeds of
50-70meters per minute in widths of up to 330mm is enough for labels, however
the equation changes when you plan to produce packaging as well.
 |
| Monotech |
Most of
the respondents in response to the author’s questions have expressed that digital
label printing is now not limited to short runs. There are companies like
Trigon Digital, Leap Digiprints, Digistick, etc. who are only committed to
digital printing and have plans to stay invested in the same technology and
expand in it. When asked if in future digital will replace analogue or flexo or
Hybrid the general opinion was that there does not appear to be such a
possibility in the near future, but in fact the two will be complimentary
technologies to each other. In the western countries, more digital presses have
started being sold than conventional ones. But this may be because of a smaller
base of installed digital label presses in comparison to conventional ones and
the pressing need of printers to expand their capabilities and cater to needs
of customized, personalized or variable printed labels. Most successful label
companies will have these two technologies in their companies together.
The growth of digital printing gets enhanced when the
equipment manufacturers promote their products. The standard procedure followed
is to display their products at industry exhibitions. Labelexpo and other
printing shows have been seeing an increased presence of digital printing equipment
manufacturers in recent times. Being a technology that is still evolving, there
is a lot to be learnt by the printing fraternity. The first knowledge about
digital printing comes when new prospects visit the exhibitors stands at the
printing shows, but the more detailed information comes when sales and
technical professionals make presentations to printers at their own offices
followed by showcasing existing installed running presses at other printing companies.
Unlike other printing technologies like flexo, offset, screen and gravure,
there are many variants in technology as to how digital printing is done. The diverse types of
technologies available leave the printers in confusion as to what is the most
appropriate technology in which they should invest. Available technologies
offered by various manufacturers of digital equipment are as follows;
Dry toner based.
Liquid toner based.
UV Inkjet
Water-based inkjet
Exhibitions, direct mail and personal
reach-out to educate prospective customers about their equipment, remains the most
preferred marketing process for digital label press manufacturer. However, the
modus operandi by Domino and HP is stated to
be a little different. Ajay Rao Rane of Domino states, “We also engage with the brand
owners to evangelize the benefits of Digital printing to them.” HP goes a step
ahead and Appadurai at HP sums it up, “We invest a lot into educating brand owners about the
benefits of digital printing, we always look for
creating more opportunities for our PSPs, apart from working with large brands
in creating campaigns like share a Coke, Kit-Kat valentine pack, Dettol covid
warrior pack, we also work extensively with many association of food &
beverages, pharma, personal care to educate the brands associated with them on
the benefits of digital printing, which saves them lot of cost, (better
cashflow), faster time to market, while also helping them to use more
sustainable printed packages.
The
future of digital printing is growth oriented, and it will keep evolving as all
electronic, IT based, or AI based products keep changing constantly. But then
as it is said, “Change is the only constant!” As a matter of fact, the changes
come so fast that the winners will be those who adapt to this change quickly to
offer innovative products ahead of others.
Written
by Harveer Sahni Chairman, Weldon Celloplast Limited New Delhi May 2023
