Mumbai previews drupa on Gutenberg day

Mumbai previews drupa on Gutenberg day
Mumbai Mudrak Sangh organises eye check-up camp 7Apr04

In Mumbai, 24 February, the birth anniversary of Johannes Gutenberg is celebrated at Printer’s Day. On the day, the Mumbai Mudrak Sangh, led by Anand Limaye, his lieutenant Tushar Dhote and their team hosted a drupa 2004 preview seminar. The speakers were Sanat M Shah, CMD, Manugraph India Ltd; Pranav Parikh, CMD, TechNova Imaging Systems Ltd; Thomas D Watson, President, Kodak Polychrome, Asia Pacific; Ajay Bhatia, Marketing Manager, Xerox Modicorp Ltd; and Ajay Agarwal, Sales Director, Insight Communications; and Anil Krishna, GM, National Starch and Chemical Co, SAARC Region. Souren Dhote, the current AIFMP president also added a few words in a lighter vein.

Pranav Parikh, CMD, TechNova Imaging Systems

Last year on Printer’s Day MMS organised a blood sugar check-up camp for all employees of MMS members and this year an eye check-up camp was organised. MMS also organised the handing over of an ambulance that was donated by the All India Federation of Master Printers in its Golden Jubilee Year (2002-03).

The first speaker at the drupa preview was Sanat Shah, CMD Manugraph, and President of IPAMA, the association of Indian machine manufacturers and ancillary parts. Shah said, “In the packaging industry, India exports corrugated board-making machines and ancillary equipments to the world. In the publishing industry, India is producing 100 print units per month in the four-page segment, which is perhaps the largest in the world. These machines have speeds of 15,000 to 60,000 copies per hour. In this sense, India would rank number two in the world in production of these machines next to the USA.”

Shah indicated that coldset web offset press production has risen to 150 units a month from 10 units, a decade ago. He also claimed that production of small offset machines has risen to 250 units a month and that the ink and presensitized plate market has grown from Rs 10 crore to Rs 1000 crore. Sanat Shah predicted a combined production of these equipments and materials to exceed Rs 2500 crore (US$ 543 million), and their export to cross the Rs 800 crore (US$ 174 million).

Thus far there are 17 Indian exhibitors at drupa 2004 and Sanat Shah was pleased to reveal that Manugraph would be displaying it multicolour sheetfed press, the Printmagic 74 and yet another web offset press, the new Frontline 55, a four by four newspaper press.

Sanat Shah asked Indian industry to unite, and asked the various associations and federations to work for a common cause. Pranav Parikh took up this theme and cited statistics from the Goldman Sachs report that predicts that India would be the third largest economy in the world within three decades. Parikh felt drupa04 is opportune for strengthening brand-India.

CtP presentations—Technova, KPG and Creo
Although drupa 1995 was called the CtP-drupa, things are finally taking shape, now. As Parikh pointed out, in the past decade, one of the significant trends has been the steady adoption of CtP, the world-over. 1994 saw an installed base of 40 platesetters; by 2002 the number had grown to approx 3,500 platesetters. This figure is expected to touch 20,000 plus by 2005. This phenomenal growth has been possible through technological improvements in workflow solutions; the predictability and wide acceptance of digital proofing; and most importantly the dramatic reduction in the prices of plates and platesetters.

At the time of the presentation, CtP installations in India had grown to 47, including 28 installations at service bureaus and commercial printers, and 19 in newspapers. Some of the early adopters have already ordered and or installed their second units! Analysis of the payback period of all the CtP installations indicates periods ranging from a minimum of 12 months to a maximum of 24 months. Pranav Parikh noted that CtP dominates 60 per cent of the plate consumption in North America and Europe. The current global consumption of 30 per cent is expected to rise to 50 per cent in three years.

Indians are still sceptical about CtP. It really seems like a horses for courses thing. For short run and with a good press then polyester is for you and internal drum is the only road to travel. Everybody loves metal, particularly gold but the printing industry has to make do with aluminium. Violet? Thermal? Polymer? Internal drum? External drum? In this babble of contradictory voices, one gets the feeling that it’s the supplier that holds the key, for all CtP systems work. What is critical is how your whole workflow is cobbled together and how easily add-ons can be incorporated.

Parikh examined the issues by looking at the various vendors, their recent announcements, and the return on investment. He discussed what is available, and how and how much of a technology focus is desirable. Thomas Watson of KPG and Ajay Aggarwal of Insight Communications spoke about new imagers, plates, and workflow components, which showed that the technology is still dynamic. Surely, printers considering CtP for the first time or those already using CtP have a broader choice than ever before.

Sanat M Shah, CMD, Manugraph India Ltd

Agfa
In the discussion with the audience, the three speakers pointed out that each of the technology has technical advantages and drawbacks. Agfa products that were mentioned in the discussion were the N91V photopolymer plate introduced to the newspaper market in June 2003; Azura, an aluminium plate that uses a physical rather than a chemical process to provide high quality, thermal imaging based on the same, proven technology used in Agfa’s Thermolite Plus plates. Azura is a non-ablative plate with very wide exposure and press latitudes, and run lengths of up to 100,000 impressions.

KPG
Thomas Watson of Kodak Polychrome Graphics announced a range of products scheduled for launch at drupa. KPG will demonstrate the new Sword Ultra Positive-Processing thermal plate based on its Sword technology. Incorporating third-generation plate technology optimised to meet European specifications, the presensitized aluminium plate helps users gain extra productivity without compromising on quality.

To be initially made available in Asia Pacific, Latin America, the United States and Canada, KPG’s new entry-level CtP system at drupa will be a competitively priced, fully-integrated solution that delivers the benefits of the highest-quality thermal CtP technology. KPG will also do a technology demonstration of the new CtP plate designed for flexographic packaging companies – the KPG Flexcel NX CtP Plate. Thomas Watson also spoke of the no process plate – the KPG Thermal Direct Non Process Plate.

Creo
Creo has become a consumable manufacturer as well. It now joins the ranks of Agfa, Fuji, KPG, and Lastra as companies that sell both imaging devices and plates. Creo’s first acquisition was of a plate line in South Africa last year, and the second is in Middleway, West Virginia, with two plate lines (coating lines) and six finishing lines. Together with the South African plant, Creo is now capable of manufacturing 15 per cent of the worldwide demand for thermal plates. As Ajay Aggarwal, Insight Communications, underlined in his message, the acquisition will also help Creo extend its range of plates.

Two negative imaging plates, the Fortis PN for newspapers and the Mirus PN for commercial and packaging printing join the recently launched Creo Positive thermal plate. The new negative working plates are sensitive not just to 830 nm thermal lasers but also to UV light.

Creo has CtP answers to the three key processes in packaging printing – flexo, offset and gravure. The Exactus thermal gravure technique for gravure cylinders has been developed jointly with Italy’s Acigraf. Exactus, based on Creo’s Sqaurespot imaging, is a complete cylinder production system for the packaging and illustration gravure markets. Packaging – plus the offset printing sector in general – is also the target of Creo’s Magnus, a very large-format (VLF) CtP device with a 1600 x 2108 mm drum. A powerful Squarespot thermal laser head, new electronics, and a plate loading and unloading system that operates on two levels boost productivity. The field test for the Magnus, which will be available in semi- and fully automatic configurations, is scheduled to commence in America in March (and in Europe at the end of April).

Xerox
The CtP session was followed by a presentation by Ajay Bhatia of Xerox that now has more than sixty Docucolor 2000 and above installations in India. Most printers and graphics art professionals get their digital jobs printed on a DocuColor. The DocuColor 6060 is capable of producing customised brochures, one-to-one documents, and other print jobs on a wider variety of paper stocks than the earlier 2045s and 2060s.

National Starch
Anil Krishna of National Starch, one of the biggest binding glue suppliers, talked about offset printers’ need to offer value-added printed materials at a reasonable cost. He spoke of binding technology and the use of appropriate glues. He felt that drupa was the ideal marketplace for an overview of the postpress manufacturers and for comparing the various options.

The technical presentations were followed by a drupa orientation by Xavier Rebello, of Cidex Trade Fairs. After a short film on drupa, he reassured the participants that the 17 exhibition halls are organised quite similarly to drupa in 2000, with overlap of technologies rather than fragmentation. Surendra Dhote, President, All India Federation of Master Printers, ended the presentations with some light-hearted anecdotes and comments. Mementoes were presented to the drupa 04 Indian exhibitors.