Miyakoshi at Provin centre

Miyakoshi and Provin expand presence in the growing Indian market with Okhla Demo Centre showcasing an MLP 13 C – a 13 inch model with speed up to 200 ipm. An interview with Akshay Kaushal.

After receiving huge success across the world for their various products, Miyakoshi felt the need of increasing their presence and cater to the growing Indian market. It was then that they associated with Provin Technos around 2.5 years ago. Prior to that, Miyakoshi’s presence in India was limited.

“Miyakoshi has been well established and well received across the globe by customers, especially in Europe,” says Akshay Kaushal, Executive Director, Provin Technos. “However, their journey so far in India has been rather different. Although Miyakoshi as a brand has been well received by customers in India, unfortunately it has not resulted in many orders to show. The reason for the same is a market which is yet to understand the importance of a product which is ahead of time for the Indian market and is best in its category worldwide. This being one part, the other part is the capital investment, which is usually on the higher side when compared to a top of the line Flexo press,” he adds. Initial investment on the Miyakoshi MLP series is definitely on the higher side when compared any flexo press. However, it is to be realised how much a customer spends additionally on the plate cost and on the tooling required on a flexo press. If you count these as well, initial investment becomes almost equal. The importance of having a Miyakoshi Offset Press is yet to be realised in the market and to cater the same, Provin have set up a demo centre in New Delhi, to display Miyakoshi press capabilities.

Miyakoshi hybrid flexo and offset label press installation at the Okhla demo centre After having a successful installation of the First Miyakoshi Press in India in the year 2017 @ Pragati Pack, Hyderabad, Provin felt the need of showcasing the product’s capability to the customers first hand and decided to set up a demo centre in 2019 for its Flagship Full-Servo High Speed semi-rotary offset press for labels - Miyakoshi MLP. “When it comes to web-fed offset presses, Miyakoshi ranks right on

top in the world and we believe it has to be shown to the customers first hand in order for them to appreciate it,” says Akshay. Notably, machines from other manufacturers in this category haven’t quite performed up to the mark, creating a doubtful image for the technology itself in the market. “In order to break that mindset, we need the customers to come and see the machine running live. It is a simple concept, believe what you see,” asserts Akshay.

The machine at the demo centre is of the following configuration: Model - MLP13C: Delam-Relam Unit + Flexo Unit + 5 Offset Units + Flexo Unit + Die Cutting Unit, Roll-to-Roll. It is equipped with performance enhancing features such as the Advanced Cold Start Function, Automatic Wash Up System for the printing units, Automatic Registration with Back Strobe from BST Eltromat, Corona Treatment, CNC Lateral Adjustment and more. Even with all these performance enhancing features equipped in the press already, the highlight of the press is its speed and the beautiful step back mechanism with S-Type dual pull rollers to support high speeds and extremely stable paper transport system. “Most of the people don’t know yet but Miyakoshi Semi-Rotary Presses are the fastest in the world and not only in terms of mechanical speeds but in terms of actual production speeds. The cycle speed of the machine does not get affected based on the repeat lengths set, which generally is the opposite in similar presses. Higher productivity coupled with offset print quality makes it an ideal press for short and medium run length jobs,” says Akshay.

Provin, at present, has been converting jobs for the customers who are planning to enter into the label industry and also for others as-well. “This way customers get an actual picture of the machine capabilities and the benefits this particular product has in offer. We have also been conducting individual demos for interested customers. Interested customers can get request a demo by visiting our website,” continues Akshay.

They have also put an offline lamination and slitting machine to meet customer requirements. Though they are conducting individual demos only to a specific customer base, the demos are scheduled as per the customers’ time convenience. The hybrid press market in India “The hybrid press market should have picked up in India by now and should have been well established too,” believes Akshay. As the run lengths are getting shorter, the hybrid press as a solution has been overlooked in the industry so far and has jumped directly to digital. Although there are other hybrid press solutions in the market, opting for the right technology/product matters big time. “Though all the technologies have its own role to play, a hybrid Offset press is a must have in every label conversion house,” he claims.

Many used Miyakoshi Business form presses in India have been installed by the customers. Miyakoshi, a master in offset technology, is also equally strong in digital print systems. They have been the OEM partners for many major brands and also have their own industry leading press models. In the DPS segment, Miyakoshi has 40% market share worldwide and in India, the company has installed two new High Speed Semi-rotary offset presses in the past 2.5 years. “Talking about offset label presses, 50% of the hybrid label presses in Europe are from Miyakoshi and 70% of the offset labels produced in Europe are produced on Miyakoshi presses. We target to keep promoting MLP series in India as a

solution for short and medium runs whereas with the rising demand for ultra short runs and availability of Miyakoshi digital presses in India now, our focus will be on promoting digital inkjet as-well,” reveals Akshay.

Miyakoshi hybrid stands apart from others “Although there are economically lucrative options available to choose from, there is a huge difference in technology and the quality of the (Miyakoshi) product in offer,” states Akshay. “The mechanisms, structure and the stability of the press is incomparable – both Chinese and other options available in the industry. The sophistication of the design, sturdy structure and highly accurate paper transport mechanism creates the base for this high speed semi rotary press. The ingenious S-type dual roller step back mechanism coupled with the loop box eliminates inertia which is developed due to the front back paper movement which in turn ensures highly stable paper transport and tension control,” he adds. Apart from this, Miyakoshi MLP is a full servo press consisting of 4 servo motors per unit, which again highlights the level of sophistication of the press. Unlike the concept of acquiring and assembling, Miyakoshi Presses as a whole are manufactured in-house, keeping strict quality checks and control in the press development. The offset printing unit comes with a unit configuration similar to that of a sheetfed offset, resulting in excellent print quality. “Miyakoshi has the longest repeat size in its category which again helps increase the productivity by almost 1.5 times. As the cycle speed of the press does not get affected based on the repeat lengths, the productivity achievable on MLP series is unmatchable. There are many other features which are to be experienced first hand to understand fully why Miyakoshi stands apart and is the best in its class,” explains Akshay.

Miyakoshi as a hybrid advanced printing solution vs. as an entry level solution “Miyakoshi MLP series is the most versatile semi rotary press in the world currently. On a standard configuration any substrate ranging between 70 microns - 300 microns can be easily run, however the option of opting for printing on substrate range of 15 microns - 300 microns is also available. MLP is the perfect solution for Printing high quality wine and liquor labels, food and beverage labels, cosmetic labels and also other labels in general,” emphasizes Akshay.

However, keeping the price sensitive nature of our market, Miyakoshi had also developed a new entry level model. This model, Miyakoshi MEL – targeting entry level customers, was supposed to be introduced at Drupa 2020.

MLP series – the most versatile semi-rotary press in the market According to Akshay, the MLP series is the most versatile semi-rotary press in the market. “Coupled with its versatility, MLP series are the fastest semi-rotary presses in the world matching Flexo speeds with the highest print speed being 300 Impressions per minute (121.9 meters/min). On our demo centre press we have already tested varied substrates such as BOPP, LDPE, IML, PET, Blister Foils, speciality papers, etc. Now, that is fast for a semi rotary press. And it is to be noted that these are not just rated speeds of the press; customers actually produce constantly at the mentioned speed. Set-up time is another major additional advantage for MLP series when compared to a Flexo. Set-up times are much faster when compared to a Flexo press and everything on MLP presses is electronically controlled and does not require any tooling change. A customer saves around half an hour per job in set up time alone when compared with Flexo. Wastage is similar to what a Flexo press incurs,” says Akshay.

Since these presses are full servo, changeovers are very quick. The capability of parallel processing makes changeover very efficient and saves a lot of time for the convertors.

The Multiwave LED-UV system installed on the demo machine is from UV Energy, another company represented by Provin in India. The system allows to use both conventional UV inks and LED-UV inks on the same system without any difficulties. “The flexibility of using conventional UV inks and enjoying all the benefits of a LED-UV system such lower power consumption, not heat generation, no ozone, chip life of more than 25,000 hours provides an edge over others,” says Akshay.

The model installed at the demo centre is MLP 13 C which is a 13 inch model with a hybrid and offset press solutions. MPS has appointed Flexypack as its agent for Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, Montenegro, and Macedonia to represent the MPS brand of high-quality flexo, hybrid and offset press solutions in these regions. Founding partners of Flexypack D.O.O. Suboticaare Sasa Papic and Aleksandar Borisavljevic together bring over 50 years of label and flexible packaging printing experience, helping customers from process to production and future developments. speed of 200 impressions per minute (71.1 meters/min).

There are different models to choose from based on the production speeds • MEL: 150 impressions per minute (50 m/min) • MLP C: 200 impressions per minute (81.1 m/min) • MLP C (opt): 250 impressions per minute (101.6 m/min) (Installed at Pragati Pack, Hyderabad) • MLP H: 300 impressions per minute (121.9 m/min)

After sales and service support is provided directly by Provin with their team of trained and highly skilled engineers placed across India.

Wrapping up on the technology and process suitability for label printers, Akshay makes these concluding remarks, “Every technology has its own merits and demerits. “We have brought Flexypack on board to increase our service level in their appointed regions with local spare parts inventory, engineers, and applications specialists,” said Sebastiaan Rakhorst, MPS Regional Sales Director Central South East Europe. “MPS is very well-known and successful in Serbia – the largest printers are MPS customers. Flexypack will provide valuable local support in Serbia and further increase MPS presence in the other growing neighbouring countries.” Unfortunately, in our industry, a mindset has been created if it is labels it is Flexo and now for short runs, the trend is for Inkjet presses. The important point being missed out is that all these technologies are there to complement each other and are not meant to be compared. Flexo presses are meant for longer run jobs, offset (hybrid) presses for shorter to medium runs and digital for ultra short runs. It is a must for a label conversion house to have a complement of all the three technologies in-house to cater to the varied customer needs. One cannot expect to purchase a machine and do all sorts of jobs on a single press. To maximise productivity and profits all these technologies are required to work in harmony.”