SOMA’s compact and highly flexible Optima packaging printing solutions gave Multiflex Polybags a timely advantage to remain competitive in India.
SOMA is a leading manufacturer of printing and converting solutions. It is a hub for the latest development in flexography for industry partners in the fields of ink, plate, anilox, sleeve, and tape. Meanwhile, Multiflex Polybags is a leading flexible packaging producer of labels, pouches, and polybags with the main plant located in Chennai, India.
Challenge
India has one of the largest printing packaging industries in the world. Reportlinker has forecasted that its packaging market is expected to exceed USD 204 billion by 2025. With this rising demand for packaged food and smaller print runs, packaging businesses cannot be working solely with gravure technology. They need to consider flexo technology as the way forward.
In addition the installation of the equipment was to be carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. There were therefore logistics and traveling challenges to overcome due to the movement control procedures put in place.
Approach
We recommended the SOMA 800 Optima CI Flexo press solution as it is a start-up small press in terms of width and repeat, and easy to operate. While being compact for space efficiency, the press is purposeful featuring a full range of automation and user-friendly features. A key benefit of the machine is that it easily rewinds the used print setting film for future reuse.
The compact eight-colour press is automated for make-ready, registration, and cleaning purposes without the waste of printing material and time. The press runs at a speed of 300 meters per minute and can print materials with a width of 820 millimeters.
To overcome the pandemic movement controls in India, our team and engineers coped with the stringent travel permissions and safety requirements to fulfill the installation at the customer’s premise and provide the necessary support services for the equipment.
Result
The biggest success for Multiflex Polybags was that they were able to meet their customers’ packaging and printing requirements. They also achieved better printing stability and improved output quality.
Very important for the business is that the Optima CI Flexo press enabled them to register high accuracy in small print batches that are on par with the traditional gravure processing method for large columns of printing.
“This press is a must-have for every flexible packaging printer and converter, and its power-packed and compact size providing us with an extra armor in our arsenal. The machine is very versatile in terms of material handling and enables quick job changeovers for shorter runs. We are grateful to DKSH and SOMA for their continuous support in these challenging times,” says Rajendra Mehta, Director, Multiflex Polybags.
“Although we live in a globally connected world, SOMA understands that local resources are significant reference centers to explore and test new trends and innovations in flexographic printing. We are very happy as this was the first time that the Optima press was installed in India, following the previous installations of other models from SOMA’s Flexo Family,” says Pavla Kusa, Commercial Director, SOMA.
