P Jaichandra: Flexo printing has evolved over the last decade

According to Jaichandra, managing director at the company, most of the reputed trade shops in the country are on a level playing field when it comes to the latest technology and infrastructure. "Having said that, we at Veepee Graphics go that extra mile by helping our customers standardise their printing process. This gives
them more predictable prints by avoiding surprises on the press and making them more competitive by reducing wastage and increasing their productivity."

He says his team pays a lot of attention to detail, and in some cases customise the screening to suit their printing process. "Evaluating new technologies and being one of the first to implement it has always been our strength," he adds.

Furthermore, he says that flexo printing has evolved over the last decade from reproducing line work and simple graphics to a printing process on par with offset and gravure today. "Though a lot of advancements were made on the equipment side, the developments in the photo polymer plate and plate-making technology has played a vital role in what flexo can deliver now. The major challenge of printing fade to zero vignettes in flexo is a thing of the past, which I feel is the biggest achievement for the industry in the last 12 years," says Jaichandra.

In terms of innovation and R&D, Jaichandra says that customised screening based on the printing conditions and the substrate is an ongoing process at Veepee Graphics. "Our plate making procedure is ever evolving based on customer requirement and we do not follow the mundane practices prescribed by the plate manufacturers. This has helped us keep competition at bay. We strongly believe that being unconventional and thinking out of the box is the only way you can survive in this industry."

"With liquidity crunch in the market today, the mantra of the brand owners or managers will be just-in-time supply," explains Jaichandra. "We, as a trade shop, can work more closely with the brands and the converter to reduce the lead-time for the product to reach the market. Pre-press is an integral part of the packaging development process and presume we can do a reasonably good job."