Made in India: Offline drip-off technology from Alpna

Alpna has been at the forefront of innovation and high-end technologies in the field of UV curing and coating technologies.

Offline drip-off technology is quite unique to India. Alpna have been pioneers in 2007 when only online options were available. The game-changer innovation from Alpna has helped all the mid to large folded carton converters adopt the drip-off coating system.
“We helped drip-off technology to become popular and accepted by all print buyers from FMCG, pharma, beverages, hosiery, and other segments,” Debashish Dutta, general manager, Alpna Visual Packaging Aids, says.

The product
The company’s product range includes the Rhino-Dexa multi-deck offline coater; offline smart coat drip-off kit with CDB anilox; M-Cure mercury UV System and L-Cure LED UV System.

Dutta says the CDB anilox uses advanced technologies with CDB chambers from Tresu, Denmark. The technology also uses the servo precision sync technology, which is an automatic varnish circulator, and synchronisation with the offset platform of the conveyorisd system. The products come with superior lamp-head and reflector design. The products offer EPS and PLC-based operations for energy efficiency. The machines have detailed engineering designs, taking into consideration shopfloor pain areas, and focusing on productivity and safety aspects.

The Rhino-Dexa and the smart drip-off kit offer one-stop solutions to any kind of offline coating, such as gloss UV coating; matt/gloss UV coating for spot coating; drip-off coating available with different texture options; water-based gloss and matt coating; water-based primer coating; velvet-touch coating; blister medium coating for blister packs and barrier coating for food packaging.

The market growth: From 2009 to now
The Alpna offline drip-off solution started in 2009 while Rhino-Dexa was launched at PrintPack 2015.

Dutta says the product is targeted at folding carton converters and commercial printers. “It is ideal for jobs where a unique and eye-catching finish is critical for branding, aesthetics, and for fighting counterfeiting,” he says.

He adds, “Alpna offers indigenously developed technology that ensures high efficiency and rugged performance. We probably offer the highest price-to-performance ratio for our customers. The use of quality input material, detailed engineering, and unique safety features make our equipment energy-efficient and ensure higher output.”

Alpna has a sales network in more than 11 countries with more than 2,500 satisfied customers in India and across the world. 

Some of the company’s existing customers in India include Parksons Packaging; ITC; Noble Print n Pack; Temple Packaging; HBD Packaging; Lynx; Replika; Param Packaging; KCL; Sai Packaging; Printmann; Sneh Comprint; NK Gossain; ST Reddiar; Rajhans; RT Graphics; Fortuner Packaging; Niyogi Offset; Afaraz Healthcare, among others.
Overseas, the company’s products are being used at Silverpoint, Sharjah; Constanta, Moscow; Inter Pack, Bangladesh; GTC Converters; Sri Lanka; Padma Lamitube, Dhaka; Prepaid Solution, Ghana; Sama Printers, Nepal; Sarl Img, Montanari, France; Afra Asianray Printing Equipment Trading LLC, UAE; Archie Offset Printer, Kathmandu; Atlas Axillia, Sri Lanka; Jerusalem Digital Printing Co, Jordan; Shokoh Noor Khorasan Food Ind, Tehran, among others.  

LED UV systems to prosper 
Debashish Dutta says while choosing such a technology, customers usually look for the latest technology, reliable efficient performance, high productivity, energy efficient systems for cost-saving and sustainability.

“We are popular among packaging converters for our ability to offer customised solutions for various applications and different offset presses. This is possible because of our strong engineering team and our deep understanding of the technology platforms,” he says.

Dutta says Alpna’s EPS-based conveyorised systems and inter-deck systems have replaced the traditional transformer-based systems. These clinically designed EPS systems offer a host of benefits to consumers, such as lamp output control leading to power-saving and increased efficiency; increased production safety; accuracy in printing leading to superior print quality and virtually maintenance-free operation.

At the same time, one of Alpna’s USPs is an extremely good price-to-quality ratio.

Dutta adds, “We are engaged in continuous innovations and upgradations of our products which are based on customer feedback, continuous innovations, and focus on energy efficiency and safety of machines and users.”

He explains that Alpna equipment are user-friendly and are designed with highest level of safety features. “This has been our forte from the very beginning and we never compromised on this,” Dutta says. “We are engaged in continuous training of end users. The training is imparted by our trained service engineers. We have pan-India service and application support. We have trained engineers stationed in all major cities in India. Other locations are covered by these regional hubs.”

According to Dutta, India’s position and image in the global landscape have changed, and technology and solutions from India are taken seriously as compared to what it was in yesteryears. Today, Alpna wants to expand its footprint across the globe, and Dutta says the company has a huge opportunity in front of it.

“Higher productivity and minimalistic design will be a trend in the future. LED UV systems will come in a big way in the coming years due to the associated benefits attached to them. Growth in eCommerce will change the landscape of packaging demand and design in a big way,” he explains.n