Made in India: S3S Sleeve Press from Multitec

Multitec’s latest launch, the S3S Sleeve Press, represents a breakthrough in India’s flexographic printing landscape as the country’s first and only sleeve-based mid-web flexo platform. Built on a robust, fully servo-driven architecture featuring four servo motors per print station, the S3S delivers exceptional control over print pressure, register, and stability —empowering converters to achieve world-class precision with zero-waste setup. 

“Its gearless print units eliminate backlash and gear marks entirely, while intelligent automation enables on-the-fly pre-registration and perfect register even during rapid acceleration or deceleration. Advanced anti-bounce technology ensures smooth, defect-free printing at high speeds. Lightweight sleeves replace traditional cylinders, making job changeovers fast, ergonomic, and highly operator-friendly,” says Amit Ahuja of Multitec.

For mid-web formats

Launched in Q3 2024, the S3S is designed not only for converters shifting from narrow-web to mid-web formats, but also for printers currently relying on digital presses for short-run flexible packaging. In markets where digital’s total cost of ownership is high, the S3S offers a far more economical, higher-throughput, and equally agile alternative, delivering premium quality with dramatically lower running costs. It is a powerful, future-ready solution for converters seeking high efficiency, profitable short-run capability, and global-standard print performance.

According to Ahuja, the machine is also targeted to converters considering European flexo presses but needing a more economical yet advanced alternative with quick service and support. It is also suitable for companies aiming for near zero-waste setup, faster makeready, global quality and print consistency.

Made for India

In India’s highly cost-sensitive environment, the S3S delivers a compelling economic advantage by eliminating the major cost barriers associated with other printing technologies. Unlike digital presses — where ink, click charges, and consumables inflate the cost per print — the S3S delivers premium quality at a fraction of the running cost. Compared to gravure, it avoids the heavy, expensive cylinders and time-consuming changeovers that make short runs impractical and costly. And when placed against high-capex European flexo presses, the S3S offers comparable technology and automation at a significantly lower investment, making world-class performance far more accessible. 

“It ensures fast, low-waste makeready, excellent register quality, and stable high-speed operation enables converters to handle short-run flexible packaging and label jobs with speed and confidence,” he said. 

The Customers 

According to Ahuja, when choosing a flexo press, whether in India or globally, customers consistently look for reliability, print quality, and total cost of ownership. “They want a machine that delivers consistent precision, minimal waste, and stable performance across long and short runs. They want more automation that helps reduce operator dependency and ease of operation as this directly impact productivity and staffing efficiency,” he explains. 

He adds that globally, converters increasingly evaluate technology based on sustainability, uptime, and the ability to handle diverse substrates. In India, the same expectations exist but with an even sharper focus on cost efficiency, low maintenance, and quick ROI.  

The applications

The S3S is truly versatile, making it suitable for a wide range of labels, flexible packaging, and specialty applications. It can effortlessly print on unsupported films starting from 10μ PET, 15μ BOPP, 35μ PVC/PET shrink films, 20μ aluminium foil, as well as self-adhesive substrates including paper, PET, BOPP, and PVC. The press also handles paper, lamitube materials, and light carton board up to 400-gsm.

 The end products would typically be flexible packaging, shrink sleeves, in-mould labels, wrap-around labels, PSA labels, wet-glue labels, linerless labels, multi-layer peel-and-reseal coupon labels, combination-process labels, lamitubes, aluminium-foil packaging, and cartons.

The USPs

According to Ahuja, the following are the USPs of the machine: True ECG-ready platform (unique in India): Ultra-tight registration and uncompromised pressure control make the S3S the only Indian press that successfully runs Expanded Colour Gamut (ECG) as a standard practice. No anilox or ink changes needed between most jobs — CMYK + white covers a majority of SKUs.     Sharp five-pt reverse text prints cleanly and consistently, job after job. Competing presses struggle with ECG because their register and impression drift — Multitec users adopt ECG with confidence.

High-precision printing (built for accuracy): Gearless, fully servo-driven architecture ensures micron-level consistency across all decks. Massive frame structure — nearly double the size of competitors — gives exceptional rigidity, eliminating bounce and vibration. Result: stable high-speed printing with outstanding fine-detail reproduction.

Ultra-fast changeovers: Lightweight sleeves enable quick job changes with minimal downtime. Memory-based automation reduces makeready to mere minutes — perfect for short runs and high job mixes.

Low waste, low maintenance: Instant registration, minimal mechanical parts, and optimised tension control drastically reduce setup waste. No gears = far lower maintenance, less wear, fewer stoppages.

Versatile substrate handling: Advanced tension and servo controls allow smooth running of thin, sensitive, and stretchable films without instability.

Ahuja says Multitec’s commitment to customer success extends far beyond machine delivery, supported by a dedicated 12-member service and training team that ensures smooth installation, seamless onboarding, and continuous operational excellence. The team comprises specialised mechanical, electrical, and application engineers, enabling customers to receive focused, expert assistance across every aspect of their press. To further strengthen responsiveness, Multitec provides 24×7 support through two dedicated engineers, ensuring immediate help whenever customers need it. 

Targets

Says Ahuja, “Our target for 2025–26 is to firmly position the S3S as the go-to mid-web flexo platform in India and in key global markets. The early response has been extremely promising, with strong traction from converters who appreciate the S3S for its precision, automation, and operator-friendly design.”

He adds, “We already produce around 40 presses annually and expect to sell around 12 of these S3S machines during this period. We are seeing high level of interest. We currently have six S3S presses on order, including one of our largest configurations — a 12-colour press being delivered to a customer in Russia. This momentum gives us confidence that the S3S will be a major growth driver for Multitec in the coming year.”