Noel D'Cunha and I head to Jaipur

According to Guraraj Ballarwad, chairperson of LMAI 2015 Conference, this is perhaps "the largest gathering of the printers, manufacturers and suppliers from the label printing industry."

Gururaj Ballarwad who created Wintek Flexo Prints in Bengaluru. His firm is part of Signode India who supply self-adhesive labels to FMCG, pharmaceuticals and industrial segments. The news is, the Rudrapur plant of the company will install a nine-colour Gallus EM 280 upgraded with online screen printing, and hot and cold foil stamping.

It's news such as this which one seeks, other than the fun and frolic.

Also I hope to gain knowledge and information in design, manufacture, testing and end-use performance of the pressure-sensitives used in the Indian tape and label industry.

To rewind a bit: The LMAI editions in 2011 and 2013 were hosted in Goa.

The PrintWeek India team has attended the conference in July 2013; where the number of delegates crossed 390. All in all, it was a great boost for the Indian label industry. As delegates said, "World class entertainment, learned speakers, lots of knowledge sharing."

This year it is Jaipur.

According to another industry veteran, Harveer Sahni of Weldon, "Fairmont Jaipur is an ode to the Pink City through awe inspiring architecture and decor, inspired by the Mughal Dynasty and Royal Rajputs of yore. This luxury Jaipur hotel is nestled amongst the majestic Aravalli hills, all 199 rooms and suites are elegantly appointed, to reflect a perfect blend of traditional Rajasthani décor and modern amenities."

So what should one expect?

“Over the years, the LMAI Conference has become an important platform for addressing various industry issues. This year we have increased the duration of the conference from two days to three days to ensure that the delegates, who travel from around the country and world to attend this event will get ample time to network and conduct B2B discussions,” says Vivek Kapur, president of LMAI.

Vivek Kapur besides being the presidnet for the longest time is also the head of Creative Labels which has carved a niche for pressure-sensitive substrates with PE, PP, metallised paper, films, chromo and cast gloss face stock at its Navi Mumbai plant. This plant is powered by a Gallus EM 280 and the Indian ECS 340 presses, plus an Iwasaki letterpress and control and inspection systems from Omega and Flytech.

This augurs well for the industry.

Today, the pressure sensitive industry in India is galloping at a brisk pace. Some say it is 15% CAGR, and others talks about growth in excess of 20%!

In spite of the blood bath in the market, the fact is PS market is winning back business from shrink sleeve labels, and replacing wet glue even in the liquor segment, which was hitherto a solid wet glue territory.

One of the big trends, Noel D'cunha and I hope to tap into at the LMAI in Jaipur is: the demand for decoration. This could be hot-stamping, cold-foiling, registered embossing, holographic decals, matt varnishes, textured patterns, etc.

One of the key questions which will be posed is: Can decorative technologies be done after printing in one single pass at high speeds on in-line UV-flexo press? And what is the cost ratio comparison for PS in comparison with wet glue and shrink sleeve?

See you in Jaipur.

PS: If you have any LMAI related update, contact me on rahul@haymarket.co.in