Media Expo 2019: Gallant ups its capacity with Mimaki and Handtop

Gallant previously owned an eco-solvent machine which was later dislodged by a latex machine, both of which were signed from Silicon Infotech.

Anil Rohira, managing director, Silicon Infotech, said, “The Mimaki UCJV 300 offers UV printing along with print and cut features. This has enabled it to broaden the range of applications that it can print on. It can cover numerous media. Also, people prefer UV over latex because of a better density of black colour.”

It is applicable to large format sign, long-sized sticker, and vehicle wrapping films, among other applications. “The machine helps in achieving a wide sized print production and it also enables printing on coated and uncoated paper” added Rohira.

With this addition, Gallant is looking into new verticals such as Interiors, furnishing, and automobile, among others. “A lot of avenues have opened to us now,” said, Hetul Thakkar of Gallant Printing Solutions.

The machine is Greenguard Gold certified, which is a certification based on a strict global standard for chemical diffusion.

Thakkar, said, “Apart from the Print plus cut feature, the machine provides very durable graphics plus the variants Silicon Infotech had provided was commendable. You could hand pick the number of heads, along with an option of various sizes and also the type of heads that you desired, according to your requirement.”

Few of the top names who have installed the Mimaki machine include Mumbai-based Liberty Graphics, Pune-based Orchid Digital, Pune-based Keytronics and Shah Digiprint, among others.

The second machine which Gallant had booked at the trade show was a Handtop 3116 UV flatbed Kyocera with a linear motor.

Rohira said, “The linear motor helps in achieving negligible mechanical contact, longer lifetime, speed and precision. More importantly, the Handtop linear motor application offers carriage speedup to 1.5m/s along with bi-directional printing, giving premium productivity under the same printhead quantity.”

Thakkar said, “The linear motor concept is similar to that of magnetic levitation. So, with this feature, my heads are around the linear motors, and there is no friction. This can help me get a better output.”

Some of the marquee names who have installed the Handtop machine include Sign & Display, Signnext and New Adventure, among others.

“Also, along with the machine, we are offering the softwares like Caldera and Onyx,” added Rohira.

Silicon Infotech has completed about 10-12 installations of the Mimaki machine in the past three months and seven installations of the Handtop machine in the past one year. 

Rohira said, "At Media Expo 2019, we have received close to five bookings."

Apart from Gallant, the other companies who had booked orders at the trade show, included Kamal Arts, Durasign Corporation and Pioneer Digital, among others.

Thakkar added, "We were looking into UV technology as customers understand good material technology, these days. The performance quality and the price of these machines were ticking all boxes that we were looking out for."

According to Rohira, the UV machines have become more robust, stabilised and easy to handle, that too with better speed and considerable price point. “The OOH and signage industry needs more of such high-speed UV printing machine.”