Label converters can’t live without digital

The three flagship label solutions that Konica Minolta India presented at Labelexpo India 2024 were AccurioLabel 230, AccurioLabel 400, and AccurioPro Flux. “The AccurioLabel 230 is a four-colour label press, our legacy product, launched in November 2017. This press has been our highest-selling product in the Indian market since its launch,” says Vijay Kamat, product manager, business development - industrial print business, Konica Minolta Business Solution India.

The AccurioLabel 230 hallmarked Konica Minolta as a bona fide brand for digital label solutions. “Taking the legacy of this press forward, we introduced AccurioLabel 400, one and a half years back,” Kamat says, adding, “This press is our answer to customers who demanded white ink printing. They particularly work for clients in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors and AccurioLabel 400 enables them to print labels in CMYK + white ink gamut.”

The third flagship product that Konica Minolta presented during Labelexpo India 2024 was the AccurioPro Flux workflow solution. “Both the AccurioLabel 230 and AccurioLabel 400 are powered by this workflow solution,” Kamat says. He adds that digital label converters require AccurioPro Flux in the pre-press stage when they do label imposition and colour management.

He continues, “The AccurioPro Flux is the perfect workflow solution to control the tonal value of colours, special colours, and smaller texts with font sizes as small as 2.3. In addition, this workflow solution helps converters die-cut labels accurately. All these processes require a powerful workflow. So, we introduced the AccurioPro Flux just a few months ago and demonstrated it at Labelexpo.”

Speaking about the company’s installations, Ankit Madan, senior manager, product lifecycle management and planning, industrial print business, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India, says, “Of them, there are three AccurioLabel 400 presses and the rest are AccurioLabel 230. It has been our pride to say that we are able to install three units of AccurioLabel 400 since its launch just one year back.” He adds, “Out of the three customers who have invested in the new AccurioLabel 400, two are repeat buyers. It all happened because of the trust they have built up in the brand Konica Minolta as well as the dedicated after-sales service we provide them. When it comes to our service as an OEM, it has been one of the fortes that make us reliable among our clients.”

In the increasingly competitive market, Konica Minolta stands unique in serving its clients differently. In this, Kamat asserts, “What we do is how Konica Minolta is different in the completion. We have a model called 360-degree support for customers. It works stepwise like this – first step: we sell the machine; second step: we provide service; third step: we procure spare parts; fourth step: we have the logistics to manage the consumables. We operate 25 warehouses across India.” Training is a vital part when it comes to the company serving its clients. “We provide rigorous training to our clients on how the machines are operated for efficient outputs and productivity,” Kamat says, adding, “We even train the sales teams of our clients. Generally, the sales teams of our clients predominantly sell large volumes of labels from flexo product lines. So, we conduct extensive training for those sales teams to engage in selling labels printed on AccurioLabel presses. This is something Konica Minolta India is continuously doing. This, we don’t see with our competitors.” In the current label market, which is still filled with choices of analogue, digital, and hybrid presses, there is an increasing significance of digital presses. In this respect, Kamat says, “What we observe in the current label market is the trend of flexo and digital presses going hand in hand. Nowadays, label converters can’t live without flexo and digital presses.”

He adds, “When we talk about hybrid label presses, these models have a lot of components that we don’t have easy control over. For example, flexo presses with inkjet components and software from third parties have major drawbacks in integration. It eventually pushes operators to the back foot. Many customers who have installed hybrid models are going for single line flexo and single line digital.”

On the disadvantages of hybrid label presses, Ashok Sethi, the chief sales officer, Konica Minolta, says, “When we make hybrid machines for pre-press, press, and post-press processes, all three have to complement each other. When misconnection happens, one system would hang, and it would affect the overall process. That means a standalone machine is much better.”