The machines are under installation at a site in Kochi, Kerala, and the formal launch of the business is expected to take place in February 2020, with ‘right noises’, said Renil Thomas, the consultant who is driving the Xpress Labels project

Four print specialists from Kerala, Louis Francis of Photopark, Sajith BS, Roy Thomas of Orange Printers and Arun Kumar NV, Avery Dennison’s representative for south India, came together to form Xpress Labels. Francis will be the managing director of Xpress Labels.

According to the team's study, the label business has tremendous potential, and is a growing segment in packaging. “Brands in FMCGs, consumer market, pharma, healthcare and textile industries of today’s world are trying hard to create or maintain a unique identity. We see labels playing a large role when it comes to branding and packaged products,” said Thomas.

He added, “The main reason for entering the labels business and not carton or flexible packaging is the ease of managing the operation. The standalone digital unit with extra automation and the latest AI will help us manage the whole business.”

The HP Indigo WS 6900 digital press is capable of delivering speeds of up to 40m/min. It comes in a seven ink station configuration with CMYKOVG as standard inks while supporting HP’s specialist inks including Indigo ElectroInk Silver, White, UV visible inks and fluorescent inks.

Speaking to PrintWeek, A Appadurai, country manager for HP India, said, the HP indigo 6900 press is the flagship labels and packaging press that caters to multiple segments like labels, flexible packaging, shrink sleeves, in-mould labels and carton. “Kerala has many premium small and medium brands in spices, cosmetics, Ayurveda and gourmet foods. These brands will benefit greatly with high-quality packaging products with Xpress label installation of Indigo 6900.”

A thousand miles journey starts with the first step. Labels is our first focus, packaging will follow. We have steady plans,” concluded Thomas.