Rave Scans installs country's first Speedmaster CD 102-6+LX with Foilstar

With this investment, Rave Scans, which started as a pre-press unit in 1993, before diversifying into commercial printing, announced its arrival into the print packaging segment in a big way. During the course of the event, the company also revealed its diversification plans for the packaging segment, with a focus on high-end rigid boxes. For this, the company has also invested in rigid box-making machines from Italy-based Emmeci.

 

According to Shiv Bhatnagar, COO, Rave Scans, the Speedmaster CD 102-6+LX, a combi press with Foilstar, and integrated with second generation Prinect image control, will give Rave Packaging, the packaging unit of Rave Scans, an advantage in the market filled with UV printing.
 

The machine is a six-colour printer plus coater with Heidelberg’s cold foil module Foilstar. The technology, introduced in 2010, offers brilliant metallic effects on labels, packaging and high-quality commercial print job, and it can be used for wide range of substrates. The cold foil is applied inline in an offset printing unit. Thus, the technology automatically benefits from the advantages of offset printing, such as short makeready times, register accuracy, fast job changes, and low printing form costs.

 

“Foilstar reduces waste and is environment-friendly, as the prints achieved through Foilstar are recyclable,” said Peter Rego, business unit head, equipment sales, Heidelberg India, adding that this is a first of its kind machine in India.

 

 

A Heidelberg loyalist, Rave Scans has never shied away from investing in new technologies. It was the first Indian firm to invest in Heidelberg’s XL 105 in 2005. Today, the company has 10 Heidelberg machines. It also invested in Emmeci MC2004 mechatronic lines for rigid-boxes. Recently, the company finalised the deal for two more Emmeci machines.

 

Currently, 68% of the company’s business is commercial and the rest 32% is packaging. It has a capacity to print one million impressions per day. According to Shiv Bhatnagar, the company’s packaging arm is a growing segment and this is the reason why it decided to invest in future-ready technologies. The Speedmaster CD 102-6+LX with Foilstar, which is India’s first and the world's 59th machine, will be installed at the company's Manesar plant, dedicated to Rave Packaging.      

 

The event not just showcased the company’s new investments and its bullish strides into the packaging market, it also introduced the second generation of the company, Shiv Bhatnagar, who looks after the packaging arm of the company. Bhatnagar was instrumental in the decision to invest in the new machine after he saw it at work in a German print firm.

 

Bhatnagar said the new investment would boost the company’s capacity for security printing, as it is the only company in India which can do it. “There are only two kinds of printing happening in India. One is conventional and the other is UV. We also have UV machines, as it was the need of the hour. However, since UV is not environment-friendly, we believe foil is the future. As foils are 100% aluminum, they are 100% recyclable,” said Bhatnagar.

 

The unveiling of the machine was followed by a presentation by Mohit Jain of Anil Agencies, the Indian representative of Emmeci. He exhorted how Rave Scans made a smart move by targeting the top of the pyramid customers, where there are fewer competitions.

 

The event concluded with a question answer session attended by Rakesh Bhatnagar, managing director, Rave; Klaus Nielsen, managing director, Heidelberg India; Mauro Mazzinghi, CEO, Emmeci; Bhubnesh Kumar, director, Rave; Mohit Jain of Anil Agencies; Peter Rego of Heidelberg and Shiv Bhatnagar of Rave.