On an exhibition floor of 7,000 sq m, Media Expo 2017 in its 40th edition in Mumbai showcased some of the latest innovations in the signage industry. Mention of some of the prominent exhibitors, without which the show would have lost the luster, include some brands like Hewlett Packard (HP), FUJIFILM India, Mehta Cad Cam Systems, Mimaki, ColorJet, EPSON, Apsom Infotex/Roland DG, Mono Sign Systems, AT Inks, JX Enterprise, Vee Kay Enterprises, JN Arora, COSIGN, FUJIFILM Sericol, City Advertising, Kheizer Sign, Signarium, Angel India Cad Cam, OSRAM, among others.

Machines on display

FUJIFILM India at the expo showcased its portfolio comprising the company’s latest and made-in-India eco-solvent printer, Vybrant 1800. Driven by patent FUJIFILM technology, this eco-solvent system is specifically designed to provide high-quality outputs at affordable cost relevantly arranged for the Indian customers, a more value for money proposition, providing excellent productivity with up to 20 sq m/hr. Alongside, the company also demonstrated its widely demanded Equity EY flatbed printer. “As it is always, Media Expo is a good platform to present our latest products and technologies,” said Pradipta Chowdhury, senior product manager – WFIJ, FUJIFILM India. Showing of samples churned on FUJIFILM printers by Mumbai-based signage major Neat Graphics was a crowd-pulling activity at a corner gallery at the company’s stall.

Another crowd-puller at the expo, JN Arora & Co showcased a complete portfolio of machines from reputed overseas companies, viz. HandTop, PolyPrint and Smartjet. “Here in this expo we present some of our machines for the western Indian market. Of them, HandTop HT3200UV Hybrid is a GEN5-Series UV printer, capable to produce high-quality and high-volume outputs either on roll or rigid media,” explained Aashish Arora from JN Arora & Co Pvt Ltd. Also, showcased at the company’s stall during the expo were Texjet ShorTee from PolyPrint and Smartjet’s SJ-4550 UV LED curing flatbed printer. According to Aashish, the newly introduced Smartjet printer for the western Indian market is compatibly designed for a broad range of 3D applications in a customised mode on metal, glass, ceramic tile, leather and others.

ColorJet, with its pride portfolio of indigenously manufactured machines, announced the introduction of two versatile printers, Aurajet AJ-1821and Verve Mini, for the western Indian market. Smarth Bansal, brand manager, ColorJet India, said deals of more than 50 machines had been closed during the expo. Presentation of the new Aurajet Series-II at the expo opened up a new aspect in inkjet printing of photo real graphics. On the other side, Verve Mini running live at the company’s stall was an entry-level UV printer for short-run jobs. Moreover, other products on showcase at the ColorJet’s stall were Softjet Plus, Verve UV and Polo Turbo.

Roland DG, along with its Indian channel partner Apsom Infotex, put up a line of machines and technologies pulling huge crowd to newly unveiled prospects in wide-format graphics, dye sublimation, fabric prints, etc. Demonstrated live at the company’s stall were some key Roland machines, namely, Roland TrueVis VG-640 inkjet system, Roland Soljet, Roland Versa UV LED-300, among others. Referring to the footfalls at the expo, Ravi Agarwala, director, Apsom Infotex, said the visitors roaming around are a potential crowd who are very specific about what they are looking for.

“Among the key highlights at our stall is Roland Versa UV LED-300. This system is the latest and greatest in our VersaUV LEF Series flatbed printers which offer direct printing on a vast array of materials, including three-dimensional items up to 3.94 inch thick,” explained Joe Wigzell, academy and creative centre manager, Roland DG. He said Roland DG currently in India is gaining new business momentum and introduction of new flatbed system would boost business to a newer magnitude.

A latex revolution was what Hewlett Packard (HP) heralded at its well-designed colossal stall during the expo. Demonstrated at the stall was a whole gamut of latex applications under the theme ‘Latex Studio’ revealing possibilities the technology could produce in all graphic parameters, including wall art, printing on fabrics, indoor signage, backlit display systems and others. “What we are presenting here include all new possible applications that latex can bring on a new pathway of innovations for PSPs using this technology,” said Santosh Nair, country category manager–sign & display HW, HP India.

On the other side, HP had its divisional presence showing competencies of DesignJet and PageWide Series with the demonstration of DesignJet T2530, DesignJet T830 and their newly introduced PageWide XL 5000. “At this expo, we are announcing the launch of HP PageWide XL5000 in the western Indian market. A latest addition to the portfolio, this new PageWide Series is a game changer in line printing. We have around 90 percent market share in this segment, and so far, near about 50 PageWide systems have been installed countrywide,” mentioned Devang Karia, country manager, large-format design, PPS-GSB, HP India.

NEGI Sign Systems & Supplies showcased its powerful portfolio comprising Mutoh range, with their indigenously manufactured NegiJet Series, PZO Inks and others. Main crowd puller at the company’s stall was the Mutoh ValueJet VJ-1638 eco-solvent, a 64-inch system with latest piezo drop-on-demand printhead technology. The system can deliver high resolution print of 720x1080 dpi at 20 sq m/hr. “We announce a special scheme of Rs 1500 (750 ml cartridge) for those who book the system (Mutoh ValueJet VJ-1638) during the expo,” mentioned Vijay Kandari, sales head, NEGI Sign Systems & Supplies Co. So far, NEGI Sign Systems & Supplies has installed more than 25,000 Mutoh ValueJet Series printers all over the country.

Presenting a line of its versatile printing systems and a couple of new launches, Mimaki India at the expo pulled crowd of trade visitors showing ardent interest in the features of the machines. Creating more values, the company announced two new systems, UJF-3042 MkII and UJF-6042 MkII. These UV-LED flatbed inkjet printers are best-in-class industrial systems designed for direct printing on objects up to A3 and A2 sizes of 153 mm thick. Demonstrated at the company’s stall was JV 300 Series (160), which is now being upgraded to new global standards. The new standards in the printer make it capable to run at an outstanding speed of 105.9 sq m/h. The system provides both productivity and quality in printouts at the utmost output levels. Alongside, Mimaki India also showcased other systems—JV 150 Series, CJV 300 Series (Print & Cut), CJV 150 Series, among others. “We are satisfied with the overall footfalls and profile of trade visitors at the expo,” said Mandar Nalawade, director, Mimaki India Private Limited.

A regular participant at the expo, JX Enterprise marked a landmark presence in this edition of the expo, showing its line of printers comprising the popular Gongzheng systems. Presented physically at the company’s stall was a Gongzheng GZM eco-solvent printer with Dimatix Starfire 1024 printhead. Some added features of the machine, which include ‘Extreme Speed’, pulled crowd on all three days of the expo. The printer can run at the speed of 2400 sq ft/hr in production mode, 1760 sq ft/hr in standard mode, and 1370 sq ft/hr in quality mode. “Overall arrangement of the expo is quite impressive, and it’s good to know that visitors are overwhelmed with what we are presenting here—especially our GZM Extreme Speed,” said Varun S, manager, JX Enterprise.

Mehta Cad Cam Systems announced the introduction of two new Rasterjet UV flatbed printer models (RJ 2513 and RJ 2030), displaying the former at the expo. RJ 2513is equipped with RICOH Gen 5 printheads. Alongside the accurate, robust and good looking printer, the company also introduced two Accutek CNC channel bending machines—A13ESW and AT1. “Combining both the plate and profile processing, the systems integrate the most convenient switching function of materials and cutter. In addition, double bending tools design of the system can easily deal with stainless steel, galvanized sheet, aluminium profile and other materials,” said Diwakar Mishra, national head – marketing, Mehta Cad Cam Systems Pvt Ltd. He added that the machine is perfectly designed for guaranteed highest ROI in the market.

In its Gongzheng lineup, Mehta Cad Cam Systems announced a new model, GZH 3206, which is equipped with 6 Starfire printheads (arranging 2 each in 3 rows), delivering 3,750 sq ft with just two extra printheads. GZH 3206 has closed encoder strip, pneumatic pinch roller control system, easy-to-do carriage height adjustment, IR heating system to dry the ink fast even at high speed. Plus the printer’s robust body gives very stable operations, making it one of the fastest and strongest printers ever introduced by Mehta Cad Cam Systems.

A complete portfolio comprising its range of indigenously developed Mehta CNC routers, laser engravers and a line of imported Gongzhneg series was what Mehta Cad Cam Systems demonstrated at their stall during the expo. Key products among the overall showcases were EVA Series laser engraving machine and LX-Series CNC routing machine. “This newly announced CNC routing system, LX 1325, is versatile to handle rigid materials of all kinds,” explained Diwakar Mishra, national head – marketing, Mehta Cad Cam Systems Pvt Ltd. Also, showcased attractively at the company’s stall was a line of other systems, which included a Rasjet RJ UV 4x8 ft flatbed printer, and a Gongzheng GZM 3202SG, which is economical in its class, alongside many others crowd-pulling products during the expo.

Spotlight at the stall of EPSON was on SureColor SC-S80670, which was latest addition to the company’s SC portfolio. In addition to the new system, the company demonstrated a host of its SC printers, viz. SureColor SC S60670, S40670, P20070, among others. Milind A Chavan, area head-west (LFP), said the company’s new SureColor SC-S80670 is designed to churn widest colour gamut to meet the most demanding tasks in wide varieties of indoor and commercial applications. The printer features EPSON’s pronter 10-colour UltraChrome GS3 ink and option of ‘white’ or ‘metallic silver’ colours. Also, it can handle up to 64 inch width and 1mm thick media. Print samples shown at the company’s stall were in four verticals—floor, vehicle, wall and fine art—printed all on the SC Series during the expo.

A major attraction at the stall of Arrow Digital was the live demonstration of OKI systems—ColorPainter M-64s and OKI Pro9541dn. Built to produce high-quality prints to the requirements of both outdoor and indoor graphic applications, all with the same premium ink, ColorPainter is a versatile printer for high density and high durability print outputs at 66.5 sq m/h; meanwhile, OKIPro9541dn is an inkjet system. “At this expo, we present our mixed portfolio of machines comprising wide and narrow formats for diverse applications,” said Nikhil Pote, sales manager, Arrow Digital Pvt Ltd.

Angel India Cad Cam announced the introduction of an upgraded CNC router— DNE. The newly introduced routing system from the company is engineered to laser-cut metal and various other non-conventional materials. According to Sanjeev Kumar, manager, Angel India Cad Cam Pvt Ltd, DNE is designed with laser power ranging from 500 to 1000W. “Visitors’ traffic and overall enquiries we receive for our products during the show is overwhelming. We look forward to introducing some more new products in the next edition of the show,” he said.

Introduced from Vee Kay Enterprises at the expo was the TS-Jet V2, a DIY Smart T-Shirt and soft signage printer. Sunil Jha from the company said the newly introduced textile printer is a next big thing in the industry as it is suitably engineered as per the current demands and requirements for newer textile applications in the Indian market. Demonstrated alongside the DTG system was E-Jet Vo, a versatile printer for all indoor and outdoor graphics.

Canon India through its channel partner Varay marked its presence in the expo, with the showcase of a line of Pro-Series wide-format printers for graphic art production.

Sanjay Kumar Bindroo, manager-marketing, professional printing products division, Canon India Pvt Ltd, said the demands for the Canon Pro Series wide-format printers—namely 520, 540, 560S—keep escalating as the systems provide best of ROI among graphic art production firms.

Meanwhile, the crowd that swarmed at the stall of Patel Enterprises was overwhelmed by the company’s presentation of a line of versatile sticker and label cutting (half and full) machines. SN Patel from Patel Enterprises said the expo drew the right crowd for the products they showcased.

Siare Technologies alongside its sister division SINOINDO showcased a combo of machines, which consisted of CNC routing systems and Allwin printers. Sanjay DJ, director, Siare Technologies, said the footfall at the show was fabulous. On the other side of the show floor, Target Sign Tech, a regional channel partner of ColorJet, Canon, Roland and Supratech, presented its complete product portfolio at the expo. Inkjet printer manufacturer Goldtech Graphics pulled crowd at the expo as it showcased a range of solvent printers ofdiverse configurations. As UV has been a key focus of PAL Associates, the company announced its resourceful UV FB6090 printer at the expo.

Inks & media

Ink specialist FUJIFILM Sericol was yet another key exhibitor at the show, which unpacked fresh innovations in printing, pulling crowd specifically to its newly announced retrofitable UV lamp system.

“This new UV system, which we introduce at the expo, is a new marvel from our end. “This can be retrofitted on a select range of popular printers, such as Roland VersaArt RA 640 and EPSON DX Series, to add UV effect on conventional prints,” said Baibhav Nath, senior marketing executive, FUJIFILM Sericol.

Unlike other conventional inks, the range of inks from FUJIFILM Sericol is designed for better mileage and longer printhead life. Heralding this, the company showcased the ink portfolio comprising their widely demanded Color+ Series in which the CUV is branded as ‘Smart UV Ink’ for UV applications. At the company’s stall, a collection of graphic samples printed using the inks was demonstrated, attracting a huge crowd of trade visitors who were awestruck seeing the outstanding print outputs. Baibhav said they are now more into R&D for further innovations to be unpacked. He added that they have introduced an R&D hub in Pune where they constantly work for further innovations in their products and technologies.

Introduced new from AT Inks was Pocolor Unique, which has low odour and higher outdoor life and compatibly designed for a line of popular printheads, including KM, Seiko, Spectra, XAAR, RICOH, StarFire, among others. The products were on the shelves at the company’s stall during the expo. “We offer variants for the printheads; for example, available grades for Seiko printhead include Max, Quattro, Standard, Pocolor, Chrome and Cobalt,” said Manish Agarwal from Mono Sign Systems (all India distribution partner of AT Inks). Similarly, these grades are available for Konica Minolta printhead too, for 512i and 1024 models.

All variants from AT Inks are made for printheads of 14pl, 30pl, 35pl and 42pl. The inks are bright and vivid with high optical density, compatible with diverse printing materials. Also, AT Inks are acclaimed for being scratch and smudge resistant. Showcased alongside the inks was Mono Sign Systems’ widely acclaimed cast acrylic sheet, Mona Acrylic. Other products in the portfolio available under the company’s sister unit MS Associates are LED modules, components, strips and SMDs.

Sun Sign & Technologies, a one-stop quality signage materials corner, presented a range of media for diverse applications, whether it could be for printed graphics or LED-based backlit display items. Flaunted attractively at the company’s stall were the range of products, which included the ever popular Starflex range, SENFA Decoprint premium backlit fabrics and SUN LED (powered by SAMSUNG). “SENFA materials are produced after undergoing a series of quality print tests on popular printers like EPSON, HP, Mimaki, MUTOH, Roland, VUTEk, etc,” said Deepak Gupta, director, Sun Sign & Technologies. SUN LED modules and power supply system are made with extra brightness and three years warranty.

As an authorised distributor of LG Hausys materials in the western Indian market, Wonder Sign constantly upgrades its product portfolio from time to time, to the needs of the industry. “We are regular participant in the Media Expo; this event is a right platform for us to launch new products,” said Ashwin Agarwal from Wonder Sign. A new launch from the company at the expo was the colour vinyl with wooden texture for floor graphics. Range of products shown impressively at the company’s stall in the expo included vinyl, backlit flex and other digital printing materials.

Sun Printable Fabric, a New Delhi-based specialist in all kinds of fabric printing, announced the launch of a new Sun Fabric material at the expo. The newly introduced SunFabric PP 190 Gloss is a fabric material compatible with HP latex and various other technologies including UV, solvent and eco-solvent. Sun Fabric materials are eco-friendly, light weight and premium quality.

One of the pioneer manufacturers of printing materials in India, Pioneer Polyleathers is expanding its product portfolio with some new additions. At the expo, the company showcased its range of products and some display systems. Jitu Mishra from the company said they are presenting their existing product line as well as some new roll-up standees and foam-boards. In the block, Silver Sign was another material company presenting an extensive range of its HI SIGN and NeoFlex brands of printing materials. Ram Kumar Chakaravarti, sales manager, Silver Sign Pvt Ltd appreciated the potential crowd gathered at the expo.

Gita & Company, showing a whole gamut of premium printing materials, announced the introduction of a versatile media range designed for diverse applications.

Viva Composite Panel, Mumbai-based leading manufacturer of aluminium panel sheets, displayed its range of materials in metallic and solid colours, pushing bar of possibilities in creativity to a new high.

Laxmi Sales Corporation, a popular stockiest of a wide range of printing media of all kinds in Mumbai and Pune, presented its gamut during the expo with the announcement of some new arrivals. New among the products on showcase from the company was an LG P Series (light diffuser). “Our major highlights at the expo focus on 3M and NOVA Star materials, which are now available in various patterns and textures,” said Ramakant Mabdhana from Laxmi Sales Corporation. The company is an authorised regional distributor of some of the premier brands like Kodak, 3M and TechNova.

INKBANK, a division of INKBANC Group Limited from Shenzhen (China), showcased its range of inkjet inks. “We follow R&D techniques and equipments from Germany,” said Sunny, overseas department area manager, INKBANC International Group Limited.

Vinayak Impex at the expo showcased a string of high-quality LED modules and SMPS for signage solutions from abroad and a range produced at its manufacturing plant in India. Mentioning ‘Vi Kenton’ as one of the premier brands in their product portfolio, Vikas Kumar, CEO, Vinayak Impex, said they are now into distribution of the finest range of LED modules and chips from world’s leading manufacturers.

Providing best-in-class taps of diverse qualities and capabilities, Ajit Industries showcased a new dexterity in fixing flex and other materials during fabrication and installation processes. Jet Cartridge, a provider of innovative solutions for digital textile printing, demonstrated its product range comprising dye-sub inks, disperse inks, pigment textile ink and others.

Illuminated displays

All that glowed at the stall of CITY ADVERTISING was what it pulled crowd on all three days of the expo.

The company supplies highly illuminated LED strips and all types of power supply. “In our product portfolio, we have recently added our new division called NGLS (Next Generation LED Signage), which is a corner full with premium products for corporate projects,” said Nitin Srivastava, managing worker, CITY ADVERTISING. In addition to LED modules, strips and power supplies, the company has been indulging in making LED-embedded glow signs, block-outs, laser-cut signage systems and such kinds.

In the block of exhibitors showing products and technologies for illuminated signage solutions, OSRAM in its small and compact stall demonstrated a string of backlighting and decorative LED modules and other related products. After decades of experience in providing premium lighting solutions, OSRAM has eventually forayed into the signage domain with the introduction of digital sign systems, LED components, modules and others. “Our company has a long and deep root in the lighting industry and we know the depth of the technology. Our foray into the glow sign sector will be a new milestone in the industry as we offer some fresh innovations ever introduced in the signage market,” said Sandeep Raghuvanshi, manager-DS (Signage), West & South India, OSRAM Lighting Pvt Ltd.

When it comes to premium range of LED modules and power supply systems, ADS LED presented them all during the expo as the company offered choices of products for those in pursuit of high-end illuminated display systems. Based in Ahmedabad, ADS LED boasts its widely-demanded LED modules and power supply systems available in series as Power Max, Quantum, Lumina, Wave, Spark, Pixel, among other. Zakir Vohra from ADS LED said they would plan to add new variants to their portfolio soon, upgrading the range to a new standard.

Among the overseas exhibitors at the show, Korean LED maker NC LED pulled crowd to its showcase of a series of unconventional LED stripes, modules and power supply systems.

Cut & modular signs

All that swarm around the stall of Kheizer Sign was a herd of visitors looking for a premium range of letter bending machines, laser welding and cutting systems, fiber laser cutters and others. The company caters Kbend brands of machines, which are versatile and competent to handle rigid and flexible materials of all sorts. At the expo, Khiezer Sign revealed new potential in engraving, cutting and routing with the showcase of its existing line of machines. Riyaz Siddiqui from Kheizer Sign said Media Expo is a perfect platform to present their products and interact with right business people.

Modular signage expert COSIGN India showcased a high-end range of way-finding solutions, poster frames, architectural signage systems. The company also presented a line of sign-making tools, LED modules and other related products. Kapil Purandare, executive director, COSIGN India said their products have been gaining popularity in the Indian (modular) signage market. Belgian company COSIGN is a designer and manufacturer of modular signs with its products available in 80 countries worldwide. The company has regional offices in India and Mexico.

Yet another exhibitor in the category, SIGNARIUM deals in aluminium profiles for signage and fine art displays. “What we are showing here is our existing range of high-quality aluminium profile systems and components,” said Rishi Sheth from SIGNARIUM. He added that their participation in the expo helps them connect with their partners whom they always wish to strengthen relationship.

PV Media and its mother company Shreeji International demonstrated a range of machines and display systems. Showing a line of Accu Tech CNC routers and channel bending machines, PV Media opened up a new prospect in cut-sign making during the expo. On the other side, Shreeji International pulled crowd to its showcase of x-banner stands, door frame standee, folding easel, sun-board stands, among others. Showing its prowess in laser cutting systems, SIL (Suresh Indu Lasers) presented its indigenously manufactured CNC routers having unique technical features like X, Y-Axis drive system and pinion with 20 mm sq linear guide.

SPT, a Guangdong-based manufacturer of laser tubes for CNC routers, participated in the expo showing its range of flagship products. The company boasts of T and C Series laser tubes as well as CO2 Laser Reflective Mirror, Focus Lens and Power Supply. Alan Yan from SPT said they are quite impressive with the crowd gathered at the expo and looking ahead to partnering with channel partners in India. Showing a complete signage solutions, including some of the best of POP and POS display systems, Aaartist/Signage & Graphics presented its whole combo of solutions consisting everything for signage and display works—starting from catalogue stands, spring banner standees, safety glow signs, advanced modular sign systems, traffic signs upto a new range of extendable elliptical signs.

A regular participant in Media Expo, JB Art Studio, a distributor of channel letter bending machines from leading American manufacturers, announced the launch of a new fully-automated Accu-Bend ACE machine designed to notch, flange and bend complete channel letters in minutes.

Amitoje picks HandTop 3200 UV HR8 from JN Arora stall Among the orders and purchases took place during the expo, New Delhi-based Amitoje invested in the HandTop32UV HR8 flatbed system, which is distributed in India by JN Arora & Co. HandTop HT3200UV HR8 is a dual-purpose and multifunctional hybrid UV printer, perfectly designed for engaging in medium and large scale productions. Configured with 2-8 RICOH greyscale piezoelectric printheads, the flatbed system can run at 38 sq m/h (6 pass) with ultra precision in 6 colours and1200×1200 dpi. Kuljit Singh Juneja from Amitoje said they were impressed by the UV printer’s optimum balance of print speed and image quality. “Media Expo is a good platform where trade visitors from all over the country are gathered. This is the right place to network with the industry people and introduce new products and technologies,” asserted Vimlesh Arora, director of JN Arora & Co. He elatedly added that they are happy to find new owner of their HandTop32UV HR8 flatbed system, which is equipped with belt conveying control system for movable media, such as wallpapers and flexible and light-duty rigid materials. If this flatbed printer is in its 24×7 production mode, only one operator is required for all operations.