Toray partners with TechNova

Indian plate manufacturer and distributor TechNova Imaging Systems has been appointed as the exclusive distributor of Toray waterless offset plates in India.

Sunil Kokane of Technova with Shoko Makita of TechNova

TechNova Imaging Systems has been representing Toray for letterpress and dry offset plates in the country since 2010. Toray described the tie-up with TechNova Imaging Systems for waterless offset plates is part of an effort to have a more focused marketing strategy in India.

Sunil Kokane, manager, product development, Flexo Solutions at TechNova Imaging Systems, said: ‘Printing with Toray waterless plates enables offset printing without the need for dampening water. These plates can be used to increase the ink density to ensure brighter and more vibrant colors on the image. The richness of color is better because it does not use any water. This matters most while printing dark shades of greens and browns as they are most difficult to print.

‘Toray waterless plates are capable of printing on a variety of substrates including the non-absorbent surfaces too. Reduced dot gain, higher resolution using stochastic screening, wider color space, higher color depth with superior registration at higher LPI are some of the other benefits of printing with Toray waterless plates.’

Some of the environmental benefits Toray claims from the use of its waterless offset plates include water sustainability, no tainted water discharge, no fountain solution, no waste water management and reduction in the use of chemicals in plate processing thereby minimizing VOCs.

Shoko Makita, export manager at Toray Industries, said: ‘Due to less downtime and impressive print results, waterless plates are widely used in Japan, Europe and other developed nations. Any standard offset press equipped with a cooling system can run waterless offset plates. Earlier, waterless plates in India were mainly used for security printing, like printing of bank cards. With the emerging label printing segment where waterless plates are effectively used, we perceive that there is a high potential in India for waterless plates. We already have a number of customers using our waterless plates in India.’