S Anand Packaging starts production

Jain Transfer Products, an established name in the Indian label printing industry, has started production at its sister company, S. Anand Packaging, with an installation of an 8-color Mark Andy Performance Series P5 press. The machine comes with turnbar and cold foil units, chill drums and customized units for specialized printing processes.

Parshav Jain, director at S. Anand Packaging, says: ‘We are looking at the shrink sleeves segment seriously and will commence work shortly. This investment will facilitate printing both pressure-sensitive labels as well as shrink sleeve labels.’ Spread across an area of 800sqm on each level, the four-story factory in Noida houses slitter rewinders, an inspection machine, die-cutting units and other ancillary equipment. While one level is dedicated to storing raw material and another to office space, two levels will eventually be dedicated to converting and finishing labels.

The printing journey of the firm can be traced back to 1981 when Parshav Jain’s grandfather started Jain Transfer Products to be run by his sons – Sudhir and Pavail Jain. At that time, the company was printing labels in sheet form using manual screen printing units. It was in 1993 that the company bought its first 3-color Mark Andy 830, still in operation today. One of the first new Mark Andy presses in Delhi at the time, it was dedicated to printing pressure-sensitive labels for audio cassettes by T-Series, one of the biggest music and production houses in India. As work progressed, Jain Transfer bought another Mark Andy 830 followed by a Concordhitek 6-color intermittent UV letterpress, a Mark Andy Scout flexo press and a Mark Andy 2200 to cater to various sectors. The company also installed a Rotoflex VSi 330 slitter rewinder with 100 percent fault detection system in 2014.

While Pavail Jain started his own venture in 2005 by the name of Monarch Graphics, Sudhir Jain continues to run the business at Jain Transfer Products with his two sons, Rishab and Parshav Jain.

Talking of how the market has evolved since the 1980s, Sudhir Jain, director at Jain Transfer Products, says: ‘Volumes have increased tremendously since the time we started business. It was a seller’s market in the 1980s but the tables have turned and it is a buyer’s market now. Brands are

now increasingly looking at filmic labels to differentiate their products. Earlier, we used to print only on paper stock. Though it is easier to manufacture now with the advanced technology, but margins were better before. ‘In the beginning, we were printing gun labels and barcode labels but we stopped these because of competitive prices in the market. We have always wanted to stay away from the price war. Now, we do very selected barcode and blank labels and focus more on electronic and other product labels as well as customization as requested by our clients.’

Evolution

Jain Transfer Products has been catering to the electronics industry since the 1980s and has evolved tremendously in terms of converting techniques. The company  offers specialized die-cut labels for mobile phones with features such as screen protection films and tamper-evident seals. It also manufactures tire and battery labels, re-sealable labels for various applications, and promotional labels, among others. ‘We are among the couple of printing companies in India that prints and die-cuts tea tags. It is a tricky job and so are tire labels where the volumes are not very high but there are stringent performance requirements,’ says Parshav Jain.

‘We specialize in engineered and customized products. Some customers request for labels made with different printing combinations and features,’ says Sudhir Jain. The company has invested in made-to-order equipment with small footprint that prints variable data on pressure- sensitive labels with a scratch option.

‘Innovations such as these are crucial to differentiate from the competition. Having said that, we have experienced that only very few brands are willing to pay for value-added printing techniques and for selected products. So, a big percentage of our business is still contributed by six- to eight-color jobs.’

Parshav Jain, who graduated with a Masters in Graphics Communication from Clemson University, USA, is running the operations at S. Anand Packaging under the guidance of his father and brother. To further expand business and cater to new industries, the company is looking at investing in another European flexo press and ancillary equipment by the end of the year.

Sudhir and Rishab Jain, directors at Jain Transfer Products, are also expanding production capacity at another location in Noida. ‘We are upgrading our capabilities and expanding capacities in both the companies to tap the opportunity that Make in India campaign has offered to industries,’ concludes Sudhir Jain.