As the rapid expansion of India’s packaging industry continues, converters are investing in technologies capable of delivering higher print quality, greater production efficiency and faster turnaround to meet evolving brand expectations.
The country’s packaging industry was valued at US$84 billion in 2024 and the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) has forecast this to reach US$143 billion by 2029, representing annual growth of approximately 11%1. Against this backdrop, Esko, together with DuPont Cyrel, SOMA and Popli Graphics, recently welcomed converters from across the region to Delhi for a customer event showcasing how the Esko Quartz ecosystem is helping accelerate the transition to modern flexographic production.
Bringing together industry leaders, technology specialists and converters, the ‘Quartz on the Road’ event demonstrated how advances in flexographic imaging, plate production and press technologies are making gravure-quality print achievable through an integrated flexographic workflow. “This event gave a first look at just how Esko Quartz technology, DuPont Cyrel plates, and SOMA’s advanced flexographic printing technology are redefining what’s possible in flexographic printing,” said Karan Talwar, South Asia sales director with Esko.
“We demonstrated how the first commercial installation of Esko Quartz technology in India, running on a SOMA printing press, delivers outstanding print quality, productivity, and consistency, with this powerful combination setting a new benchmark for flexographic printing,” said Talwar.
“This event also served to highlight the value of the collaboration between Esko and DuPont Cyrel. By combining Esko Quartz screening technology with DuPont Cyrel ESXR plates, converters can realize the full benefits of modern flexographic production, including gravure-like print quality, improved process consistency and greater manufacturing efficiency. Together, the technologies create a validated solution that helps converters meet growing demands for premium packaging quality without compromising productivity.”
Through production samples, technical presentations and customer case studies, attendees gained practical insight into how connected technologies can simplify implementation, reduce production complexity and consistently deliver exceptional print quality.
“As consumer brands across South Asia continue to raise expectations around shelf appeal, color consistency and sustainability, converters face increasing pressure to deliver premium packaging while maintaining profitability,” said Karan. “The Esko Quartz ecosystem addresses these demands by combining advanced screening, imaging, plate production and workflow automation into a validated end-to-end solution that delivers predictable, repeatable results while improving manufacturing efficiency. Developed to remove many of the barriers traditionally associated with high-end flexographic production, it enables converters to adopt advanced technology with confidence and realize measurable business benefits,” he said.
A highlight of the event was the opportunity for attendees to hear directly from early technology adopters in India – Numex Blocks and Shree Plast industries – through an interactive session where they shared their experiences and learnings from the implementation of the Quartz ecosystem.
Numex Blocks, the Mumbai-based specialist in flexo and letterpress plate production, became the first trade shop in India to offer digital flexo platemaking more than 20 years ago. Serving high-end flexible packaging and labels customers in India, Numex has a longstanding relationship using latest Esko technology to meet the evolving needs of the industry.
“Since implementing the Quartz ecosystem, we have seen consistently exceptional results across a wide range of applications,” said Nitin Patil, director at Numex Blocks. “Perhaps more importantly, our customers have recognized the difference, with the enhanced quality receiving extremely positive feedback and helping reinforce confidence in our capabilities and the quality achievable.”
Santosh Vaidya, director, Shree Plast Industries, said, “As the first converter in India to adopt the Esko Quartz ecosystem and DuPont Cyrel ESXR plates, we have successfully migrated reverse printed jobs from gravure to flexo across FMCG and other major packaging segments, including 150 to 175 LPI applications. The solution supports our short-to-mid-run production requirements and frequent job changeovers while consistently delivering excellent print quality. Our partnership with Numex Blocks has been instrumental in achieving these results.”
Gururaj Kirsur, DuPont Cyrel sales manager for South Asia, said the event also demonstrated the strength of collaboration between Esko, DuPont, SOMA and Popli Graphics. “The success of this partnership illustrates how a fully validated ecosystem enables converters to reduce implementation risk while achieving consistent performance from file preparation through to the finished printed package,” he said. “The implementation of DuPont Cyrel ESXR plates with the innovative Esko Quartz ecosystem is helping define the future of the flexo experience in India.”
