Noida-based Leap Digiprint started in October 2017. The promoter directors of the company, Honey Vazirani and Vikram Prasad, are veterans of Huhtamaki PPL where Vazirani worked for almost 25 years handling the label division since its inception and Prasad headed various businesses in his 20 years there. After leaving Huhtamaki, the directors took a break, a deep breath and then decided to venture into their own label printing business in Noida’s Sector 63.
“Frankly, we are both foodies; we love to travel and we love music. Our original idea was to start a food outlet in the Himalayas but then we realized that we can always do that after sixty,” says Vazirani. “While we were at work, we never forced ourselves to go to the office because we loved our work. We have good knowledge in the label and packaging field since we’ve worked in it for two decades. So, we wanted to be in the field that we knew best but at the same time we didn’t want to go back to the same old thing that we were doing. We wanted to do something related in the area of our expertise but also futuristic, and digital definitely scores well there. Hence, we decided to step into the digital label and packaging business.”
The company installed its HP Indigo WS6800 webfed digital press in November, which can handle substrates from 0.1 to 6.3 mm thickness for printing labels, flexible packaging, sleeves, IML, wrap-around labels or folding cartons. The press also comes with an inline priming unit. The directors are committed to the betterment of the environment and the HP press comes with a ‘Carbon Neutral Technology’ certificate. The machine is eco-friendly not only from the production point of view but it also helps in reducing wastage as by offering the flexibility to produce desired quantities of just-in-time labels with no real advantage in producing and storing extra volumes. The HP press, which can also use variable printing for incorporating security marks and variable compliance data, is at the core of the new business as all the work in both short and longer runs will be printed on it.
Leap Digital has also purchased an ABG Digicon Series 2 finishing and converting machine with a single station for varnish coating of labels to be installed by the end of March or in early April. Subsequently, Leap intends to convert shrink sleeves on it for which it presently has a shrink sleeve converting machine. Apart from these converting equipment, the company has a seaming machine and a cutting machine from Excel Plast.
Going ahead, the company plans to tie up with reputed suppliers of monocartons and laminated tubes for printing and converting board cartons and printed tube laminates. This would help the company to supply the entire gamut of packaging applications. For this purpose, the company has tied up with a laminate supplier who will supply laminates for digital printing of packaging.
The company is currently working with the cosmetics industry and some well-known FMCGs. Leap Digiprint has tied up with a few label manufacturers who need to print small lots digitally for pharma or liquor companies. Thus, some part of the company’s current business is job work for other converters while its remaining business is to supply directly to brand owners.
“We are looking at B2B, which is the traditional model of business in our industry. At the same time, we are not limiting our offering only to B2B, but are also trying to go B2C. Of course, in B2C, we need to be a little limited as we don’t have the wherewithal to suddenly serve a large number of customers. So, right now, B2C is just a test case for us to try and see how it fits into our overall scheme of things,” says Prasad.
