Kohli’s Thea builds momentum as high-end gravure installs cross borders

Mumbai-based Kohli Industries continues to strengthen its position in high-end rotogravure printing with the growing global footprint of its Thea-9one8 Rotogravure printing press, which today counts eight to nine installations in India and overseas. Positioned as the company’s flagship technology, Thea represents Kohli’s push into faster, more efficient and operator-centric gravure press design.

Kohli is at PlastIndia in Stall C4 in Hall 6, alongside their parent entity Rajoo Engineers.  

Introduced with the launch of the Thea AR360 in 2015, the platform marked a generational shift for the manufacturer. Designed to address long-standing gravure pain points, Thea brought together rapid register correction, faster job changeovers, high-performance drying with lower energy consumption, and consistently precise register accuracy. Over the years, the platform has evolved into a reference point for converters seeking productivity without complexity.

Thea-9one8 was launched in September 2020. Designed as a multi-substrate rotogravure press, the machine prints on polyester, BOPP, paper, PE, MDOPE, PVC and other flexible substrates. Kohli says the 9one8 was developed over more than two years, shaped directly by interactions with press operators and maintenance engineers across global markets.

Kohli’s commitment to demonstrating machine stability and performance was on full display during its four-day open house held from 16 to 19 July 2025 at its Ambernath facility. Customers and potential clients from across the globe gathered to witness live demonstrations, including the machine’s ability to smoothly ramp down from 400-mpm to 200-mpm and back to 400-mpm without disruption.

Ease of operation sits at the core of the 9one8 philosophy. Practical features such as ink trolley transfer — allowing operators to reuse inks between jobs without dismantling systems — significantly reduce changeover time. According to Kohli, the machine is built around a single guiding principle: ease of operation, ease of changeover, ease of safety, registration, production, information access and maintenance.