Page 14 - Print21 November-December 2021

Cover Story
Xeikon runs with inkjet and toner options
Digital print pioneer Xeikon offers both inkjet and toner print engines in its end-to-end solutions. Wayne Robinson talks with Filip Weymans and Trevor Crowley to find out what it means for print business owners.
Xeikon has been in digital print from the very beginning, launching its DCP-1 at Ipex almost 30 years ago now, and for most of that time it used dry toner technology, which it still does, but now also has inkjet systems as well.
It was three years ago that the company decided the time was right to offer inkjet options, and so it launched the Panther series, now the PX presses, to run alongside
its existing Cheetah, or CX toner based series. Since then it has also launched its Idera inkjet carton board printing system.
Xeikon’s long time global marketing head Filip Weymans is well known to the Australian and New Zealand print community, having welcomed many of them into Xeikon booths over the years, and to the Xeikon Café, both at head office in Belgium, and over the last year or two in its online version.
He says, “We recognised there were certain applications where inkjet would be a better solution for our customers, for instance if they we reprinting labels that had a high need for durability. Each technology has its strength, we wanted to be technologically agnostic, to be able to give our customers what was in their best interest.”
Xeikon’s thinking is that while both systems will print all labels,
if a label printing business has a predominant client base, and many do of course, then opting for one technology or the other will give them real benefits. Trevor Crowley, Xeikon ANZ country manager says, “For instance, UV inkjet will be used for health and beauty labels, or for labels that need high durability, while Xeikon’s FDA compliant
dry toner is suitable for food and pharmaceuticals as well as beverage, wine and FMCG applications.”
Today the Panther UV inkjet range is meeting the needs of label printing
businesses in ANZ and around the world. Crowley says, “For some customers it gives them access into whole new markets. The Panther
PX press series also allows label printers to replace a UV flexo press with a digital machine that gives the benefits of UV, but with the added benefits of digital.”
The original Panther series had the PX3000 and PX2000 four colour plus white printers running at 50 metres a minute on a web width of 330mm, and last year the company launched the PX30000, with eight print stations running at up to 70 metres a minute.
Today’s new Xeikon PX3300 Panther inkjet press has a print resolution of 600x600dpi but a
top speed of 50 metres per minute, whereas its Cheetah 2.0 toner press can print at maximum 30 metres per minute – but at 1200x3600dpi. “It’s a lot quicker to lay down three hundred and sixty thousand dots with inkjet than it is to print more than four million dots with toner,” says Crowley.
“The Panther PX press series also allows label printers to replace a UV flexo press with a digital machine that gives the benefits of UV, but with the added benefits of digital.” – Trevor Crowley
“If the expectation or requirement from the customer is the best in quality, then a dry toner press is
the best option. If the customer has longer print runs and does not have the same high resolution and quality requirements, but also needs the additional characteristics of what UV inkjet has to offer, then an inkjet press will be the ideal fit,” he adds.
Providing high productivity levels, the new UV inkjet Xeikon PX30000 is equipped with eight printing stations, two of which are used to achieve high opaque white layers at
maximum speed. The UV inkjet label press is driven by Xeikon’s X-800 digital front end, geared to maximise digital print manufacturing.
According to Xeikon, the PX30000 UV inkjet press offers a cost- effective and fast time-to-market solution for short to medium-run flexo jobs. It provides the label printer with maximum opportunities to produce the widest range of digitally printed labels with a glossy tactile look, optimum durability
and high levels of resistance against scuffing and scratching.
The press is designed to appeal
in particular to label printers working in the high-end markets
of health and beauty, chemicals,
and premium beers. The company says label printers looking for
faster turnaround times, reduced production costs and lower complexity will be able to explore new business possibilities offered by digital printing. Xeikon’s PX30000 is now available for demonstration at Xeikon’s Global Innovation Centre.
14 Print21 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021