Page 32 - Print21 Nov-Dec 2020

Labels
Flexibility for
The features such as colour control and job imposition, which minimises stock waste, are a real boon to printers, creating significant efficiencies at the touch of a screen,” Crowley says.
Xeikon is also recognising the many printers are looking to make an entry into digital labels and packaging but may not want to go
all in with a brand new system.
For them it has developed its Rex refurbished programme, which sees pre-owned presses available for a significant discount on the price of new. Crowley says, “A Rex press has the same capability as a new press, and can be scaled up in the same way, but comes in at an appealing price point for printers looking to move into digital labels.”
Xeikon solutions
Xeikon ANZ country manager Trevor Crowley tells Print21 it is the flexibility and scalability of the presses that sets them apart.
One of the markers that we are in a new digital age is the crumbling of what were formerly distinct boundaries.
The digitisation of data and files is allowing print business owners to expand into related fields if the technology allows them, which – in the case of innovative Belgian developer Xeikon – it does.
Trevor Crowley, ANZ country manager at Xeikon, which is now owned by ink giant Flint, says, “The Xeikon label platform will allow you to print onto a huge range of stock, virtually any type of label there is, as well as being used for folding carton applications, wall decor and commercial materials.”
With the Xeikon press, a converter is able to produce all forms of labels, be they pressure sensitive labels, heat transfer, in-mould or even wet glue. Then, if the converter has the need, that same engine can produce folding carton, or even paper cups. This allows the converter a great deal of flexibility to provide multiple label and packaging solutions for the one customer.
Crowley says, “We have customers in ANZ and globally who print pressure sensitive labels and wet glue labels, or heat transfers and pressure sensitive, using the same engine, with the only changes being the material that they are printing on. If you have the Xeikon platform you will be in a strong position to capitalise on whatever opportunities come your way, and you can go into new markets with confidence.”
The key is in both the self- developed software and the hardware. Changing between different media is only a matter of selecting the profile in the Xeikon proprietary digital front end DFX800. The engine does the rest. The finishing differs, of course, depending on the application. Crowley says, “The flexibility, the environmental sensitivity, the food
compliance are all reasons why Xeikon printers are gaining plaudits across the world.”
The ability of the Xeikon
printers to produce across multiple applications with little in the way
of makeready, is complemented, Crowley says, by the scalability of the machines themselves. A printer can make an initial investment and then up-spec the printer as the business grows and demand rises. You can invest in a CX300 for instance and then upscale it to a CX500 down the track, or have a PX2000 turned into a PX3000 at your factory.
Crowley says, “Xeikon has worked hard to understand the dynamics of
its customers and the market. The scalability of its presses is key to its success. Printers don’t have to invest
in what they don’t need; they can more closely align capex to demand, and they don’t need to go all in from the start.”
The DFX800 front end on the Xeikon is proprietary technology developed by Xeikon itself specifically for purpose. It is not a generic system that has been adapted for digital printing.
“Printers don’t have to invest in what they don’t need, they can more closely align capex to demand, they don’t need to go all in from the start.”
Flexibility: Trevor Crowley, Xeikon
Xeikon offers both toner and inkjet presses, with the inkjet Panther series aimed at durable and high-gloss labels, while the toner Cheetah series is for labels and packaging where the highest quality is required, and where food safety is needed. Xeikon also has the Sirius engine for graphic arts applications.
The company was one of the pioneers of digital printing, launching it onto the world at Ipex 1993, and remains a print pioneer with its multiple applications and upscaling approach. 21
32 Print21 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020