Meritage Specialty Packaging Invests in Digital Label Press

ITASCA, Ill.—Xeikon announced that Meritage Specialty Packaging Ltd., a Vancouver, B.C.-based provider of value-added printing and packaging solutions and systems, has purchased and installed a Xeikon 3500 digital color label press to help expand the company’s production of packaging components for the luxury goods industry.

Meritage provides leading-edge visual packaging, helping graphic designers create highly differentiated brand packaging for their clients. Meritage uses the Xeikon 3500 to produce pressure sensitive labels and packaging for wine and spirits labels, cosmetics, health and beauty, retail fashion, and other proprietary engineered structures.

Jay Tapp, co-founder and CEO of Meritage, said the exceptional color consistency and registration accuracy, along with the format flexibility, high productivity, and 1200 dpi imaging quality, as well as the environmental benefits, were among the key deciding factors in selecting the Xeikon 3500. Superior color reproductions with intense decorating treatments in exact register are hallmarks of the company’s work.

“We listen to what graphic designers tell us they want, and aim for technical innovations that will knock their socks off,” Tapp said. “The Xeikon 3500 is an ideal combination of high productivity, industry-leading imaging quality, and functional technologies that continue to evolve. We’re excited to work with brand packaging designers to push the limits of color reproduction and decorating enhancements.”

Dawne Tapp, co-founder and president of Meritage, said the embedded anti-counterfeiting features of the Xeikon 3500 are important tools for Meritage’s clients. “In today’s tough economy, the last thing our customers want to worry about is having their hard-won brand integrity counterfeited. We can provide them with fabulous looking graphics and decorating, as well as peace of mind that their label or package is genuine.”

In addition to producing highly decorated labels and packaging, Meritage emphasizes integrating security and anti-counterfeiting, variable imaging technology, and tracing and tracking systems into its decorated products.

“Meritage is the company that designers turn to when they want highly customized packaging that differentiates their brands from their competitors,” said Michael V. Ring, president of Xeikon America Inc. “The versatility and high productivity of the Xeikon 3500 will enable Meritage to create more compelling packaging products, and allow its clients to take their brand marketing campaigns to the next level.”

The Xeikon 3500 is equipped with five color stations—four for the standard process colors and the fifth one for the use of spot colors, a one-pass opaque white toner, or a security toner for anti-counterfeiting applications. It runs on Xeikon’s QA-I toner, which is FDA-compliant for indirect and direct contact with dry food.