Xeikon's Labelexpo Booth Highlights 'What's Next'
Xeikon, a market leader in digital color printing technology for the labels and packaging industry, is preparing for its exhibit at Labelexpo Americas, the largest label and package printing event in the region. Xeikon will be located in booth 6125 at the show, which is scheduled for September 13-15 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill. Xeikon's parent company, Flint Group, will also be exhibiting narrow web inks, platemaking and flexo plates at the show in booth 840. During the show, Xeikon customers will be on hand to share their stories with booth visitors.
“Labelexpo Americas is a very important show for Xeikon,” said Dave Wilkins, VP of sales and marketing for Xeikon North America. “It gives us a great opportunity to catch up with existing customers and meet new ones in an environment that is very specific to their businesses. It also gives us an effective platform for launching new solutions to the North American labels and packaging community. This show will be no exception; we’ll have solutions we think attendees will find very interesting as they think about the future of their businesses."
Digital Combination Printing with Fusion Technology
Fusion Technology combines full color production printing with digital embellishment of labels and packaging in a single, one-pass and fully digital production process. Over time, Fusion will consist of a series of embellishment modules that are not just put in-line with the press, but are components of an entirely new modular system with the digital front end taking care of the prepress, data processing, color management and press operation as well as full control and operation of all embellishment modules without manual intervention. At Labelexpo Americas, Xeikon will be producing full color self-adhesive labels with the high opaque white favored by the health, beauty & cosmetics and luxury beverage industries. This application will be running on the Xeikon CX3 digital label press printing on clear label material. The jobs will exist of high opaque white (Fusion) and five colors of the CX3 press, which are CMYK and a MatteSilver dry toner.
“We showed this solution at Labelexpo in Europe last fall, and then again at drupa 2016, to rave reviews,” Wilkins added. “It is going in beta at a European customer site. It’s just the first of many in-line embellishment techniques we will be bringing to market over the next several months to increase the capabilities and productivity of digital printing for labels and packaging applications. These types of solutions are absolutely critical as label converters deal with shorter runs and faster turnaround times in order for them to remain competitive."
Cheetah Fast
Visitors to the Xeikon booth will also be able to experience all of the innovation, speed and productivity of the Xeikon CX3 digital label press with Cheetah Technology. The Xeikon CX3 features the fastest running speed, lowest operating costs and highest quality in its class. It gives label converters the flexibility to meet complex customer demands without compromising quality, reliability or consistency across a broad array of label types.
In-line Converting and Laser Diecutting
In addition, the Xeikon CX3 will also feature the inline Xeikon Dcoat unit. Available in in-line and near-line configurations, the Xeikon Dcoat post-press unit includes as standard features flood UV varnishing, lamination, semi rotary diecutting, length slitting and a dual spindle rewinder. Optional modules such as spot UV varnishing and alternative rewinders or slitters are also available. And all of this is designed for substrate webs up to either 330mm or 500mm wide and to address the needs of high quality, fast turn, and short run label work by streamlining label production and taking steps out of the process.
The Xeikon miniDcoat unit, including a laser diecut unit, will also be demonstrated in-line on the entry level Xeikon 3030 digital label press both 100% integrated through Xeikon Vectorizor generating the diecut profile. This configuration is the ideal startup package for those that want to get into label printing. Virtually all operations are digital — printing and converting. Both the printing presses, Xeikon 3030 and Laser diecut unit, can be upgraded to higher speeds should your business require this, designed to grow with the business.
Xeikon will also be demonstrating the Xeikon Flatbed Die-cut Unit (FDU) in the PackPrint pavilion at the show. The FDU is specifically designed to make short-run tag and folding carton production affordable. The FDU excels in productivity, minimizing the cost of converting cartons and tags. It is built to suit the Xeikon press portfolio but can also handle materials from conventional or other digital presses, extending its value to the organization.
“We are looking forward to sharing all of this with visitors to our stand at Labelexpo Americas, introducing them to some of our successful customers who will be on hand, giving away virtual reality sets daily,” Wilkins concluded. “Most important, we are looking forward to learning more about visitors’ businesses and how Xeikon can help. For those visitors not yet familiar with Xeikon, we believe they will be astonished at the range of high quality label applications, broad array of toner types and colors, and extended in-line or near-line finishing capabilities they can take advantage of. While none of us can accurately predict the future, our theme of ‘What’s Next’ at the show reflects how Xeikon customers use digital production to future-proof their businesses.”
Opportunity to Win
During the show, visitors who visit both booths; Flint Group (representing Flint Group Narrow Web, ThermoFlexX and Flint Group Flexographic Products) and Xeikon, will be able to be entered into a daily drawing. “Each day we will be giving away a virtual reality set that includes smartphone, goggle and headset.” Wilkins explained. “These can be used to view Xeikon virtual reality movies such as the ones we created for our Trillium technology as well as for other uses. This gift is a clear reflection of our excitement at participating in Labelexpo Americas and a thank-you to show attendees for spending time with us.”
