Xeikon America, Inc. announced the addition of two new digital label presses — the Xeikon CX30 and Xeikon CX50. Building on its sixth generation platform and based on CHEETAH 2.0 technology with new generation interfaces and cloud connection, the new presses are designed to offer maximum overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). The Xeikon CX30 and Xeikon CX50 fit into the Xeikon portfolio between the Xeikon 3030 REX and Xeikon 3050 REX entry-level presses and the higher-end Xeikon CX300 and Xeikon CX500.

Xeikon has designed and developed the two new presses to suit label printers operating on ‘middle capacity’: 20,000-40,000 m2 or 30,000-55,000 MSI in all end-use segments. The press could be suited in the pharmaceutical, food and wine & spirit label sectors. The new machines are available for online demonstrations from Xeikon’s Global Innovation Center in Antwerp, Belgium and commercially available worldwide.

“Part of the Xeikon strategy going forward is to make sure every label printer and converter has the maximum choice to purchase a Xeikon press that can help them drive business growth,” says Filip Weymans, VP, marketing at Xeikon. “A successful and cost-effective investment in a digital production solution works best when it is based on expected, realistic print volumes. Xeikon’s CHEETAH 2.0 series offers competitive running costs, and printers have the opportunity to successfully expand the capabilities of their press by upgrading either in speed or width, or both. The Xeikon CX30 and Xeikon CX50 are appropriate choices for printers and converters looking at digital for the first time with future plans to expand and grow their operation — also for online label printers who are seeing their business explode.”

Both the Xeikon CX30 and Xeikon CX50 are ‘middle capacity’ presses that can be upgraded on site: 

•  For higher speeds, both the Xeikon CX30 and Xeikon CX50 can be upgraded from 20mpm (65ft/min) to 30mpm (98ft/min) with the Xeikon CX300 or Xeikon CX500.
• For greater width, the Xeikon CX30 (330mm or 13”) can be upgraded to the Xeikon CX50 (520mm or 20.47”) or the Xeikon CX500.

CHEETAH 2.0 technology is based on Xeikon’s scalable press architecture that includes five print stations and a full rotary process with a variable repeat length. Each station utilizes Xeikon’s dry toner process and a variety of print widths up to 512mm (20.3-inches) using an LED imaging head operating at 1200x3600 dpi and delivering offset/gravure image quality.

The two new presses use Xeikon’s QB dry toner based on CHEETAH 2.0 technology, which offers color consistency across the web and a high volume of output with reduced waste. The toner is available in CMYK, red, blue, green, orange, extra magenta (gamut extension colors), super black; and technical colors such as One-pass opaque white, UV and reflective clear as well as colors produced at the customer’s request. The QB toner achieves top quality results on a broad range of standard flexo substrates. The pigments used in the QB toner are of the highest grade and FDA-certified as food safe, and offers high levels of ‘light fastness’. The labels reportedly continue to shine long after printing.

The Xeikon CX30 and Xeikon CX50 utilized the X-800 digital front end (DFE), which can be integrated with common ERP and MIS systems and holds variable data capabilities. The company says accuracy of color reproduction over time and between presses is guaranteed by an integrated on-press inline spectrometer.

“With Xeikon’s long standing expertise, we have developed the deeper understanding that can help label printers and converters with all aspects of running a successful digital business, from choice of equipment (10 label presses) and choice of technology (Dry toner and UV inkjet) to workflow integration and expert color management services,” says Weymans. “We are recognized as a go-to trusted advisor and solutions provider. Xeikon wants to help label printers and converters transform their label manufacturing into digital label manufacturing — not just digitizing the printing aspect but also the other aspects of the manufacturing processes inspired by digital printing. With the introduction of the Xeikon CX30 and Xeikon CX50, we continue to build and structure our comprehensive portfolio so that our customers can find everything they need with Xeikon.”

For more information, visit www.xeikon.com.