Xeikon America (Itaska, Illinois) has added two new dry-toner 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, these new presses are designed to offer maximum overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). The CX30 and 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 designed and developed the two new presses to suit any label printer operating on ‘middle capacity’ – that is, 20,000-40,000 m2 or 30,000-55,000 MSI in all end-use segments. The press is especially ideal for the pharmaceutical, food and wine & spirits label sectors. The new models are available for online demonstrations from Xeikon’s Global Innovation Center in Antwerp, Belgium, and will be commercially available worldwide in the first quarter of this year.
“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,” said Filip Weymans, Vice President of Marketing at Xeikon. “A successful and cost-effective investment in a digital production solution works best when it’s 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. They’re also ideal for online label printers who are seeing their business explode.”
For higher speeds, both the Xeikon CX30 and Xeikon CX50 can be upgraded from 20 mpm (65 ft. per minute) to 30 mpm (98 ft. per minute) with the Xeikon CX300 or Xeikon CX500. For greater width, the Xeikon CX30 (330 mm or 13”) can be upgraded to the Xeikon CX50 (520 mm 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 lengths. Each station utilizes Xeikon’s dry-toner process and a variety of print widths up to 512 mm (20.3”) using an LED imaging head operating at 1,200 x 3,600 dpi and delivering offset/gravure image quality.
The two new presses use Xeikon’s QB dry toner based on Cheetah 2.0 technology, which excels in the digital print landscape by offering superior colour consistency across the web while ensuring the highest volume of output with reduced waste. The toner is available in CMYK, red, blue, green, orange and extra magenta (gamut-extension colours) and Super Black – plus technical colours such as one-pass opaque white, UV and reflective clear, as well as colours 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,” FDA-certified as food safe, and also offer “the highest levels of light fastness in the market. The labels shine not only after printing, but long afterwards,” said the OEM.
