Lier, Belgium – Xeikon, a division of Punch Graphix, is to launch its new high-end digital label press at IPEX. The Xeikon 3500 press outclasses any digital label press currently on the market. It handles web widths from 200 to 512 mm wide and prints at a speed of 19,2 m/min regardless of the amount of colors used – making it almost twice as productive as the closest competitor system. The Xeikon 3500 press will be on display at the Punch Graphix stand, Hall 11, Stand C230. IPEX is being staged in Birmingham, UK, and runs May 18-25.

"We are very excited to be bringing this new press to the market," says Filip Weymans, Business development manager Labels & Packaging. "Its outstanding productivity – based on full rotary printing with a variable repeat length and wider width – raises the bar in digital label printing."

"We believe the Xeikon 3500 will also have a significant impact on the breakeven point between digital label printing and conventional printing technologies. This will enable the cost-effective production of volumes beyond the 4,000 linear meters using digital technology, and will speed up the transition from analog to digital label production. Until now, digital printing still had capacity limitations compared with traditional label printing. With the 3500, we can fill this productivity gap. Plus the press will open up new application opportunities in diverse market segments."

Wider width, proven quality
The Xeikon 3300 and 3500 are the two flagship digital label presses in the Xeikon portfolio. Adding the Xeikon 3500 addresses the need for more capacity by offering a wider print width. It increases the media width from 330 mm on the 3300 up to 512 mm on the 3500, a significant size increase that allows label converters to digitally address a wider range of applications with the same proven quality demonstrated in the marketplace by the Xeikon 3300.

With a top speed of 19.2 m/min, the Xeikon 3500 is ideal for the production of self-adhesive and heat transfer labels. Equipped with the Xeikon 3500 high-precision LED-based imaging head it features true 1200 dpi resolution and 1200 x 3600 dpi addressability with variable dot density, generating excellent image quality. The Xeikon 3500 is standard-equipped with 5 color stations, 4 for the standard process colors while the 5th allows the use of spot colors. Print speed is unaffected by the number of colors used. The press can also apply a special security toner for anti-counterfeiting applications, and 'one-pass' opaque white to create a desired 'no-label look' on transparent labels.

The Xeikon 3500 can produce up to 570 square meters per hour in four- or five-color printing on a wide range of substrates. It can print on scalable widths and an unmatched range of substrates from all sorts of self adhesive materials including paper, co-extruded films, Bopp and PET, regular paper, transparent and opaque foils, and paperboards with weights ranging from 40 to 350 gsm. The Xeikon 3500 runs on Xeikon's new QA-I toner, approved for indirect and direct contact with dry food.

Xeikon is offering customers with a Xeikon 3000 or 3300 installation an easy upgrade path to the 3500, allowing customers to further expand their digital print label capacity to meet growing business opportunities.

Xeikon X-800 Digital Front End
Like the Xeikon 3300, the Xeikon 3500 takes advantage of Xeikon's X-800 digital front-end. Based on open standards, the X-800 can be integrated into any production environment. Its modular set-up allows users to manage different production elements in the most efficient way possible. Prepress functions, such as impositions and color management, can be performed in the prepress environment, allowing the press operator to focus on print quality. This contributes to higher press throughput and increased productivity on the Xeikon 3500.

Weymans adds: "We see the Xeikon 3500 as the next logical step to meet the market's ever-growing capacity demands. And the new QA-I toner, which is approved for indirect and direct food contact – including dry food – on most substrates is truly unique. The introduction of this product is a milestone for Xeikon and the industry, and demonstrates our dedication to innovation in the industrial printing industry."