Itasca, IL - Xeikon, a division of Punch Graphix, legendary for pioneering the first digital color presses, today announced that the company has entered into a joint alliance with the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute, (TLMI). Under the new arrangement, Xeikon will offer new Xeikon 3300/3000 customers a complimentary first-time TLMI membership.

Frank Sablone, TLMI President, commented, "Our mission is to provide our members with the tools and resources needed to help them grow their businesses. With this generous offer from Xeikon, we'll be able to share our knowledge base with an expanded group and play a role in strengthening the industry overall."

The joint arrangement between Xeikon and TLMI was implemented to help companies within the tag, label and packaging industries fine tune their business initiatives in a shifting economy. This offer will give new Xeikon 3300/3000 customers a wealth of resources to tap into. As a TLMI member, companies have access to TLMI's financial ratio and benchmarking analysis, compensation analysis, quarterly trend reports, and a subscription to its bi-monthly newsletter. In addition, converter members are invited to attend TLMI's Converter and Annual Meetings, which are held at locations throughout the country.
 
"At Xeikon, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to provide our expanding customer base with the resources necessary to help their businesses succeed. By helping our customers maximize their potential, we are invigorating growth throughout the industry as a whole," said Michael V. Ring, Vice President of Sales and Chief Marketing Officer of Xeikon's North American operations. "We are thrilled to embark on this new arrangement with TLMI. The organization's vast understanding and expertise in the narrow web tag, label, and packaging industries makes them an outstanding partner."
 
The Xeikon 3300, winner of the 2009 InterTech Technology Award, offers true 1200 dpi at four bits per spot. With a top speed of 63 linear feet per minute and a monthly duty cycle of 2.3 million linear feet, the Xeikon 3300 is extremely productive and is designed to operate 24 hours a day. It includes five color stations: four for the standard process colors and the fifth color station for spot colors. The spot colors can be used for gamut expansion or for producing specific brand colors. The fifth color station can also be utilized for printing on transparent films using Xeikon's one-pass opaque white toner and for security printing using Xeikon's special security toner. Operating on the Xeikon Form Adapted (FA) toner, the Xeikon 3300 is FDA-approved for use in certain food contact applications.

The Xeikon 3000 represents the entry-level counterpart of the Xeikon 3300. It is a perfect fit for label converters who are eager to utilize digital color technology, but do not need the high speed and productivity of the Xeikon 3300 just yet. It is also an ideal press for label converters wanting to focus on niche applications, such as paperboard packaging or textile transfer printing. The Xeikon 3000 can be upgraded to the Xeikon 3300 once the user is ready to go to the next level.