"This increase in speed
represents a huge leap forward in digital press technology. It will enable
Xeikon label printers and converters to embark on a new era of productivity and
efficiency, with much greater flexibility to react to their clients' requests
for shorter time-to-market," says Patrick Van Baelen, VP-WW Marketing at
Xeikon. "The Xeikon Cheetah narrows the gap between digital printing and
traditional flexo/offset methods for producing labels. In addition, the
increase in speed also results in a lower total production cost."
The quality benchmark just got faster
Xeikon now offers six presses in
its label and packaging portfolio, providing solutions from entry-level to high
capacity production. This is the broadest press portfolio of label and
packaging presses available on the market today.
The Xeikon Cheetah can handle
substrate widths of up to 13 inches (330 mm) with a true print resolution of
1,200 x 3,600 dpi. It utilizes full rotary printing where the press speeds are
independent of the number of colors used and/or the repeat length of the job.
Full rotary printing also makes step-and-repeat and subsequent finishing
operations straightforward. Furthermore, the Xeikon Cheetah offers all the
renowned benefits that make the Xeikon 3000 Series unique, including the use of
dry toners that meet FDA regulations for food contact and the ability to print
opaque white toner in one pass.
Xeikon presses are based on dry
toner electro-photography. This enables the use of conventional substrates that
do not have to be pre-treated. Extremely high toner light-fastness and truly
eco-friendly printing (no VOC's) are some of the other industry leading
features of the Xeikon presses for digital label and package printing. The
presses offer easy integration of third-party workflow software and
converting/finishing solutions. Furthermore, they incorporate professional
color management capabilities.
In addition to the standard CMYK
+ White, the fifth station on the Xeikon Cheetah can be used to print gamut
expansion colors or security toner. The press also includes automatic in-line
register and density controls. The imaging width is up to 12.7 inches (322 mm)
while the repeat length is variable from 0 - 180 ft (0 - 55 m). Media weights
range from 40 gsm to 350 gsm.
"It's difficult to overstate
the importance of this advancement," says Patrick Van Baelen. "The
Xeikon Cheetah is a significant breakthrough for high capacity production. It's
a tremendously exciting time for Xeikon, as well as for the digital label
printing market. We're looking forward to welcoming people to our booth at
Labelexpo Americas 2014 so that they can witness the beginning of this industry
revolution."
