Xeikon has developed CX300, a new digital label press based on the next generation of its Cheetah dry toner technology.

The Xeikon CX300 is a 330mm-wide label press that can offer production capacity of over 50,000sqm a month in single-shift operation. The full-color press is equipped with five print stations, including CMYK and single-pass opaque white, but can also support colour gamut expansion, custom or security colours.

Strong, growing end-use markets such as food, pharmaceuticals and others using self-adhesive labels can be supported with the Xeikon CX300. The Cheetah toner  incorporates the recently announced QB toner technology, making it even more future-proofed against upcoming legislation and regulatory requirements. Other markets ideally served by the Xeikon CX300 are those that use challenging substrates, such as natural structured papers. This includes wine and spirits, craft beer, luxury food, and more. Health and beauty labels also benefit from high-quality full-colour printing and single-pass opaque white toner.

CX300 presses can also be used to produce heat transfer labels, IML, wet glue, wraparound labels, and cartons. Xeikon’s fleXflow process enables the Xeikon CX300 to produce flexible pouches, combining dry toner printing with thermal lamination to deliver a laminated construction.

CX300 replaces the CX3, which was the first press to be introduced using the company’s Cheetah platform. CX300 provides an upgrade path to the CX500.

Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s vice president of marketing, commented, ‘The Xeikon CX300 delivers exceptional application versatility, designed to achieve the highest possible overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and is even more productive than the very successful Xeikon CX3 first generation of Cheetah presses.’

He continued, ‘Today’s investments need to deliver results. Printing speed is an important factor, but combining that with a low OEE would not deliver the value printers and label converters are looking for. With Cheetah 2.0 technology, we have focused on combining high production speeds with a high OEE, ultimately resulting in maximum sellable output.’

Cheetah 2.0 technology is based on the proven, scalable Xeikon press architecture that includes five print stations and a full rotary process with a variable repeat length. Other features include: a printing speed up to 30m/min; a printing width from 220mm to 512mm; a LED imaging head operating at 1200 x 3600 dpi and delivering image quality comparable to offset and gravure; and the Cheetah developer station that ensures a higher colour consistency across and along the web.

Further, a new man-to-machine interface has been designed in a way that the operator can assess the status of his press from a distance; the interface also communicates the specific actions the operator needs to perform. A machine-to-machine interface allows for the integration of pre- and post-printing equipment, either inline or offline. Throughout this interface, relevant information about the jobs is transferred digitally to the appropriate individual module to eliminate human errors, as the information flows seamlessly through the manufacturing process, which again contributes to the overall OEE. Built-in technology reporting on performance, availability, and more, in real time, provides data that can be translated into information for fact-based decision making, although integrated quality management systems monitor and automatically adjust press operation. This includes the density and tone curve of the process colour but also the density of identified brand colours and registration.

Mr Weymans concluded, ‘The Xeikon CX300 can be the cornerstone of digitalising label manufacturing. Its built-in technologies enable label converters to address current and future industry demands: connectivity, responsiveness, flexibility and scalability. We believe the Xeikon CX300 can be a valuable addition to any label shop floor and the spark that ignites a digitization process that is unmatched in the industry.’

The Xeikon CX300 is commercially available beginning April 2020.

Xeikon has also introduced the last iteration of dry toner digital printing, with the introduction of Sirius. Aimed at graphic arts applications and commercial printing, Sirius is a new generation dry toner technology said to deliver higher speeds, reduced cost of ownership, and further improved quality. The first digital press based on this new technology – SX30000 – will be launched and commercially available as of June 2020. Read more about this new dry toner digital printing platform here, via sister publication Digital Printer.