The concept of a Xeikon Café is simple but effective: to provide an informal knowledge exchange platform covering the different aspects of digitalising print production, while cutting through the information overload. With this aim in mind, Xeikon and its Aura Partners are organising the Xeikon Café on Packaging Innovations.

Through demonstrations, presentations, workshops and discussions, participants receive first-hand actionable information and advice on industry innovations and trends. Xeikon printers will share their experience of using their application suites and talk about how this has contributed to the success of their business. And there will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions, exchange ideas on digital production and explore opportunities with Aura Partners, Xeikon staff and fellow participants.

The event is targeted to label and packaging printers and converters, as well as technical print buyers. Whether you’re new to digital production or have already integrated digital printing into your workflow, this event is an ideal opportunity to discover the huge potential of digital printing and automated production workflows, and to learn how integrated digital production solutions can drive innovation and help established print producers grow their business even further.

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The Xeikon Café will take place at Xeikon’s production site in Lier, Belgium. It will run later this month from May 20 through to May 22 with basically the same programme each day, so participants can choose the date that best suits them. Attendance is free but registration is required online at www.xeikoncafe.com.

While digital printing answers many of the challenges today’s print producers and converters face, there are some challenges around making digital printing a success: integrating a digital press into an otherwise traditional workflow for example.

The innovative power of co-creation

Another challenge is aligning all processes and equipment, including tools and consumables, in such a way that the result matches or even outperforms the quality offered by traditional production methods, while even improving profit margins. There is indeed more to label and packaging production than printing great designs. Xeikon and its partners have a lot of know-how in relation to the digital production of labels and packaging and together have developed total solutions, or suites – carefully selected and tested combinations of equipment, technologies and capabilities, enabling print service providers to produce the finished product.

Four application suites

The participants at the Xeikon Café will see the complete range of label and packaging application suites in action; a folding carton suite, a self-adhesive label suite, a heat transfer label suite and an in-mold label suite. Each will feature live job preparation, production and finishing of real-life and purpose-built applications. In addition, a variety of applications will be on display, illustrating what digital production can achieve.

Challenging folding carton

Digital printing technology has the capability to make the folding carton supply chain more efficient and cost-effective. Because set-up and makeready costs are minimal, small runs can be produced cost-effectively. Moreover, every print can be different, last-minute changes are no problem and updates can be made in short turnaround times.

At the event a Xeikon 3000 Series press, equipped with CMYK and Durable Clear toner, will be printing packaging designs on Iggesund carton substrates, in roll-to-sheet mode. Chili Publish will demonstrate how its dynamic online editing software enables last-minute changes to images or text. The prints produced on the press will be finished offline, on different systems that can be integrated with the Xeikon 3000 Series press. This set-up provides visitors with the opportunity to compare the advantages of each of the options shown. There will be live finishing on a Kama sheet-fed flatbed die-cutter and on a Bograma sheet-fed rotary die-cutter with Rotometrics cutting dies. Samples finished using a Highcon digital die-cutting machine will also be showcased.

In addition, there will be live printing of paper cups on a special substrate from Stora Enso, with assembled examples of these paper cups on display. Argos Solutions will demonstrate its offline solution for applying a raised spot varnish. Visitors will also be able to assess the advantages of using web cleaning modules. Both Meech and Argos will have their modules on show. Finally, there will be demonstrations of the various software tools included in the Folding Carton Suite, such as Xeikon ColorControl.

Digital self-adhesive label applications

From the myriad product decoration techniques available, self-adhesive labels are the most commonly used as they offer the most flexibility to meet the market’s needs. Globalisation, increasing product variety, shortening product life cycles and just-in-time inventory policies have forced label printers and converters to accommodate ever-shorter runs and faster turnaround times.

At the Xeikon Café a Xeikon 3000 Series press, integrated with an inline DCoat and a laser die-cutting unit, will be printing labels of various shapes and sizes on 3M self-adhesive label stock certified for the pharmaceutical industry.

This set-up will also show the power of Vectorizor, an add-on for Xeikon’s digital front-end, that drives the laser die-cutter. By enabling the die-cutting of different jobs in one pass, without interruption, it truly supports fully automated label production.

Second, labels pre-printed on structured wine label material from Raflatac will be die-cut on AB Graphic’s Digicon label converting line that will also include several embellishment features such as embossing, hot foil and raised varnish.

Third, Grafisk Machinery will demonstrate another wine and spirits label application: pre-printed stock will be finished on a stand-alone hot foil stamping and embossing unit.

The fourth live demonstration, booklet and leaflet label printing, will run on a Xeikon 8000 Series duplex press. While this series of presses has been specially developed for the document printing market, it also finds its use in specific label and packaging applications.

Agrochemical booklets and pharmaceutical leaflets will be duplex-printed on both 70gsm and 40gsm paper. The prints will be cut and delivered to a stacker. These booklets and leaflets can be converted into self-adhesive booklet and leaflet labels, samples of which will be available on display.

[Realted: More Xeikon news]

Heat transfer decoration

Digital printing can make decoration affordable for smaller runs: it brings the fastest time-to-market and it has the highest print quality. With the heat transfer technique, designs are digitally printed on a substrate with a release coating. In a second step, this printed image can be transferred onto a plastic object with an applicator. The printing quality is as high as it can be and it has an advantage over in-mould labeling in that the decoration is done later in the supply chain, leaving more logistical flexibility and a significant reduction in inventory costs. A Xeikon 3500 will produce both promotional transfer and industrial heat transfers, both Presstrans and Thermage.

IML labels printed digitally

In an attempt to defend their market share, brand owners are looking for ways to differentiate themselves. Short runs and more specifically special versions of their packaging are a way of doing that.

At the event a Xeikon 3000 Series press, equipped with Ice CMYK and white toner, will be printing label designs on Treofan IML substrate, preconditioned with a Michelman Primer, in roll-to-roll mode.

Inline with the Xeikon press the material will be coated with a water-based varnish from Actega and rewound. To avoid the creation of static charges Meech antistatic bars will be installed in the post press equipment. The reel will then be placed on a Rietstack converter that die-cuts the materials into a final label and stacks it properly. There are two applications that will be produced:

IML labels for butter cups, classified under the thin walled plastic, will be produced using a cavitated film EUH 70 of Treofan. IML labels for two litre containers for Clics toys, classified under the thick walled plastics, will be produced using a solid film transparent film printed in CMYK + white.

SchoberTechnologies will be attending the event explaining and showing labels pre-diecut at Interpack.

Event details

The Xeikon Café will be held at Xeikon’s production site in Lier, Belgium, from Tuesday May 20 through Thursday May 22, 2014 with basically the same programme each day, so participants can choose the date that best suits them.

It will be hosted in collaboration with the following Xeikon Aura Partners: 3M, AB Graphic, Actega Terra, Advanced Track & Trace, Argos Solutions, Bograma, CERM, Chili Publish, Diamond Photofoil, Grafisk Maskinfabrik, Highcon, Hybrid Software, Iggesund, Kama, Label Traxx, Meech, Michelman, OneVision, Rietstack, RotoMetrics, SchoberTechnologies, Siliconature, Stora Enso, Squid Inks, ThermoFlexX, Treofan, Tronics and UPM Raflatac.

Attendance is free for all printing business owners and managers, but registration is required online at www.xeikoncafe.com. Register direct or contact Xeikon’s local agent Absolute Electronics (03) 9646 2999.

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