Labelexpo Europe 2011 proves resounding success for Xeikon

50% more visitors to booth and significant increase in sales closed

Eede, The Netherlands, October 2011 – Labelexpo Europe 2011, which took place at the Brussels Expo, Brussels, Belgium from 28 September to 1 October, proved to be a resounding success for Xeikon. Visitors to the Xeikon stand were extremely excited about the new range of products and solutions that the company has recently developed specifically for the label market. Visitors showed particular interest in the company’s new heat transfer solution, along with VariLane, the X-800 plug-in which provides prepress operators the freedom to create imposition templates which can arrange labels in print lanes of variable sizes. The results of a recent benchmarking exercise, which reaffirmed that Xeikon continues to set the standard in light fastness, also drew large amounts of interest.

“This show seems to go from strength to strength,” says Filip Weymans, Marketing & Business Development Manager, Labels & Packaging at Xeikon. “We ended up having 50% more visitors to our booth compared to last year and they all came with lots of questions. The show was the perfect opportunity for them to sit down with the Xeikon team and discuss their current visions, and to see how we could work together to achieve them. The sales closed at the show also drastically increased,” adds Weymans. “It seems that we really are developing the right solutions to meet the needs of the label industry.”

“Since the introduction of the Xeikon 3000 Series, Xeikon has continued to invest strongly in the label market,” says Wim Maes, CEO at Xeikon. “The success at Labelexpo 2011 confirms the choices we have made as a company were the right ones – and will allow us to grow further in this market.”

Xeikon activity radiates across show floor

With three presses located at 3 different locations, Xeikon had a huge presence at the show and this radiated throughout the whole show – even on Saturday. The Xeikon 3500 with inline DCoat500, which was located on the company’s impressive 300sqm booth in Hall 9, produced more than 20,000 linear meters of material (10,000 sqm) during the four days of the show. During the production, there were more than 20 job changeovers. With zero seconds of changeover time and just 2 m of waste at each changeover, visitors could clearly see for themselves the value of an inline solution.

Visitors see business opportunities with new heat transfer solutions

Visitors to the Xeikon stand were also extremely enthusiastic about Xeikon’s new heat transfer solution. Label printers, in particular, immediately could see the new business opportunities the new solution could open up for them. Offering the perfect alternative to direct printing and in-mold label technologies, Xeikon’s new industrial heat transfer solution meets the growing demand from brand owners for higher quality decoration and wider versioning capabilities. Containers made from a range of plastics including polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) can now be decorated with high impact graphics and crisp sharp text to deliver maximum shelf impact.

Xeikon listens to its customers

Also generating a lot of interest at the show was VariLane, a new plug-in for the X-800 Digital Front End which can offer a 30% reduction in both print time and waste. “Visitors at the show cited VariLane as a great example of how Xeikon listens to its customers,” continues Weymans. “By providing prepress operators the freedom to create imposition templates which can arrange labels in print lanes of variable sizes, they can optimize the amount of material used and maximize the print time. Many customers confirmed that this is exactly what was needed to work more efficiently, generate less waste and produce labels faster.”

Light fastness: The proof’s in the pudding

Proof of the superior light fastness of the Xeikon prints also drew in the crowds. Most of the visitors, who came to the sample corner to see the results of a recent benchmarking exercise between different digital printing technologies, cited that light fastness was one of the key features of the Xeikon press. During the exercise, which was carried out by an independent printer, three identical A4 labels were printed on the same material using three different technologies: UV inkjet, liquid toner and Xeikon’s dry toner – before being exposed to 800 hours of sunshine. The results clearly reaffirmed Xeikon’s high standard of quality in light fastness with an average deltaE of 7.6. This compared to 12.2 for inkjet-printed label and 37.3 for the alternative toner technology. Visitors could really see for themselves the true value of dedicated toners.

Printing and packaging in the front line against counterfeiting

Many visitors to the stand also picked up their own copy of a just-released white paper on Brand Protection. The 36-page white paper offers a comprehensive overview of the anti-counterfeiting techniques – both overt (visible) and covert (hidden) – which can be combined with digital printing technology to combat the ever-increasing rise in counterfeit goods across the globe.

Change in the wind

There also seemed to be a distinct change in the wind over recent years, which was picked up by Juan Diaz Diaz, a Spanish freelance journalist at the show who tweeted: “At labelexpo 2009 digital competed with flexo. This year it’s all change; flexo is trying to compete with digital.”

A new feature at the show, the Package Printing zone, also drew a lot of attention. During twelve sessions the company shared with the audience a range of business successes in a variety of applications including folding carton, heat transfer labels, wet glue labels and promotional materials.

For more information about Xeikon products and services, visit www.Xeikon.com

About Xeikon

A pioneer in digital printing, Xeikon designs, develops and delivers high-end digital colour printing systems for the industrial, document and commercial printing market segments. These systems are composed of advanced web-fed printing engines using LED-array-based, dry toner electrophotography, open workflow software, exclusive toner and other consumables. Xeikon’s production and R&D operations are based in Belgium and its solutions are distributed and supported through a worldwide sales and service network. Xeikon is a division of Punch Graphix. For more information, visit www.xeikon.com.