The UK’s first Xeikon 3300 digital label press is now installed at Rhyl based Borble, running alongside the company’s existing Xeikon 330 machine. Launched at drupa 2008, the 3300 offers 1,200 dpi and throughput speeds of almost 20 m/min.
Borble specialises in digital label and printed wallpaper border production. It plans to run the two machines on double-day shifts.
Joint Managing director Barry Griffiths: “The new press operates at almost three times the speed of the 330. The 1,200 x 3,600 dpi imaging resolution coupled with Xeikon’s FA toner gives the highest quality images that I have ever seen from a digital label press – they really are pin sharp, whether its text, complex images, or detailed security features.”
The 5-unit press features the ability to print standard 4-colour process along with an opaque white, a special colour, or a security toner. It has a monthly duty cycle of up to 700,000 m, imaging width of up to 322 mm, and can print on materials from 40-350 g/m2.
The dry toner electrophotography imaging process enables the use of conventional substrates without coating or pre-treatment. As with the Xeikon 330, the new machine was supplied complete with an in-line finishing station from Danish supplier GM.
The installation of the new digital label press has been augmented with a new web-to-print based system at Borble, which can be found at www.labelsprint.com. Visitors to the site can obtain a quote or place an order in three easy steps. The password protected customer area of the site allows users to archive and manage files so that only current designs are visible. Reprints of these labels can be ordered online quickly and easily, the company states.
“We believe this is the first such web-to-print solution for the UK label market – we see it as a new approach to a faster and even more efficient service for our customers,” said Barry Griffiths. Borble will show the system at February’s Packaging Innovations event in Birmingham, on February 11-12.
Some 50 per cent of Borble’s label business is from trade accounts. “Flexo printers just cannot match digital for cost when it comes to short run work,” explains Barry Griffiths. “Because we have very little in the way of set-up costs we are always competitive where low quantities are required. Because no plates are required we can also very quickly produce a press-proof for a customer, using the exact colours and stock of the final job.”
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