Slovenian printing house installs Xeikon 3000 digital press

AS Print, a trade print specialist based in Šentjur, Slovenia, has invested in a Xeikon 3000 Series digital label press. The company specializes in small print runs and offers its clients a range of graphic art services, from consulting and graphic design to pre-press, printing and binding.  

‘The latest technology offered by the Xeikon 3000 opens up a whole new world of possibilities for us,’ said Andrej Rojc, director of AS Print. ‘The capability of handling an unlimited print length was also a key assessment criterion for us. It guarantees a steady production capacity independent from the amount of colors used or the size of the labels. This is another area where I believe Xeikon is far ahead of the competition.’ 

The move to digital label production for AS Print has been driven by customer demand, explains Rojc. ‘Customers are now looking to conduct real-life marketing tests to ensure specific colors are reproduced on their labels. With its ability to handle short runs cost effectively, the Xeikon 3000 enables us to offer numerous trail versions followed by just-in-time production – as soon as we receive the green light. Because we go directly from design to print, we can react fast to inevitable last minute changes and offer the same day delivery. That's a clear advantage of digital printing.’ 

The Xeikon 3000 is available with a DCoat finishing line, which streamlines production by printing and finishing labels in a single pass. ‘The choice to take the DCoat option was a simple one for us,’ said Rojc. ‘A printer without good finishing is simply not useful – especially in the field of self-adhesive labels.’ 

The DCoat finishing line is servo-driven and offers a range of finishing operations: UV-vanish, high gloss or lamination, semi and full rotary die-cutting, slitting, matrix stripping and dual rewind.   

Featuring a combination of 1,200 x 3,600 dpi resolution and 4-bit dot density, the five-unit Xeikon 3000 features the ability to print the four standard process colors along with opaque white, spot colors or a security toner. 

The Xeikon 3000 runs on Xeikon QA-I toner which is compliant with FDA-regulations for indirect and direct food contact. The press can print on scalable widths and a wide range of substrates from self-adhesive films including co-extruded film, paper, transparent and opaque foils, and paperboard with weights ranging from 40 to 350 gsm (27 lb text to 122 lb cover). The dry toner electrophotography imaging process enables the use of conventional substrates without coating or pre-treatment. 

Featuring a top speed of 9,6m/min and a duty cycle of 350,000m/month, the Xeikon 3000 is an ‘entry-level label printer’, says the manufacturer. If increased speed or higher productivity is required in the future, the machine can be upgraded in the field to the Xeikon 3300, which has a top speed of 19.2m/min. The Xeikon 3000 can also be upgraded to the recently-launched Xeikon 3030 entry-level press.  

For job preparation, the Xeikon 3000 comes equipped with the open, scalable and modular X-800 Digital Front-End (DFE), combining pre-press function, including a high-speed RIP, color management module and and step-and-repeat function.  

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