Lotus Makes Fresh Start with Xeikon
Xeikon CX30 press
Eastbourne-based label producer, Lotus Labels, has replaced an existing ten-year-old Xeikon press with a Xeikon CX30 press. The move will allow the company to expand its efforts in the production of printed carton packaging for existing clients.
The Xeikon CX30 is a press designed for the printing of self-adhesive labels but also capable of printing card stock of up to 0.55mm in thickness. It serves a range of end-user applications within the self-adhesive label market, including the ability to print an opaque underlay or overlay where required. It comes equipped with five dry-toner print stations (CMYK + single-pass opaque white) and prints at 1200 dots per inch and features the latest advances in toner production for a consistent print quality and vibrant prints. The machine is also connected to the cloud and has both human-machine and machine-machine interfaces.
Xeikon said its newly developed Eco toners are produced with up to 60% sustainable components chemically derived from high-grade transparent recycled PET bottles and other reclaimed carbon materials. The company added that all toners from Xeikon are produced using 100% green electricity, minimising CO2 emissions, and Eco toners are de-inkable from both paper and film.
Andreas Schillinger, managing director of Lotus Labels
With a growing list of customers, Andreas Schillinger, managing director of Lotus Labels, said the decision to invest was steered by the environmentally friendly features of the Xeikon CX30. He added that the press uses the latest Eco toner from Xeikon and produces colour-calibrated print on a variety of substrates including coated and uncoated papers, thermal transfer papers, eco and standard films, metallised substrates, as well as thicker carton board materials. With Xeikon dry-toner Mr Schillinger believes the company has the most suitable technology for digital carton production.
He added: "The environmentally friendly features of the Xeikon CX30 will include significantly reduced waste along with lower energy consumption, contributing to a "greener" production process. The toners are odourless, migration free, and vegan, making them safe for direct food contact, as traditionally this has been the advantage of Xeikon toner-based technology."
Alongside the Xeikon press, the company will continue to run one flexo press. This number has reduced from 2014 when Mr Schillinger joined the company, when it was running four flexo presses. "The market was changing quickly to shorter digital runs," Mr Schillinger said. "We needed to adapt the business to the new way of working."