(L-R) Stuart McCord, Xeikon operator, and Keith Hamilton, managing director
Xeikon has moved its first digital label press into Northern Ireland by installing a 3030 label press in at JH Label Solutions, Lurgan.
The Xeikon 3030 digital label press and offline Xeikon Dcoat finishing unit are now in production at the company’s Lurgan plant and Keith Hamilton, managing director, is already surprised at the speed that the project is moving forward at, ‘The press was only up-and-running at beginning of February and already word is getting around and the machine is very busy.’
JH Label Solutions (James Hamilton Group) were established almost seven years ago in order to produce high quality and fast turnaround labels for the food packaging industry, in which it was already involved.
‘Clear plastic packaging suddenly got very popular in the FMCG sector and that also that needed labelling,’ added Mr Hamilton. ‘We relied on outsourcing labels prior, but eventually realised that there was a need in the market for a competitive, innovative, flexible with speed-to-market label printer. It was decided that we should buy our own UV flexographic press – we ended up with three in a very short time! Two eight colour and one four colour Nilpeter machines, as demand for our label output grew rapidly and as beverage customers also wanted our high quality and speed-to-market labels.’
‘Digital is already beginning to follow a similar path. We recognised the trend in shorter run-lengths, multiple label types, and ever-tighter production deadlines. We had to react to our market and our customers’ market demands if we were to still lead the way in innovation, quality and speed. Label printing technology is moving very quickly and we needed to be at the forefront of it. We went to the Xeikon Café Exhibition towards the end of 2014, and they were able to show us the latest in digital printing technology.’
The printer is the narrow web entry-level press of the Xeikon 3000 Series. It is ideal for label converters looking to make their first move into digital production. In addition to prime label applications, the press is also suitable for producing promotional and transfer applications.
It has a variable web width ranging from 200 mm up to 330 mm. It runs at a top speed of 9.6 m/min and can handle production volumes of up to 190 square meters/hour. Based on customer requirements, the Xeikon 3030 can be field-upgraded to one of the higher speed or wider press models of the Xeikon 3000 Series.
The Xeikon Dcoat post-press unit that was provides for laminating, varnishing, die-cutting, and stripping. The unit is being used in an offline configuration.
