InterPrint starts to digitize its label production with dry toner technology offered by Xeikon CX3

InterPrint, a company specialised in the production of adhesive and non-adhesive labels on a variety of substrates, has over 20 years’ experience providing its customers with the best quality service. The company has recently added a Xeikon CX3 to its production plant, a digital label press which uses Cheetah technology to digitally print labels on any material with no need for priming beforehand. Tomás Iglesias, CEO of InterPrint, says: “We chose this press for its dry toner technology which enables us to work with low levels of stock and boost our productivity as pre-treatment of substrates is not needed.”

Specialised in labels with over 1200 customers in its portfolio, InterPrint produces adhesive and non-adhesive labels on paper, cardboard, PVC, polyester, heat-transfer labels, hot foil stamped labels, multi-layer labels and security labels. It also produces folded boxes and promotional printed material for various markets such as pharmaceutical labs, large food and drink retailers, and logistics providers. To achieve this, it relies on an extensive production platform including a Xeikon CX3 which stands out for its digital printing capabilities. The company has already digitalised 10% of its production as a result of this investment.

Inks and substrates
Iglesias is very satisfied with the results obtained with the Xeikon CX3. “This press enables us to use different substrates of varying thickness, including heat sensitive substrates, to produce transparent and white labels with high levels of opacity. It must also be pointed out that the inks used for dry toner are safe for use with food, since some projects require this compliance, and offer high quality printing, comparable to offset.”

With a resolution of 1200 x 3600 dpi, the Xeikon CX3 label press is exclusively designed for self-adhesive and pressure-sensitive labels. It offers all the advantages that have made the Xeikon 3000 series such a unique product line, such as the use of dry toners that comply with the regulations of the United States FDA, Nestlé, Swiss regulations, and also the future European regulation on printing inks on food-contact materials and the ability to print opaque white toner in one pass.

For the CEO of InterPrint, working with the Cheetah technology that the Xeikon CX3 offers has many advantages. “The ability to offer variable data printing, shorter preparation and change times for short run jobs since regular runs are under 500 metres, the use of safe dry-toner, and the availability of the press to work 24 hours a day are solid reasons why we chose to go with this technology.”

Dry toner
The Cheetah dry toner technology requires a much lower fusing temperature than typical toner-based presses which makes it possible to print on a variety of heat-sensitive substrates. Xeikon presses use dry toner electrophotography that works with conventional substrates with no need to pre-treat them. Furthermore, Xeikon toner offers extremely high resistance to light and is a printing process that is genuinely environmentally friendly, emitting no volatile organic compounds. According to Iglesias, the sustainability of the press was another major reason for acquiring it.

In addition, the presses can easily integrate with workflow applications and converting/finishing solutions from third-party manufacturers and offer professional features for colour management. In addition to the CMYK + white base option, the fifth station of the Xeikon CX3 press can be used for colours that expand colour gamut or for special tones to add security features. The press works with substrates varying in widths from 40 to 350 g/m².

Iglesias concludes: “From the get-go, we put our trust in the press and in our proximity with the manufacturer. Now we see that with the installation of the Xeikon XC3, we have managed to reach new customers to offer them labels with added value and customised runs at affordable costs. We have also been able to increase our production capacity by integrating digital printing into our range of services which include flexographic printing, screen printing, stamping and barcode printing.”