Xeikon announces VariOne – the true differentiator automating variable data for image creation

Jeroen Van Bauwel, Director Product Management, states: “Print is becoming more customised and valuable. With VariOne, Xeikon has taken a significant leap forward in its research and development and now offers completely new horizons for differentiation. With VariOne it is possible to create thousands of unique and individual clips from a base design. With our new integrated variable data solution built into Xeikon’s digital front-end, the possibilities for producing unique images are limitless on both our dry toner and inkjet presses. The Xeikon strategy is to extend the capabilities of its X-800 workflow even further and expand the range of possible applications.”

Differentiating products to meet consumer demand is a continuous challenge for brand owners. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for personalized goods, and they are on the lookout for products that uniquely express their personality and that can be shared on social media such as Instagram and Pinterest. In the fight against counterfeiting, which can impact consumer safety, brand owners are looking for new software technology solutions with extra image and text capabilities, and with hidden techniques to track and trace items such as unique patterns and images, hidden codes and guilloches. VariOne can be used as a tool to add an extra layer of security.

With Xeikon’s VariOne, personalised image creation can be fully automated within the printing process. The software functionality achieves random selections from zero to millions. This variable data application offers endless uses and endless variations. What sets this innovation apart is the immediacy of the process. VariOne can immediately process, format and print unique creative designs featuring variable patterns with random elements and the widest gamut of colour combinations. Unique designs can be created on the fly and in minutes in a variety of unique patterns. This new innovation is a breakthrough and a complete game changer.

The advantage of VariOne lies in the complete uniqueness of each design, which can be driven by the database or randomly created from bitmap or vector-based images, creating new and unusual designs in millions of shapes, styles and surreal effects. Brand owners will be able to utilise this opportunity in a variety of sectors with different applications for fashion magazines, retail catalogues, tourism marketing, promotional materials for football competitions or film festivals, as well as high-end label and packaging applications.

For decades, cost has been the differentiator in our industries, but with the ever-rising costs of consumables and labour, it has now become virtually impossible to be successfully competitive based on that variable only. The focus has shifted to efficiency gained through automation. The new functionality of VariOne is the next step in efficient and sustainable variable data production, and VariOne also enables big savings in time and cost, both in prepress and in the pressroom. Van Bauwel concludes, “Xeikon is taking mass customisation to new levels with an explosion of creativity which will add value for everyone in the supply chain in a million ways. Xeikon’s VariOne has taken a complicated prepress process and made it immediately fast and flexible.”