First Xeikon Cheetah installed in North America

Accu-Label, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has added Xeikon’s new press to complement its existing production platform, which includes a Xeikon 3500 that was installed last year, as well as flexographic printing technology.

The Xeikon Cheetah is the most productive five-color digital label press available on the market today, with a printing speed of 98ft/min, combined with its high quality output, convincing Accu-Label to invest in the press.

CS Labels and Mercian Labels, both based in the UK, have already installed Xeikon Cheetahs as they look to capitalize on the efficiency and productivity offered by the press, which was launched at Labelexpo Americas 2014.

This latest investment will enable Accu-Label to respond to evolving client demands, expand into new markets and optimize its production processes.

Accu-Label founder David Manning said: ‘We chose Xeikon because it really understood our business and challenges. Our experiences with its customer support, technical service and consulting services have been outstanding.

‘Of course, speed was a big consideration, but there was more. We are a company that has always been dedicated to providing the best quality printing and a high level of service. For us, it doesn’t matter how fast a press goes if we can’t deliver a quality product. We felt the Xeikon Cheetah gave us both speed and better quality than other digital printing technologies currently available on the market. The Xeikon team showed us how installing the Xeikon Cheetah would help us meet the specific demands of our customers while ensuring superior quality.

‘Having this flexibility is a fundamental market differentiator for us.

‘I have always looked for more effective processes by asking “what’s a better way to do this?” Last year, the answer was to add digital to our production platform with the Xeikon 3500, which is already in high demand.

‘Today, we are building on our investment in digital with the Xeikon Cheetah.’

Catie Manning, overseeing sales and marketing at Accu-Label, added: ‘While at first, our customers had to be educated about the capabilities of digital production, they have come to value the quality and consistency it offers. In just one year, we have had so many jobs printed digitally that the Xeikon 3500 is running at high capacity. Adding a second digital label press, and the fastest on the market in its class, is vital to meeting their expectations, now and in the future.

‘In addition, to better position the company to address our evolving customer needs, the speed and throughput of the Xeikon Cheetah will enable growth in our customer base. This will also improve the efficiency of our flexo production fleet by dedicating it to the longer runs it is designed to produce cost-efficiently.’

‘Flexo is an art form that I truly love, and I’ve been practicing this art for a long time,’ David Manning added. ‘But nowadays, it’s not the right solution for every label project. For proofs and mock-ups as well as shorter and versioned runs, the cost, time and energy required makes it inefficient, and in many cases, unattainable.

‘The Xeikon Cheetah, which gives us higher quality than many other digital label production solutions on the market, is the key to future-proofing our business.’

For Filip Weymans, director of segment marketing for labels and packaging at Xeikon, Accu-Label is, ‘a great example of what a label manufacturer can accomplish by incorporating digital toner technology into the mix.

‘And there is no better way to do that than with the Xeikon Cheetah. The Xeikon Cheetah is a ground-breaking press that represents one of the most important advancements in the digital label production market. We are gratified to see that leading label printers, such as Accu-Label, has chosen the Xeikon Cheetah to meet client needs and expand into new markets.’