Xeikon has announced the first North American installation of the Xeikon Cheetah at Accu-Label, Inc., making it the third pilot site worldwide to install the fastest press in the Xeikon portfolio. Accu-Label, located in Fort Wayne, IN, USA, 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 presses.

The Xeikon Cheetah’s productivity and running speeds of 98 feet per minute, combined with its high quality output, convinced Accu-Label to invest in the press. The investment will enable the company to respond to evolving client demands, expand into new markets and optimize its production processes.

“We chose Xeikon because they really understood our business and challenges. Our experiences with their customer support, technical service and consulting services have been outstanding,” explains David Manning, Accu-Label’s founder. “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.”

Accu-Label is a family-owned business founded 28 years ago. Over the years, the company has continuously expanded and according to the Mannings, its growth has been fueled by two things: passion for printing and dedication to quality. Until its first Xeikon acquisition last year, the business had been 100% flexo, but Manning says, “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 & marketing at Accu-Label, explains how the addition of the first digital press only one year ago changed the business. “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 – 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.”

The addition of digital label production capacity has meant big changes for Accu-Label and its customers. Being able to offer both high quality digital and conventional flexographic printing expands the range of products and services the company can offer. David Manning believes the Xeikon Cheetah press is critical to continuing that expansion. He says, “Flexo is an art form that I truly love, and I’ve been practicing this art for a long time. 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.”

David comments that one of the biggest benefits of digital is the greater level of flexibility it offers for design and prototyping. He notes, “This flexibility lets us provide better service to existing customers and offer new services to companies we have not been able to work with before. For example, we have customers who want to see many versions of their labels before they go into production. Digital label production lets you get to final designs more quickly and very cost-effectively. It enables clients to be more creative with their ideas and gives us the opportunity to help them bring that creativity to market faster. This process saves time, money and effort for the client – another key advantage of digital label production.”

For Accu-Label, quality remains one of the most important considerations. David Manning says, “As we continue to evolve our business, we never lose sight of our dedication to quality. This focus on quality is what has made us successful for 28 years. Quality and consistency are critical to us and to our customers, and with our combination of flexographic printing and Xeikon digital presses, we never sacrifice either one. We hit the quality mark each and every time.”

“Accu-Label is a great example of what a label manufacturer can accomplish by incorporating digital toner technology into the mix,” adds Filip Weymans, director of segment marketing, Labels and Packaging at Xeikon. “And there is no better way to do that than with the Xeikon Cheetah. The Xeikon Cheetah is a groundbreaking 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, have chosen the Xeikon Cheetah to meet client needs and expand into new markets.”