German label printer Labelwerk GmbH has taken its first step into digital color printing with a Xeikon 3030 REX. The company decided on a digital printing press from Xeikon’s REX line to meet the growing demand for short-run label orders and increasing quality requirements. The machine was installed at the beginning of April and is the first of its type in Germany. The Xeikon REX portfolio comprises a range of remanufactured Xeikon presses, providing an attractive and affordable option for printers and print service providers looking to expand their businesses with the addition of digital applications.

Labelwerk GmbH is an owner-managed business currently employing 18 staff. Its focus is on self-adhesive labels for the pharmaceutical industry, including a number of generic brands. The customer portfolio also includes companies from the automotive industry and manufacturing businesses from all over Germany, as well as in other European countries. Prior to acquiring its Xeikon 3030 REX digital print, Labelwerk’s production portfolio consisted of five offset presses primarily used for book printing and two heatset web presses, as well as a somewhat outdated monochrome laser printing press for barcodes, which was sufficient to meet customer demand at the time.

However, times have changed, as Managing Director Jens Hermann explains, “For many years, the main focus of technical pharmaceutical labels was on the accurate reproduction of medical information. These labels have now become ‘colorful’, meaning that they involve color effects and graphical content. At the same time, there is now increasing demand for shorter runs with frequently changing images and different language versions.” Labelwerk responded to this by making the decision to purchase a Xeikon 3030 REX, following extensive market research.

“To be honest, we resisted going down the digital color route for a long time because of concerns about cost and quality issues. However, digital printing technologies in general have made tremendous progress. In particular, Xeikon’s proposal for us to purchase a remanufactured press for the fraction of the cost of a new one tipped the balance for us. Compared to other digital printing press providers, Xeikon offered the best overall package,” Jens Hermann continues. Label orders of up to about 400 square meters can be produced more profitably on the new Xeikon 3030 REX than on a book printing offset press, as the costs associated with traditional prepress, such as plates and makeready, are not incurred – the order is simply sent to the press at the touch of a button. Another benefit, according to Hermann, is the sharpness and definition of fine black text on transparent film.

“For a business on this scale, getting into digital printing can be an enormous financial effort. Xeikon introduced the REX portfolio of remanufactured presses in order to enable small and medium-sized printing businesses like us to get into the profitable and growing digital printing market, without the major investment previously required,” says Jürgen Zeußel, Sales Manager, Label & Packaging Germany at Flint Group Digital.

The Xeikon 3030 REX is a full-color digital printing press, including opaque white ink, with a resolution of 1,200 dots per inch (dpi). The icing on the cake is the Xeikon X-800 digital front end, which can be integrated with an existing MIS system. This allows a fully automated order preparation process and the ability to handle even complex projects with variable data effortlessly. REX stands for Remanufactured, Ecological, and the renowned and highly esteemed Xeikon quality.