Xeikon has announced the introduction of gold and silver metallic toners for its Xeikon Cheetah 2.0 Series, in line with the company’s strategy to focus on the label industry and develop application-tuned solutions.

The production of labels for wine, health and cosmetics typically requires specific embellishing steps. This has been traditionally achieved by either printing on a metallic substrate, using metallic inks or using a cold or hot foiling processes. However, these traditional techniques involve high setup costs due to expensive materials and tools, and to the high amount of waste generated to reach the expected quality. According to the company, adding the metallic color digitally eliminates these costs, avoids secondary processes and unlocks new value-added label design options such as personalization.

A few years ago, Xeikon launched its “Creative Toner” Series, a portfolio designed to enhance packaging with specific colors. Palladium Silver and Matt Silver were the first creative colors to be introduced. Today, Xeikon expands this family with Metallic Gold and Metallic Silver to provide a digital alternative to flexo printed gold or silver, measuring 6-8 on the Flop Index, an index that measures the reflectance of a metallic color. These metallic colors fit in the fifth color station of the Xeikon Cheetah press. Dry toner technology allows for hassle-free color swapping by just replacing the toner dosing unit and the developer unit. There is no extensive cleaning process required as the toner is dry, and a quick brushing with a vacuum cleaner is sufficient to be up and running between jobs.

As digitalization evolves and is increasingly adopted by the printing industry, digital technology becomes more integrated into all processes, including the converting and embellishing print manufacturing processes. Xeikon currently offers off-line digital embellishing for 2D, 3D, haptic varnishing and foiling on its Xeikon Fusion Embellishment Unit (FEU). Inline embellishing with full-color digital print is available as haptic white on the Xeikon Panther UV-IJ Series. The use of metallic toners on Xeikon Cheetah 2.0 presses make it much easier to produce labels that are less complex while dramatically reducing turnaround times and simplifying the overall production process.

Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s vice president marketing, states, “The development of application-tuned toners empowers printers to create their own digital solution, allowing them to stand out from other print providers and remain competitive. With the Xeikon Metallic Gold and Silver toners, we continue our commitment to innovate in leading-edge technology and provide new opportunities for the label printing industry.”

Xeikon metallic toners will be available as of May 2022 for all Xeikon Cheetah 2.0 users. At the Xeikon Café Europe 2022, April 26-28, visitors will see live demonstrations at the Global Innovation Center. Plus, visitors to the Xeikon Café in Chicago, IL, USA, May 18-19, will have the opportunity to see samples in person. Label printers and converters will also learn how the latest Xeikon solutions bring more value to their business. In addition, visitors can reserve individual sessions with Xeikon experts to get in-depth insight and discuss opportunities and needs.