Xeikon in early 2012 acquired the Flexolaser business from RSD Technik GmbH and Flexolaser GmbH, which manufactured computer-to-plate (CTP) devices for both flexo and letterpress applications. At the same time, Xeikon also acquired the rights to Eastman Kodak’s Thermoflex technology.
In March 2012, just prior to drupa, Xeikon then unveiled ThermoFlexX as its new product line of digital imagers, which produce flexographic and letterpress plates at resolutions of 2,540 or 5,080 dpi. A key benefit of ThermoFlexX, according to Xeikon, is its clamping design, which allows plates to be mounted directly on the drum, while vacuum sliders offer the flexibility of using plates of any width. This means there is no need to cut the plates to fit a dedicated vacuum zone, which also allows for the use of cut-off scraps. ThermoFlexX employs a hybrid drum to hold plates in place either by vacuum or magnetic fields.
During Labelexpo, held earlier this month in Chicago, Xeikon also highlighted its new Durable Clear Toner, which eliminates the need for third-party coating systems, and Vectorizor, described as an automatic die-cut generator.
Durable Clear Toner technology, according to Xeikon, can act as a spot varnish for folding cartons because it allows areas on the package to be left open for glue strips and code markings to be applied later. Durable Clear Toner is printed and fused like any other colour in the Xeikon 3000 Series of label presses, which use an extra curing step outside of the press to transform a clear layer of toner into a protective layer of varnish.
The patent-pending Vectorizor is a Web-based application, communicating with laser die-cutting devices, to produce finished labels without human intervention.
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