At a pre-drupa conference held on 17 March at its headquarters in Lier, Belgium, Xeikon unveiled its first liquid toner Trillium One 4-color press. Developed with partner Miyakoshi, the press is aimed at the commercial and direct marketing print markets and would be cheaper than inkjet on high volume print, according to the Belgium-based manufacturer Xeikon, now a division of Flint Group since its acquisition in November 2015. Speaking to Indian Printer & Publisher, Wim Maes, Xeikon chief executive and president of Flint Group Digital Printing Solutions said that Xeikon has aimed at the commercial and direct marketing print markets because this is a new technology and technically it’s easier to print on paper. “Moreover, we see a very big demand in this market,” said Maes. Xeikon will show its Trillium One at the biggest of itsthree drupa stands, in Hall 8A. The new machine will have its own special zone where staff will run five to six demos a day.
“Our first step is direct marketing materials, second is catalogs and then new markets. It has the speed, it has the low cost of print. It’s not for transactional, data or book printing, but on high coverage its going to be very good. That’s a combination that’s not out there yet,” said Maes. Trillium One is expected to enter the market in Q2 of 2017 at a cost of around 2.5m Euros (£2m).
A liquid Tonnik
Trillium One uses Xeikon-manufactured liquid toner Tonnik, which is also the name of Xeikon’s new consumables division. At drupa 2016, Xeikon will also present its well-known toner capabilities as part of production areas focussed on labels, folding cartons and documents and commercial printing including its own-developed Tonnik. Developed for Trillium One, Tonnik combines several advantages of dry toner in a liquid format.
Labels and folding cartons
At drupa 2016, the company will display the Xeikon CX3, which has seen more than 20 systems installed since its September 2015 launch, and will be producing a broad array of applications with in-line finishing. The 5-color Xeikon 3500, the flagship of the Xeikon 3000 series, will show folding carton applications at the event. Xeikon will also show its own developed digital diecutting unit for folding carton applications. This nearline flatbed unit was developed to enable customers to better complete short-run carton conversion with streamlined and responsive production.
