Xeikon unveils heat transfer applications at Labelexpo

Xeikon unveiled its new solution for industrial heat transfer applications at Labelexpo Europe 2011, taking place at the Brussels Expo, Brussels, Belgium from 28 September to 1 October. Delivering 1200dpi image quality and just-in-time delivery, the new heat transfer solution offers the perfect alternative to direct printing and in-mould label technologies - traditionally used for decorating plastic containers of industrial goods. The solution works with the Xeikon 3000 Series of digital presses opening up new business opportunities for label printers.

Developed in conjunction with their partners, Xeikon's new industrial heat transfer solution meets the growing demand from brand owners for higher quality decoration and wider versioning capabilities. Containers made from a range of plastics including polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) can now be decorated with high impact graphics and crisp sharp text to deliver maximum shelf impact. Recent advances in light fastness of the QA-I toner, used on all the Xeikon 3000 series, ensures colours don't fade and remain in perfect condition for their whole shelf life. And because it's digital technology, there are no costly plates to be produced and set-up time is minimal - making it the perfect solution for short runs. Brand owners now have the flexibility to revise the decoration in line with customer demand for specific product variants.

‘Traditional decoration techniques used for industrial goods such as direct printing are now struggling to meet the image quality levels demanded by the market,’ said Filip Weymans, marketing & business development manager, Labels & Packaging at Xeikon. ‘In-mould label technology scores well on the quality front, but because the decoration has to be applied when the containers are moulded, it's better suited to more high volume production with longer lead time,’ explains Weymans. ‘Xeikon's new digital heat transfer solution now enables printers to offer their clients the best of both worlds - superior image quality for greater shelf impact and flexibility to decorate containers on a just-in-time basis. This opens up further business opportunities for label printers to start converting business away from the direct printing market into the label market.’

The technique of heat transfer is a two-step process. First, the Xeikon digital press prints the exact number of heat-transfer labels. The roll of printed transfers is then fed into an applicator which applies the label onto the container using heat and / or pressure. Today, Xeikon supports four transfer processes: industrial transfers, promotional transfers, textile transfers and waterslide transfers.

Industrial transfers are used primarily for the decoration of consumer goods packed in plastic containers such as seamless tubes, buckets, cartridges, etc. Up until now, these have mainly been decorated using direct screen, direct offset, SA-labels or in-mould label (IML) techniques. Being older technologies, the direct printing techniques do not offer the print resolution needed to create high quality graphics. Set-up and change-over times can also take several hours so they don't offer the flexibility being demanded by the market today. SA-labels provide a great flexibility but represent a higher cost in decoration based on the label material. IML does deliver very high image quality, but the decoration has to be applied when the container is created. Labels need to be produced beforehand and stored making the time to market relatively long.