Inkjet & Digital Printing
Xeikon 6000 proves perfect solution for just-in-time printing
Friday 19. November 2010 - McLays installs Xeikon 6000 to keep competitive edge and handle growing production volumes
Xeikon, a division of Punch Graphix, is pleased to announce that A McLay & Company Limited, a UK-based print and communications specialist, has recently installed a Xeikon 6000 digital colour press. The unique combination of 1200 dpi print quality, speed and continuous-fed operation offered by the Xeikon 6000 provides McLays the extra capacity to handle the growing volume of application-specific print runs.
Established in 1898, McLays has a long tradition in litho printing. However, the increasing demand for just-in-time, personalised communications has led the company to invest further in digital printing technology. The new Xeikon 6000, which was installed in May this year, enables McLays to produce full colour, highly personalised letters, transactional and transpromo documents, plus the daily print production for their “MiPost” hybrid mail solution – eliminating the need for offset pre-printed colour shells. Data and content is transmitted from clients continuously throughout the day and is processed immediately for same day mailing.
Xeikon produces 100,000+ pages per day, 7 days a week
“We turn the Xeikon on at 6 oclock in the morning,” explains Barrie Stevens, Marketing Manager at McLays. “And it can literally run continuously until the end of the shift – 12 hours later. We needed a press that would give us the extra capacity we required, but cope with the pace we work at. When we combine the Xeikons 160 pages per minute with a jumbo unwind roll we can produce over 50,000 duplex A4 sheets per day – without any stops or interventions. But its not just the increased productivity that swung us towards the Xeikon,” adds Stevens. “The Xeikon 6000 also offers superb print quality. Its 1200 dpi resolution enables us to print much sharper images which makes a real difference when we need to print corporate IDs with very fine typefaces.”
1200 dpi delivers finest print quality
The Xeikon 6000 is equipped with a 1200 dpi imaging head, which was initially developed for the Xeikon 8000. This revolutionary, high precision LED-based imaging head combines true 1200 dpi resolution and 1200 x 3600 addressability with variable dot density. This unique combination of high resolution, high addressability and 4-bit per spot colour depth results in the finest commercial print quality and exceptionally sharp, crisp details and smooth tone transitions. Xeikons patented One-Pass-Duplex technology enables perfect front-to-back registration and simultaneous double sided printing.
Proactive service and support: “Its refreshing”
All Xeikon printers are backed up by Xeikons worldwide support structure which ensures around-the-clock support from local frontline service teams. A full range of spares are stored at regional offices guaranteeing quick turn-around in case of any problems. Repairs are carried out at the same local offices by skilled technicians who have an in-depth knowledge and experience of all Xeikons products.
“The on-going support that we receive from the Xeikon team is exceptional,” says Stevens. “The initial operator training was very comprehensive and enabled our operators to start printing with confidence from the first day. But its actually the on-going regular update sessions which we find even more valuable. If a Xeikon engineer is in the region, hell make a special diversion to come and see us – just to answer any questions we might have and to ensure everything is operating perfectly. Its incredibly pro-active and very refreshing.”
5th Colour station offers competitive edge
The 5th colour station offered with the Xeikon 6000 also influenced McLays decision to select the Xeikon platform. “The fifth colour station enables us to closely match some specific custom or PANTONE colours,” adds Stevens. “This wider colour gamut has allowed us to convert more litho print, that was then previously mono personalised, to full colour digital”.