Packaging

Xeikon In-Mold Label Suite illustrates game-changing potential of digital production

Tuesday 06. May 2014 - Customer aL Printing recounts how it moved into digital In-Mold labeling at Xeikon Café on Packaging Innovations

Label and packaging printers and converters as well as print buyers should mark their agenda’s for the Xeikon Café on Packaging Innovations, hosted by Xeikon and its Aura Partners (May 20 till 22 in Belgium). Participants will discover how digital production can enhance and transform not only the label and packaging industry, but also their own business. The three day-event will highlight the complete range of Xeikon’s label and packaging application suites: Folding Carton Suite; Self-Adhesive Label Suite; Heat Transfer Label Suite and In-Mold Label Suite. This release provides more details on the In-Mold Suite and how it overcomes the issues of conventional technologies.
In-mold labeling (IML) is rapidly gaining popularity for the decoration of plastic containers. With in-mold labels the decoration is an integral part of the container, applied during molding and not added on at a later stage in the production process. While this complicates the production and limits its flexibility, the result definitely makes up for it with an eye-catching no-label look that stands out on the shelves. Conventional printing technologies struggle to provide an affordable solution for today’s demands for product launches, short runs and personalization. “Digital printing of in-mold labels can overcome the issues of conventional technologies and will enable further growth of the in-mold label market,” says Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s Director of Segment Marketing Labels & Packaging. “Together with our Aura Partners we have developed the In-Mold Label Suite, an integrated solution that enables you to use digital printing as part of an automated in-mold label production process.”
Like any of Xeikon’s label and packaging application suites, the In-Mold Label Suite consists of a Xeikon 3000 Series press, complemented with four supporting components: (1) software, (2) consumables and tools, (3) print media and (4) pre- and post-printing equipment.
Live production of labels for butter tubs and Clics buckets
At the event, a Xeikon 3000 Series press equipped with ICE CMYK and opaque white toner will be printing label designs in roll-to-roll mode for thin-walled as well as thick-walled in-mold applications. Michelman primer will be used to precondition the substrates. Running inline with the press will be a MiniUCoat in which the prints will be coated with a water-based varnish from Actega Terra before being rewound. To prevent the buildup of static charges, the MiniUCoat will be equipped with Meech antistatic bars. The reel with the varnished prints will be mounted onto an offline Rietstack converting machine that will die-cut the labels into their final shape.
This configuration will run two applications: a label for a thin-walled container – a butter tub with matching cover – printed in CMYK on EUH 70, a cavitated film produced by Treofan; and a label for a thick-walled plastic container – a two-liter bucket for Clicks Toys – printed in CMYK and opaque white on ETR 57, a transparent solid film from Treofan. There will also be finished products on display, including IML labels converted by in-mold label technology from Schrobertechnologies. In addition, during technical seminars, Aura Partners attending the event will describe their contributions to the In-Mold Label Suite in detail.
Meet the customer: aL Printing
“Digital in-mold label production is a game-changer. We are therefore extremely pleased that one of our pioneering customers, aL Printing, has agreed to come and provide more details about their move into digital in-mold label production,” comments Weymans. “This Xeikon Café offers visitors the unique opportunity to learn from first-hand experience, from a company that has successfully started up digital production of in-mold labels. If anyone is still looking for a reason to attend, this is it!”
Based in the Netherlands, with also branches in Germany, aL Printing provides services to customers throughout Europe. Founded in 1938 as a dairy business, aL Printing became a specialist in innovative packaging solutions. Using digital printing technology since the 1990s, the company decided at the end of 2013 to invest in a new digital platform, opting for a Xeikon 3500 Digital Press.
This choice was determined by several factors. One particular important one is the Xeikon digital printing technology’s fit with in-mold labeling: PET dry toner does not deform during molding and meets FDA standards for indirect food contact as well as being CPSIA compliant. The combination of a 508 mm imaging width and unlimited repeat length supports any size of label and the 1200 dpi resolution combined with four-bit variable-dot density enables matching offset printing quality. aL Printing sees huge potential, especially in the decoration of thick-walled buckets. Many of these are decorated using conventional techniques, such as direct screen printing, which fail to meet brand owners’ requirements in terms of image quality. The volumes sold of these larger containers are also lower than those of common consumer goods. So, conventional techniques are simply not cost effective for in-mold labeling of this type of packaging.