Inkjet & Digital Printing
First Xeikon 8000 Operational at Paris-Based Imprimerie LV
Sunday 01. June 2008 - Haut Couture Quality for Haut Couture Prints
Imprimerie LV, Paris-based digital printer and long-time user of Xeikon presses, has once again chosen for Xeikon. This time the French firm is the first to operate the brand-new Xeikon 8000. Renowned for its high-quality work, Imprimerie LV could not resist the Xeikon 8000s offset-challenging print quality (1200 dpi @ 4 bits per spot) and industry-best top speed (230 ppm).
Founded in 1993, in 1995 Imprimerie LV decided to specialize in digital printing only, acquiring one of the first Xeikon engines. Many more would follow. A true Xeikon aficionado, the company has evolved along Xeikons growth path and has systematically upgraded its equipment with the newest Xeikon engines. Having beta-tested the DCP/50D back in 1998 and the Xeikon 5000 back in 2004, Imprimerie LV was also one of the first to install a Xeikon 6000. The Xeikon 8000 was the logical next step to keep pace with growing customer demand for increasingly better quality and shorter production times.
Among its customers, Imprimerie LV counts several key brands and large communication agencies operating in Paris, the whole of France and far beyond. The new Xeikon 8000 will be used particularly for high-quality, large volume variable data productions such as personalized marketing documents, transactional and transpromo applications for financial institutions, and multi-version documents. Undoubtedly one of the most glamorous applications is the production of a glossy, 39 language version training manual for the cosmetics sales staff at French company Chanel, to be used for staff training worldwide.
“It is quite obvious why we decided to expand our equipment portfolio with the new Xeikon 8000,” says Jean-Claude Gasté, Président-Directeur Général at Imprimerie LV, “It is the only press available on the market today, offering this level of print quality at such high speeds. The quality improvement is absolutely impressive: double the resolution we had before. This will certainly enable us to attract more clients that demand offset quality at digital flexibility. This is why we are also planning to upgrade our Xeikon 6000 to 1200 dpi to bring it to the same level,” adding, “And when you have to print jobs of 1 or 2 million pages, having the speed makes all the difference. The Xeikon 8000 will allow us to save time, which is important as clients want their jobs to be delivered invariably fast. Volumes may change, but deadlines never do. This is why we need high-performance equipment.”
Paul Willems, Chief Marketing Officer at Punch Graphix commenting on the renewed collaboration, “Imprimerie LV has been on the forefront of digital printing in the wider Paris region. Pure-bred digital printers, with vast expertise in digital printing and in developing challenging but profitable applications, they are undoubtedly going to make the most of the capabilities of the Xeikon 8000. We are certainly proud of, and grateful for, their continued confidence. Imprimerie LV was and is the ideal beta-tester as their applications demand the highest quality and very fast turnarounds. They have really allowed us to test the limits of our new engine and it has come up trumps. Their seal of approval is a real reward for our R&D efforts and the teams that have worked hard to bring the Xeikon 8000 to this level of performance.”
“Quality, speed, and profitability! That is what it is all about. Superior quality at high speed allows us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. And if we want to stay in business, just as important is the fact that a new engine is profitable from day one, which is the case with the Xeikon 8000. We have been in business for quite some time now, and we want to stay much longer. We believe that this acquisition will help us remain a leader in our field,” adds Jean-Claude Gasté, “Incidentally, we are celebrating our 15th anniversary this year, just as Xeikon is celebrating its 15th anniversary since the launch of its first digital color press.”
The Xeikon 8000 sets the reference for quality and speed:
Resolution: 1200 dpi @ 4 bits/spot – addressability: 1200 x 3600 dpi – screen rulings: up to 240 lpi
Top speed: 230 ppm – duty cycle: 8.5 million A4 pages per month
One-Pass-Duplex printing for perfect front-to-back registration and data integrity
Scalable substrate width up to 512 mm and image width up to 504 mm
Xeikon PA toner for cost-effective, fast, high-quality printing
5th color stations for spot colors and security toner
Powerful digital front-end X-800
Optional IPDS Controller for high-performance transactional and transpromo printing
Roll-to-roll or roll-to-cut sheet configuration