Xeikon 8800

The dry toner-based digital color press will join a Xeikon 8800 installed in 2013 to increase Colorfx’s production volume of cost-effective variable data pieces.

Colorfx specializes in creating and executing multichannel marketing communications and direct marketing programs for its clients. With the Xeikon 8800 it broadened its digital print-on-demand services to include more full-color personalized pieces, such as direct mail, brochures and inserts.

Main factors in decision

"There were a couple of main factors in our decision to invest in this new press. The first was being cost competitive in the marketplace and the second was increasing our capacity in variable digital color printing to meet increasing customer demand."

Harry Matternas, General Manager of Colorfx

Drive to personalization

"We drove volume and work to the Xeikon 8800 and the number of customers that saw the potential and benefits of that equipment increased. It lets them send personalized messages to their customers very, very quickly. We are seeing a drive to personalization that differentiates communications in the market place. That differentiation is really important now. So, we knew we had a book of business and we wanted to make that book more competitive and sell additional volume to that platform.”

Harry Matternas, General Manager of Colorfx

The capabilities of Xeikon’s technology supports Colorfx’s operational ethos

“One of our USPs (Unique Selling Points) is our response times. People dream it up today and want it tomorrow. One of our greatest capabilities is to be able to turn on a dime for our customer’s needs. We focus on working with each one individually. Social media and instant messaging are promoting quicker communications. Customers, too, want faster turnaround campaigns. They are under increased pressure to come up with something and get it out faster. We always work with them to meet their scheduling requirements and the new press will give us more flexibility to do that.

“Customer’s almost always tell us they are under pressure. The digital world allows spontaneity. When they create a multi-channel campaign they don’t want to hear that a print component is going to take longer. Customers continue to say they have good results with direct mail and having that component is important but it has to be done in a timely and coordinated way. With Xeikon technology the whole program can be kept synchronized. The ability to deliver variable digital messaging is getting more cost effective year over year. The equipment is faster and more cost effective to run.”

Harry Matternas, General Manager of Colorfx

Despite having a Xeikon press reinvestment in the technology was not a foregone conclusion

“We definitely looked at other solutions. We considered presses from the breadth of the industry from inkjet to toner based, cut sheet to roll-to-sheet. Xeikon was the best fit for us. We liked its cost to operate, flexibility of the product in terms of fit within our world, the quality of the product and our understanding of it.

The ability to operate in a multichannel environment and blend those channels effectively is only going to increase. As a result our focus will only continue and grow and the press best positions us for that.

Reliability, quick turnaround and flexibility is what our customers want most. The press is dependable and robust. It can take a lot of volume and deliver consistently on a day in, day out, basis and that is important to us. It works well within our workflow and ensures we help customers meet their deadlines. When they give us a job we want to be able to keep the commitment and working with Xeikon ensures we can.”

Harry Matternas, General Manager of Colorfx

Xeikon’s heritage of innovation

The 70 feet per minute Xeikon 9800 digital color press delivers reduced consumables cost. It underlines Xeikon’s heritage of innovation in digital print technology and can print on a wide range of untreated substrates ranging from 40gsm to 350gsm. Its uniquely adapted Xeikon QA-CD toner and Xeikon’s high-quality imaging system deliver a print resolution of 1200x3600 with variable dot density. Integrated with the variable data capabilities of the Xeikon X-800 front-end, this press is perfectly suited for high-end direct marketing work. Available QA-CD toners include CMYK, Red, Green, Blue, Extra Magenta and SuperBlack as well as White and Clear (UV reflecting) toner. Upon request, Xeikon can also provide special colors specified by print production operations and their brand owner clients.

Effective Payback

“We know the new press will give us a reasonably effective payback timeframe. It is slightly faster, it can handle a wide range of substrates and the fifth colour option allows us to add spot colors. We pride ourselves on staying on the leading edge of technology in order to stay competitive in the market space. This investment was a good decision for operations as well as sales. It definitely positions us better for the future. We focus on making dollars and cents decisions and this was a very good on dollars to cents decision for us.”

Harry Matternas, General Manager of Colorfx

ABOUT COLORFX

Colorfx is part of the Mittera Group, a family of media companies specializing in multichannel communications with a focus on better customer relationships. It began as a commercial printing company and today has evolved into more than 600 artists, producers, developers, strategists, analysts and print perfectionists under one roof.  Colorfx is an award-winning print company and each location is equipped for volume and speed offering web and sheetfed custom printing, large format banners and signs, digital variable printing, full-service direct mail, marketing and promotional material. It employs 160 people at its Des Moines site.

For further information regarding The Mittera Group, Colorfx, our new Xeikon 9800 and our other capabilities visit us at www.mitteragroup.com or contact:

Penny Sullivan
Director of Sales and Customer Care
Mittera Group
T: 800-348-9044
M: 515-270-0402
Penny.Sullivan@mittera.com

ABOUT XEIKON

Xeikon, a division of Flint Group, is a long-standing leader and innovator in digital printing technology. Grounded in the principles of quality, flexibility and sustainability, Xeikon designs, develops and delivers web-fed digital colour presses for label and packaging applications, document printing, and commercial printing. These presses utilise LED-array-based electrophotography, open workflow software and application-specific toners.

As an OEM supplier, Xeikon also designs and produces plate makers for newspaper printing applications. In addition, Xeikon manufactures basysPrint computer-to-conventional plate (CtCP) solutions for the commercial offset printing market. For the flexographic market, Xeikon offers digital platemaking systems under the ThermoFlexX brand name. ThermoFlexX systems provide high-resolution plate exposure combined with unique plate handling, flexibility and unmatched productivity

In 2015, Xeikon joined Flint Group to create a new “Digital Printing Solutions” division for the leading global print consumables and solution provider to the packaging and print media industries. Flint Group develops and manufactures an extensive portfolio of printing consumables. These include a vast range of conventional and energy-curable inks and coatings, pressroom chemicals, printing plates and equipment, printing blankets and sleeves, and pigments and additives for use in inks and other colorant applications. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Flint Group employs some 7900 people. On a worldwide basis, the company is the number one or number two supplier in every major market segment it serves.

For more information about Xeikon, visit www.xeikon.com and for Flint Group, visit www.flintgrp.com or contact:

Xeikon 
Corporate Communications Manager

Danny Mertens
Brieversstraat 70 - 4529 GZ Eede, The Netherlands
T: +32 (0)3 443 13 11 – M: +32 (0)494 50 00 57
Danny.Mertens@xeikon.com – www.xeikon.com

PR agency Xeikon 
duomedia

Dorien Cooreman
Barastraat 175 - 1070 Brussels - Belgium
T: +32 (0)2 560 21 50 – M: +32 (0)478 98 60 58
Dorien.c@duomedia.com – www.duomedia.com