Xeikon 8000 Series

"Many of our customers are printing a huge variety of different applications and format flexibility of the Xeikon press gives them a real advantage," continues Mertens. "Very often they are smaller print shops who are very dedicated to a certain set of customers. The Xeikon 8500 is the ideal solution for them as it offers offset image quality at full width and a lower running cost. It is also the perfect upgrade path for future growth for those with older Xeikon machine generations."

Supporting the full breath of document printing applications

The new Xeikon 8000 series supports the whole range of document printing applications with specific advantages for each:

Transactional: With one engine print capacity of up to 300,000 pages per day in native IPDS mode in five colors.Textbook printing: Handles ultra-light stock (down to 40 gsm/27 lb. text) and the 1200 dpi resolution allows for fine print of technical drawings and small characters.Short run commercial print, point of sales and wallpaper production: Prints on a B2 format and is unlimited in length.Photo book printing: Runs offset print quality on a large range of substrates without the need for pretreatment. Up to 504 mm/19.8 inch imaging width and unlimited in length provide a lot of possibilities for special formats, covers and dust-jackets.Direct marketing: Workflow possibilities that fit seamlessly in today's multichannel communication context. Paper is increasingly becoming a VIP medium for marketers because it creates privacy time with the consumer. The Xeikon 8000 Series offers possibilities in print quality and format flexibility to make printed materials stand out and create true stopping power.

Toner Optimization Mode reduces running costs drastically

All new models in the new Xeikon 8000 Series come equipped with Xeikon's new Toner Optimization Mode (TOM). The new mode is operator selectable on the press via the new X-800 MyPress GUI. Through TOM, different tone curves are applied when transmitting pixel data to the imaging system. As a result, customers can save up to 50% on their toner usage, drastically reducing their running costs. This flexibility allows Xeikon customers to compete with lower quality printing solutions for smaller jobs sizes and reprints as needed and it also enables them to find the right balance between print quality and price based on the requirements of a specific job.

"TOM is another example of innovation being driven by our customers," says Mertens. "Typically, they are printing a mix of applications ranging from lower-value transactional work to high-value direct marketing jobs. There's a lot of short run, low-end jobs for which there's often no real need to deliver the top-end image quality. High speed inkjet is not an alternative due to startup costs and application limitations. TOM now gives our customers this flexibility and reduces their running costs significantly. Our customers are also seeking out ways to offer their clients a choice on print quality. TOM now enables them to offer their customers an alternative print quality at a different price."

All three models of the new Xeikon 8000 Series will start shipping in September 2012. Starting at drupa, Xeikon will discontinue the production of the Xeikon 5000plus, Xeikon 6000 and Xeikon 8000 models.

Live demos of product showcased at drupa 2012

Customers visiting the Xeikon booth at drupa 2012 will have the opportunity to experience the new products first hand. The Xeikon 8800 will be running a high-end direct marketing job called Modo, a loyalty card program and a mission critical private banking application called Avancé. The Xeikon 8500 will be running a state of the art example of integrated communication possibilities. Xeikon will exhibit in Hall 8A, Booth B44.