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KennedySmith has reported strong results following the installation of its first digital press, a Xeikon CX500, which it operates alongside a range of B1 litho printing equipment
Scottish folding carton producer, KennedySmith, has reported positive results after installing its first digital press, a Xeikon CX500, to run alongside its existing B1 litho printing equipment.
The press was installed after the Irvine-based KennedySmith undertook a productivity analysis, highlighting the amount of smaller-format jobs that it was printing ‘multi-up’ on its B1 litho presses.
According to director of KennedySmith, Michiel Molenaar, the jobs were taking longer to make-ready than to actually print, reducing the company’s profitability.
Molenaar says: “We decided that this could be the ideal time to take a serious look at digital – the process typically offers virtually zero make-ready, though on a smaller-format substrate.
“Having examined a number of possible suppliers, Xeikon seemed to offer us the ideal solution, in terms of substrates available, colour capabilities, performance, and of course price.”
The company started printing on the Xeikon towards the end of 2023, and the re-training of its litho press operators is still on-going. The company has reported that the work produced on the press has been very successful.
Molenaar comments: “The operators are still learning, of course, but if they come across an issue that they have not seen before, there is always somebody on the end of the phone for us to speak to at Xeikon.
“We are certainly not disappointed that we have made the move into digital. In most regards it has met our expectations. We see ourselves moving forward to the longer working day with the digital press shortly, once we have moved more jobs in that direction.”
The CX500 covers a wide range of applications including labels, cartons, paper cups, and wall decoration, in a roll-to-roll or roll-to-sheet configuration.
Xeikon exhibited at the 2023 edition of FESPA with an end-to-end inline solution for the CX500, consisting of a jumbo unwinder, web cleaning unit, a water-based varnishing module, and a slitting and waste removal unit before a wallpaper rewinder.
At the time, Xeikon said it exhibited at the 2023 show in order to tap into the increasing conversion by speciality printers into the packaging and décor markets.
