First Xeikon Cheetah Rolls out at Accu-Label
The first North American installation of the Xeikon Cheetah went in at Accu-Label in Fort Wayne, IN adding to a Xeikon 3500 that was installed last year, and further complementing the company's flexographic printing solutions. Accordiong to Xeikon, the Cheetah is the most productive five-color digital label press available today. It was the press speed of the press (98 ft/min or 30m/min), combined with its high quality output, that convinced Accu-Label to invest in the new machine. The investment will enable the company to respond to evolving client demands, expand into new markets and optimize its production processes - all while meeting the high level of quality output the company has been renowned for throughout its history.
"We chose Xeikon because they really understood our business and challenges. Our experiences with their customer support, technical service and consulting services have been outstanding," explains David Manning, Accu-Label's founder. "Of course, speed was a big consideration, but there was more, we are a company that has always been dedicated to providing the best quality printing and a high level of service. For us, it doesn't matter how fast a press goes if we can't deliver a quality product. We felt the Xeikon Cheetah gave us both speed and better quality than other digital printing technologies currently available on the market. The Xeikon team showed us how installing the Xeikon Cheetah would help us meet the specific demands of our customers while ensuring superior quality. Having this flexibility is a fundamental market differentiator for us."
Over the company's 28 years, Accu-Label has continuously expanded, with its growth fueled by two things: Manning's passion for printing and the company's dedication to quality. Until its first Xeikon acquisition last year, the business had been 100 percent flexo, but Manning says, "I have always looked for more effective processes by asking 'What's a better way to do this?' Last year, the answer was to add digital to our production platform with the Xeikon 3500, which is already in high demand. Today, we are building on our investment in digital with the Cheetah."
Catie Manning, overseeing sales and marketing at Accu-Label, explains how the addition of the first digital press only one year ago changed the business. "While at first, our customers had to be educated about the capabilities of digital production, they have come to value the quality and consistency it offers. In just one year, we have had so many jobs printed digitally that the Xeikon 3500 is running at high capacity. Adding a second digital label press - the fastest on the market in its class - is vital to meeting their expectations, now and in the future. In addition to better positioning the company to address evolving customer needs, the speed and throughput of the Cheetah will enable growth in our customer base. This will also improve the efficiency of our flexo production fleet by dedicating it to the longer runs it is designed to produce cost-efficiently."
The addition of digital label production capacity has meant big changes for Accu-Label and its customers. Being able to offer both high quality digital and conventional flexographic printing expands the range of solutions and services the company can offer.
"Flexo is an art form that I truly love, and I've been practicing this art for a long time," says David Manning. "But it's not the right solution for every label project. For proofs and mock-ups as well as shorter and versioned runs, the cost, time and energy required makes it inefficient, and in many cases, unattainable. The Cheetah gives us higher quality than many other digital label production solutions on the market and is the key to future-proofing our business."
"This flexibility lets us provide better service to existing customers and offer new services to companies we have not been able to work with before. Digital label production lets us get to final designs more quickly and very cost-effectively. It enables clients to be more creative with their ideas and gives us the opportunity to help them bring that creativity to market faster. This process saves time, money and effort for the client - another key advantage of digital label production."
