At the Xeikon stand at Labelexpo Europe, held in Barcelona from September 16 to 19, visitors can see a food label production line designed by Xeikon and Herma in action.
Xeikon's LX3000 digital press prints a brand visual for deli trays. The label is then applied to the substrate, before a thermal printer adds a best-before date. The samples handed out to participants are based on a realistic mock-up, with an illustrated area for on-shelf impact and a clear reserve for legibility of thermal data.
Xeikon LX3000 dry toner printing and thermal printing on Hermatherm top M media
The demonstration was carried out on Hermatherm top M (912), a direct thermal paper suitable for plastic trays. According to its manufacturer, Germany's Herma, the combination with 62P adhesive guarantees strength during packaging and transport, while ensuring clean passage through thermal printers. This material is combined with a 501 liner containing around 15% unbleached fibers, a choice that reduces the proportion of virgin fibers while maintaining conventional converting conditions.
As for the Xeikon LX3000, also known as Le Lion, this is a 322 mm-wide machine that prints in production mode at 42 m/min with dry toner, a process that the Belgian manufacturer emphasizes for food safety.
A flow designed for the packaging line
The beauty of this device lies in the combination of two technologies.
Frank Jacobs, Xeikon Product Manager, explains: "You combine the power of digital printing for branded graphics with the flexibility of thermal printing for variable data."
Upstream digital printing enables graphics to be managed without the need for tooling or plates, while thermal overprinting is used at the packaging stage to inscribe variable data, such as date or batch number.
For the product manager, this configuration shows "how simple it is for brands and packagers to set up a line-ready flow." And he adds: " By combining the LX3000 with the Hermatherm top M (912), our customers now have a thermal label stream running at 42 m/min."
