Xeikon to Debut Trillium Liquid Toner Press at drupa

Xeikon, an innovator in digital color printing technology, is set to take digital print production to a new level of quality and productivity with the launch of Trillium One at drupa 2016, Messe Düsseldorf, May 31 to June 10 in Hall 8a.

Trillium One harnesses Trillium, Xeikon’s breakthrough liquid toner printing process, which was first presented at drupa 2012, and is expected to revolutionize digital print, enabling Xeikon customers to Write History, Print the Future.

A joint development project between Xeikon and Miyakoshi, Trillium One combines the expertise of two leading players in their fields: Miyakoshi’s strengths in the mechanics of a printing press and Xeikon’s pioneering approach to digital imaging, high speed electronics, high resolution LED technology, workflow and toner technology.

Trillium One harnesses Xeikon’s breakthrough liquid toner printing process.

Wim Maes, president of Xeikon, the digital printing solutions division of Flint Group comments, “We’re proud to have collaborated with an experienced partner like Miyakoshi. This has allowed both parties to focus on their respective strengths.”

Over the past four years, Xeikon has also worked closely with hand-picked customers to complete the development of the four-color Trillium One press. Capable of running at 60 meters (200 feet) per minute at 1200 dpi, with a print width of 500 mm (19.7 inches), it combines cost-effectiveness, high quality and speed in a unique printing press poised to change the digital printing landscape. Direct marketing materials, and catalogues have been identified as high quality markets for Trillium One, with more target markets and applications expected to be added over time.

Take a Closer Look
At drupa, Trillium One’s production flexibility will be showcased five times daily using a range of applications during 30-minute demonstrations. Those wishing to take a closer look inside the press will enjoy a virtual reality tour highlighting the numerous press innovations.

“Trillium One takes us to a new technological level in terms of speed and cost for variable digital print,” states Maes. “It is a huge milestone in the Xeikon history. Trillium One is the culmination of our three pillars of operation. In imaging, we are continuously improving speed combined with print quality. In toners, we have been working on our own developments to increase our portfolio to meet customer demands. In workflow, we have our own proven DFE, the X-800. Together, these comprise a high quality, robust solution that will help our customers acquire new business and cement existing customer relationships solution.”

Trillium One will be giving 30-minute demonstrations five times per day at drupa.

The Perfect Tonnik
It incorporates Xeikon’s own-developed Tonnik, a liquid toner combining all the advantages of dry toner in a liquid format including: environmentally friendly as being deinkable and economical. Its development ensures Xeikon users can meet ever-rising quality and productivity standards.

Trillium’s outstanding level of quality is due to the high resolution made possible by the imaging heads (1200 dpi) and the small toner particle size of less than 2 microns used in the Xeikon-crafted high viscosity liquid toner. The toner contains no evaporating carriers for a more environmentally conscious print production process that also mechanically recycles the majority of the carrier liquid. Biomaterial derived carrier liquids have been identified further increasing the sustainability of this new technology. As tested by INGEDE, printed materials are perfectly deinkable on the Trillium press.

Precision and Speed Combined
An additional benefit is Trillium’s Microgapping process; the initial 5 micron development gap means that toner particles easily transfer from one roller to the other with extreme precision and at a very high speed as the substrate progresses through the imaging process. This improves register and image quality and creates increased density stability. “So, we’re not only printing at 1200 dpi but we can also guarantee a very accurate dot development. Trillium is, just like offset, a full contact printing process."

Maes concludes, “Trillium One combines the strengths of offset litho in delivering high print quality, ink densities, and image coverage on different substrates, with the strengths of digital printing which enables variable data printing at higher volumes with lower costs and easy operation, thus creating a powerful production solution. It will allow operations to transform their print quality and at the same time open up new markets. We are excited to be presenting this revolutionary press to visitors at drupa 2016.”

The first machines will ship in the second quarter of 2017.

To learn more about Trillium technology, download the white paper.

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 color presses for label and packaging applications, document printing, and commercial printing. These presses utilize 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.

Source: Xeikon.