Xeikon releases Sirius toner technology

Xeikon is unveiling its new-generation dry toner technology, which it says delivers higher speeds, reduced cost of ownership and further improved quality. It is also launching two new digital presses.

It will use Sirius in its latest Xeikon SX30000 digital press for the commercial print industry, and for its new Xeikon CX300, digital label press. The SX30000 will be launched and commercially available as of June. Xeikon is launching the CX300 this month.

By introducing the Power Of Dry Toner campaign last year, Xeikon made it clear that it remains convinced of the power that dry toner technology brings to the graphic arts market – pushing its boundaries even further.

It is using dry toner for the newly launched next generation Xeikon SX30000 press: which it describes as an entirely new, robust single pass duplex machine, powered by the new Sirius technology, able to run at a printing width of 508mm on a broad range of substrates at 30 meters a minute, producing 404 A4 pages a minute at an average speed increase of more than 50 per cent throughout the range of 40-350 gsm versus the previous platform.

Xeikon has been allocating major resources since 2017 in order it says to set a new standard in dry toner technology and develop a new platform for the graphic arts industry. “The water cooled LDAs, with 1200x3600 dpi technology and the single pass duplex, full rotary concept, have remained unchanged, as well as the 5/5 print station setup. Almost everything else has been re-engineered”, Dimitri Van Gaever of Xeikon said. “One of the things that really sets the Sirius technology apart is its ability to print on heavy substrates at high speeds."

Van Gaever said, “We have been working along four major axes: toner development, imaging technology, fusing technology and media conditioning. This has resulted in more than 400 design changes and developments compared to the previous generation. All these core components have been redesigned and enhanced to deliver superior quality, market leading performance, unequalled sustainability, widest application range and best-in-class TCO.”

Van Gaever said, “An important step to bring Sirius technology to a new era of productivity is realised thanks to Xeikon’s new EkoFuse technology: a new fuser and a patented new crossflow cooling system add up to achieve superior print quality levels at market leading speeds.”

For the newly developed Sirius toner, Xeikon has changed the production parameters of the toner and has improved the charging kinetics properties by adapting the outer shell of the toner to cope with the higher engine speed. Xeikon says its new developer unit ensures image quality for high coverage applications.

With the SX30000, Xeikon is aiming at high value applications, usually featuring high coverage colour content on high-quality papers combined with superior quality requirements. Van Gaever says, “This can be in the book printing segment or high-quality direct mail, but because of the versatility of the technology, it might also be in retail and signage materials, security printing and other general commercial print. Furthermore, we are looking at customers who need higher productivity combined with lower running cost and a compelling overall TCO.”

Xeikon says the Cheetah 2.0 technology for CX300 is based on the proven, scalable Xeikon press architecture that includes five print stations and a full rotary process with a variable repeat length. The dry toner printing process can operate at a speed of 30-m/min. The web-width can vary between 220mm and 512mm wide, using a LED imaging head operating at 1200x3600 dpi delivering, says Xeikon, offset/gravure image quality.

“We have been the pioneers of dry toner technology, and we continue to see opportunities to further enhance it and improve on it”, Van Gaever said. “The technology has been named Sirius – after the brightest star in the night sky, and in reference to its role in helping people to navigate and set course in various cultures throughout history. We believe this platform will lead the way towards a profitable business for our existing and future customers.”