Xeikon, an innovator in digital color printing technology, and FLEXcon, an innovator in adhesive coating and laminating, have announced that Xeikon’s digital color presses for labels and packaging have achieved UL certification in combination with FLEXcon’s THERMLfilm NEXgen gloss top-coated polyester base films along with their premium overlaminates.
UL (Underwriters Laboratories) is an internationally recognized safety science company. Xeikon label & packaging presses, along with the dry toners they use, are the first and only toner-based products to receive this certification in combination with FLEXcon materials. This certification allows Xeikon and FLEXcon to use the UL mark on their products.
FLEXcon, which has built a strong relationship with UL, works with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and converters to simplify and expedite the UL compliance process. Jim Potter, FLEXcon’s Product Compliance and Regulatory Specialist, assists companies with identifying appropriate labeling substrates to suit their applications and meet UL standards
Xeikon’s dry toners are specifically designed to work with the Xeikon 3000 Series and Xeikon CX3 (based on Xeikon Cheetah technology) digital color presses. Produced at Xeikon’s toner manufacturing facility in Heultje, Belgium, Xeikon toners are a result of continuous research and development to meet the requirements of label and packaging converters.
Xeikon’s dry toners meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for both direct and indirect food contact. In addition, the toners are eco-friendly and do not emit any volatile organic compounds (VOCs). They also have exceptionally high lightfastness ratings, which is a measure of how well a printed image resists discoloration or fading as a result of exposure to sunlight. All these attributes were carefully built into the toners during their development process to meet the ever-changing market demands.
FLEXcon’s THERMLfilm NEXgen solvent based products are FDA compliant for indirect food contact as well, which makes the Xeikon toners coupled with this product line an ideal combination for indirect food labeling and packaging applications.
Ron Ducharme, Product Manager for FLEXcon, said the Xeikon toners have been put through extensive testing to determine whether printed labels are durable enough to meet the UL safety requirements.
“To maintain their integrity, the labels have to be durable enough to last the life of the product. The fact that the toners from Xeikon were able to successfully withstand the testing was impressive,” Ducharme said. “You can print the Xeikon toners on a film substrate, and it’s durable, which is significant for our industry.”
“The UL certification from FLEXcon is yet another important milestone for Xeikon’s digital printing solutions for labels and packaging. Our solutions offer an unbeatable combination of safety, quality and productivity for label and packaging converters,” said Todd Blumsack, VP of Sales & Marketing at Xeikon America, Inc. “We were happy to leverage the expertise of the FLEXcon team to help us meet the UL compliance requirements. Their team made this process easier and more streamlined.”
