Xeikon’s digital label expertise and India plans

Rahul Kumar speaks with Robert Welford (president, Xeikon), Hans Gerinckx (global vice president of sales for labels and packaging), and Vikram Saxena (general manager of sales for India and Southeast Asia, Flint Group Digital). They discuss Xeikon’s digital label expertise and future plans for India

15 Jul 2025 | By Rahul Kumar

Xeikon is a brand under Flint Digital, which manufactures digital presses and consumables globally, segmented into North America, Europe Central and South, and Europe North-West including emerging markets. Xeikon offers multi-technology solutions for various printing industries, including label, commercial, folding carton, and corrugated presses, with a focus on high-resolution (1200-dpi) quality.

Rahul Kumar (RK): How do you view Xeikon’s business model and the importance of customer focus?
Robert Welford (RW): Our business model is built on consumables, with minimal margin on hardware. Customer focus is paramount, as unhappy customers who aren’t utilising the presses impact consumable sales. Innovation is driven by company performance, with a commitment to investing in R&D to avoid stagnation.

RK: How is Xeikon positioning itself in the evolving landscape of the printing industry in India, and what are your plans to increase brand recognition?
RW: We are considering rebranding to be more associated with Flint Group. Our strategy involves targeting top players, initially, to create success stories. We are partnering with Flint India’s narrow-web division to leverage their customer base, and provide high-definition machines to discerning Indian companies that prioritise stability and long-term investment.

RK: How important is automation for the future of the print business, and what role does Xeikon’s workflow system play?
RW: Automation is extremely important due to efficiency gains, waste reduction, and the declining availability of skilled labour. Xeikon develops its own workflow system, a key differentiator, enabling efficient management of short-run jobs and integration with customer ERP systems.

RK: What is the main focus of Xeikon’s research and development, and how do you cultivate a culture of innovation?
RW: Our R&D focus is on maintaining the competitiveness of our mature electro-photographic (EP) technology by improving manufacturing efficiencies and supporting cost reduction. We strongly believe in modularity, allowing customers to start with entry-level solutions and upgrade as needs evolve. Innovation is driven by company performance, with a commitment to investing in R&D.

RK: With only a few Xeikon machines in India, primarily in high-end companies, what drives your strategy in a market with many local low-cost providers?
Hans Gerinckx (HG): India, like China, has many local low-cost technology providers. We focus on the high-end segment and companies that prioritise sustainability and invest in international brands. Our machines and consumables come with necessary certifications, a key differentiator compared to local suppliers in emerging markets.

RK: Sustainability is a top priority. What innovations is Xeikon bringing to support eco-friendly printing solutions?
HG: Our dry toner is 100% green, made from recycled PET water bottles, and we use 100% green energy. We are developing eco-friendly inks, including LED cure-only UV inkjet inks and next-generation water-based inks, and are committed to eliminating harmful substances like PFAS. We also have an active refurbishment program for our toner presses.

RK: Labels and packaging converters are opting for a bigger web width. How do you plan to meet this demand, and what are the barriers?
HG: While there’s demand for wider presses, finishing equipment remains a significant barrier in the label industry, which primarily uses narrow-web machines. Flexible packaging can leverage wider web widths, but the label industry faces limitations in converting wider rolls with existing narrow-web finishing lines.

RK: And finally, can you tell us a bit about Xeikon’s partnership with Printers’ Supply based in Kolkata?
Vikram Saxena (VK): We have partnered with Printers’ Supply, a 76-year-old company with a strong track record and reach, and a distributor for Flint. This aligns with our goal of selling high-value equipment to the right clientele.

Hans Gerinckx, global vice president of sales for labels and packaging on digital label technology:Firstly, there is no digital technology that serves all applications of labels. Every system has their strengths and weaknesses. If it is all about speed and productivity, then inkjet can run much faster than any toner system in the world. It also isn’t unthinkable that UV will be banned from digital technology, especially in direct food packaging. A lot of development is going on these UV inks, to make it UV compliant, to take out PFAS. However, today, there is no such thing as no migration on UV inks. It’s all low migration.

Even in toners, there are three major players. Conecaminol, HP and Xeikon. There are 25 UV inkjet players for labels. Nevertheless, these three suppliers have 70% of the market globally. Of course, if you go back to the local trends, in India, it’s slightly different. The digital migration starts later. Nevertheless, there will be 78% toner machines in the market.

Another thing that is going to happen in digital printing is that the market will consolidate. The label digital market in the world, or the label market in the graphical industry, is a niche market. Mergers and acquisitions will take place, even with suppliers of machinery. There is no space for 20 suppliers in UV inkjet for labels. The market is too small. There are only 1,000 digital presses in the industry sold in the world. And it’s growing. There will be a consolidation within technology. So, what do we believe in? Further certification, durable toner. That’s revolutionary. That’s the new technology for label printing. It is a 100% sustainable recycled product. And, it has speed. It can be brought into higher speeds. Think about Konica, think about the V12 of HP, think about the Xeikon 42 Lion Press. We are almost there already. A couple years ago, everyone said it would be impossible for toner suppliers in digital equipment to achieve speeds higher than 30 metres per minute.