Xeikon Café

Xeikon Café: The Must-Attend Event

What was once simply the North American version of one of the leading events on the European print industry calendar has become an essential conference for printing professionals in the U.S and Canada. The North American edition of Xeikon Café, held in Itasca, Illinois May 14–16, dives into the needs of print providers in the U.S. and Canada, while the European version caters to those of their counterparts across Europe.

“Xeikon Café is becoming an important venue where printers, converters, and suppliers can congregate and talk about a full range of end-to-end solutions in both digital and flexographic label and package printing,” says Dave Miller, Director of Digital Solutions at Anderson & Vreeland, the leading manufacturer and distributor of flexographic equipment and technology in the U.S. and Canada. “We’ve been coming to this conference since its inception in 2017 because its open atmosphere is conducive to sharing ideas and information. To us, and the business owners we meet here, Xeikon Café has become a must-attend event.”

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Dual Focus

Two advantages make the European or North American Café stand out events. First is a focus on practical business issues, such as sales, marketing, and growing one’s business. Second is the rich mix of companies—Xeikon’s Aura Partners—that are on hand to talk about how print providers can use products and technologies to gain business and operational advantages. The Partner Fair gave attendees ample opportunity to meet with Partners and learn about the products and services they provided, from software to plate making machinery to finishing systems.

Xeikon ThermoflexX“The greatest value of Café is that we can talk with customers who have both digital and flexo presses but aren’t aware that ThermoflexX is part of Xeikon,” says Scott Campbell, North American Sales Manager for ThermoflexX. “We’re able to show people that both companies are part of Flint Group and that we partner with Anderson & Vreeland and Hybrid Software to provide end-to-end solutions for label and packaging printers and converters.”

Mr. Campbell went on to describe how ThermoflexX’s newly released Woodpecker (Surface Screening) line of products allows customers to address problems they may have with ink densities through an innovative way of providing surface screening to their plates. “It is a unique function that happens entirely on the ThermoflexX device, not on a RIP, so it does not slow production,” he notes.

Brian Meyer, VP of Sales for Hybrid Software in the Central U.S., says the combination of Xeikon Café and partnering with Anderson & Vreeland creates an ideal venue for introducing Hybrid Software to digital press owners and showcase the company’s workflow products. “The open nature of Xeikon Café is a chance to have enlightening conversations with customers and prospects. Much of our product development is based on customer input and the insights they share are essential for growing our business.”

“We are extremely happy to be here at Xeikon Café for the third year in a row,” notes Jeff Skolnik, Digital Business Analyst for Anderson & Vreeland. “Xeikon and Flint are very important to us and the industry, and having Anderson & Vreeland be part of Xeikon Café shows customers that we are a resource, a partner, and a consultant that can help printers and converters make decisions that can make their companies successful for the next 15-20 years, no matter what size they may be.”