Thermal Inkjet: coding with a lighter footprint

As manufacturers look for ways to reduce the impact their operations have on the environment, thermal inkjet printers have some notable benefits in three key areas – the controller, ink formulation and handling and multi-tasking

The principle of thermal inkjet is very simple in principle: a small heating element is employed to eject ink from a nozzle. Because the energy required is very low, and it is only used when a print is being made the total consumption over a period of time is also very low. The controller needs to have a screen to show the operator what is happening, but this has an energy saving mode that it enters if a key is not pressed for a set time.

Thermal inkjet printers use the same HP cartridge technology employed in desk top printers. Because ink is only used when a print is made, there is no "background" consumption of fluids, neither is there a requirement for a run-up or run-down cycle which consumes further fluids. In addition inks are either water-based or, for non porous surfaces, alcohol-based, rather than anything more aggressive or volatile. Finally, once the cartridge is empty, it is simple to dispose of with what little ink remains fully contained.

Having the ink housed in a cartridge at the printhead and requiring little energy to drive it means that, in the case of an APS Apsolute Thermal Inkjet Printer, up to four heads can be driven from the one controller, a further saving on energy. Furthermore with a cable length of up to 25m and totally independent operation, further heads can be printing totally different messages with independent triggers etc.

The above points are just three reason to consider thermal inkjet printing as a way to make coding a more sustainable and energy-efficient part of the production process. If you would like to find out more, by all means contact us.

Quick-response installations

We have always prided ourselves on being quick to respond when asked to install a printing system and are usually able to design and manufacture any special parts within a couple of weeks.

With the Apsolute Thermal Inkjet printer, we have devised a standard installation kit that uses aluminium extrusion to allow us to offer an even quicker response time as all parts are cut to length on site. All we need are some photos of the proposed location - taken on a mobile phone if need be - and a quick discussion of what is required and that's it.

The photograph shows a printhead installed onto a heat sealer using the new system and with plenty of adjustment to align the cartridge perfectly with the pack.

If you need something installed in a hurry, why not give us a call?

Hot Foil: Simple but effective

In an earlier blog, we described how the best technology need not be the most expensive and we have just completed a hot foil installation at the customer site we spoke of. Including the manufacture of some custom frame parts and the engraving of some special type slugs, the installation was completed within 3 weeks of receiving the order.

The photo shows the result: a perfect, crisp, code, applied with total reliability to the label before it is applied to the bottle. Use of a close pitch typholder ensured that the three rows of type were printed within a 10mm print height and the grade of hot foil tape was selected for perfect adhesion and sharpness of print.

The total cost was around half that of an inkjet printer - money we were delighted to help the customer save by using the right technology for the job

If you have a coding application that you'd like some advise on- why not give us a call?

CIP-13. Serialisation and Integrators

In previous a blog we have discussed the French CIP-13 legislation that will require a datamatrix barcode to be added to pharmaceutical packs from 1st January 2011. If you missed the posting, there was a link to a data sheet produced by CIP that you might find interesting.

The legislation is often refered to as "track and trace" where the French legislation covers the "trace" part - i.e. the product is traceable throught its production process by virtue of the variable information printed on the pack, notably the lot number.

A further refinement of the legislation is the "track" part which adds a unique serial number to the datamatrix code, allowing the authenticity and route to market to be verified. Whereas the traceability data can be entered at the start of the batch and remains unchanged, a different tracking number has to be generated and printed on every pack. Furthermore, to ensure that the barcode containing the number has been printed successfully, it needs to be scaned to verify that the number is readable and therefore "live" in the distribution channel.

While Rotech, with the Apsolute thermal inkjet printer, can print the information on both porous and non-porous surfaces, you will need the services of a third party integrator if you need to handle the serialisation data and interface with a camera system to scan the code. If you'd like more information, we'd be happy to talk it through further - just contact us via this link

The best technology doesn't have to be the most complicated.

We were recently asked to visit a manufacturer of a medicinal product that is filled into a glass bottle, labelled and then placed in a carton.
New coding requirements meant that four pieces of information had to be printed in three lines and, as the company had continuous inkjet printers on site, one of these was deployed to carry out the coding. However, the text needed to be very fine (only about 2mm high) which proved to be something of a challenge and printing on the round bottle was also difficult. Furthermore, each product had to be passed in front of the printer twice to code both the bottle and the carton.
Having gained an understand of the requirements, we recommended that a Rotech Coder 60 Hot Foil coder be fitted to the labeller and that a Rotech Semi (fitted with the same coder) be used as an offline printer for the cartons.
Using t-slot type from Rotech's extensive range of engraved type, the three lines of text could be printed within an overall height of 10mm and, the beauty of hot foil, the print would be of a quality ever bit as good as the rest of the label artwork and also very durable.
An example, therefore, of where the best technology for the job neither has to be complicated nor expensive.
The Rotech website has a Buying Guide which starts with a section on Selecting the Right Technology. Because we can offer both online and offline systems using hot foil, thermal transfer or thermal inkjet technologies, we're well placed to guide you to the most suitable equipment. If you'd like to discuss your needs in person, why not give us a call?

Are you getting impartial advice?

The other day, we were contacted by someone who had found our details via a search engine and, in turn, was looking at the details of the Apsolute V1 Thermal Inkjet Printer on our web site.
The application in question was to print a logo at high resolution onto a piece of flexible packaging. The Apsolute, may have been suitable if black ink could be used, but the requirement was to print in white on a red material, and, being totally objective, that rules out pretty much all inkjet printers as none of them handle white ink well. Furthermore, the low resolution of many inkjet systems (the Apsolute with its HP cartridge is unique in terms of high resolution) rules them out for this type of quality print.
However, all was not lost. Printing in white, at high resolution, on a smooth, flexible, material, is an ideal job for a thermal transfer printer. White thermal ribbons are common place and, at 300 dpi, the naked eye will struggle to see that the print is, in fact, a series of dots. Furthermore, by adding a platen roller to the existing machine, the print can be made as part of the converting process.
The next stage is for us to produce some print samples to prove the concept and then to make a site visit to see the machine in question and produce a detailed quotation.
By using our knowledge of applications and technologies, we were able to guide the customer to a solution that should meet all his needs. It this case, it happened to be another product from our range, but we are not afraid to admit that we can't offer the right solution, and will often pass on the details of someone else who can. On the other hand, if you ask a man who only sells squirty ink coders what type of coder you should buy, the answer is about as predictable as asking your barber if he thinks you need a haircut!
If you have an application that you'd like to talk over, without the fear of being sold something unsuitable, why not give us a call.

Time to take stock?

We've noticed a steady increase in the number of companies contacting us for the first time due to their current suppliers being unable to fulfil their needs. In the past week, we have been able to help out with urgent requirements for some hot foil tape, some engraved coding digits and some thermal transfer ribbon. We were even able to manufacture a spare part for a customer who's thermal printer was suffering from a snapped drive belt.
In the week that we have been told that the UK has emerged from recession, it seems that many companies have been running down their inventories and now can't cope with customer demands. We've also noticed this on the purchasing side of our business as suppliers quote us ever longer lead times. Fortunately, we've always had the policy of carrying sufficient stock to cover all eventualities - allowing us to keep our customers' production lines running where others have failed. We've blogged before about the advantages of dealing with an independent business and this is another case in point. To us, cash invested up in stock ready to ship to our customers makes good sense - it's what we're here for it's the reason we exist. In corporate life, of course, this may been seen as "dead money" that the shareholders would rather have in their pockets.
If something's gone wrong with the supply of your coding consumables; if the date quoted for delivery is just a bit tight for comfort, or if you've lost confidence that the goods will ever arrive, why not contact us. You might find that your problem can be solved more quickly than you thought.