Rotech Machines

When a simple solution is required: the Rotech Semi

2011-05-30T20:41:00.006+01:00

We've had something of a flurry of orders for our popular Semi range of overprinting systems lately. It therefore seemed a good time to write a few lines about the advantages that these machines bring, but first a little bit of background to the range. A Semi is a system where the pack has to be manually presented to the printing system which is triggered either via a foot switch or a photocell.
The key advantage of this arrangement is cost, making it ideal for a start-up or low volume operation where the daily requirement for printed packs is fairly modest - usually no more than a couple of thousand. The printer can be hot foil, thermal transfer or thermal inkjet and all that is required in addition to the printer is a framework to hold it, a platen to position the product on and a trigger. This means that systems can be provided from as little as £3000 for a hot foil Semi and are often supplied ex-stock - another advantage if a product lauch is looming.
Printing offline can be useful if the product is to be hand packed or if the method of packing does not easily lend itself to having a coder fitted and, of course, having the packs pre-printed means there is one less thing to worry about when the product is being packed.
All Semi systems offer an upgrade route to one of our fully automatic systems where packs are fed from and collated back into a stack - the coder is simply transferred over from its Semi framework.
If you have an urgent need to code some packs, or if you are simply looking for a cost effective method of coding, why not drop us a line or give us a call?

Carton coding made simple.

2011-04-09T22:45:00.007+01:00

Some time ago we posted a blog about how, with a nice kit of parts we have developed, it is possible to install an Apsolute TIJ printer without any requirement for a survey visit. The installation shown was another case in point where a customer wanted to remove his hot foil coder and replace it with a printer that would offer a longer print length, programmability and also the ability to print over an internal seam in the sleeve (something that creates a problem for contact coding systems). An encoder had to be fitted to ensure the printer is perfectly matched to the speed of the carton feeder and to give perfect registration, but this was easily accomplished with the kit of parts.

Within the specification was the requirement to print the EU "Health Mark" - a code within an oval to identify the processing establishment. The high resoultion of the Apsolute printer allowed this to be designed and printed with ease and to a very high standard. The rest of the code is a date that the operator has the option of either entering manualy or allowing the printer to calculate it automatically.

We a product launch looming, the customer was pleased to have a system installed so quickly. If you need a maintenance free, high resolution inkjet printer installed with a minimum of fuss, just give us a call to discuss your requirements.

Pharma cartonfeeder, 2d datamatrix printer and scanner

2011-03-14T15:05:00.002Z

Latest offline system just supplied to a major Pharma company. Our system allows cartons to be loaded into a hopper, automatically fed through to the 2d datamatrix printing station, scanned and collated. The cartons are printed with thermal inkjet to print the 2d datamatrix and human readable codes. Once printed these are scanned as part of the process before being collated at the outfeed.

The friction feeder was chosen for feeding as this method tends to be more flexible, particularly as the customer has crash-lock cartons in the range.

High speed feeder for offline overprinting applications

2011-02-09T14:52:00.002Z

The Rotech range of feeders can feed product at speeds up to 60m/min, making it an ideal base for the fitting a thermal transfer, inkjet, laser, or other high speed marking device.

This is particularly targeted at the printer OEM market.

If, for whatever reason, you need to print off line, be it cartons, sleeves, blisters cards, medical pouches, Tyvek® lidding material or poly bags we can offer you the feeding system ready to take the printer/labeller/scanner of your choice.

The 3 basic models are:
RF1-F Friction - ideal for thin items such as blisterscards, medical pouches and Tyvek® lidding material.
RF1-S Shuttle - ideal for feeding regular shapedsleeves and cartons.
RF1-V Vacuum - ideal for poly bags

Using the above as a basis there are further options of either a continuous or intermittent conveyor, reject systems, anti-static devices and extended infeed/outfeed for long products particularly relevant in the medical industry.

These systems we have been particularly successful in the medical industry with thermal transfer printing Tyvek® pouches, seed growers for printing the complete seed packets and the automotive industry. Also, we are also particularly excited about the further opportunities in the pharma industry for printing cartons with datamatrix barcodes to comply with the new CIP legislation.

If you have a particular application that may benefit from the above or are an OEM needing a solution to feeding a customers product why not contact us.

APS Apsolute V1 thermal inkjet printing 2D datamatrix before being scanned.

2011-02-02T16:36:00.003Z

APS Apsolute V1 Thermal Inkjet printer retrofitted onto an offline carton feeder.
The video shows the 2D datamatrix and variable text being printed then scanned to ensure the correct data was encripted and that it does read.

For print quality and maintenance-free direct coding and marking on porous and non-porous materials (e.g., plastics, PVC, polyethylene and aluminium), the Apsolute V1 thermal inkjet printer is unrivalled.Key features of the Apsolute V1 are:

* direct marking and coding on porous and non-porous materials
*zero maintenance guarantees reliability and eliminates maintenance costs *different ink colours in a print cartridge changed in seconds, and adjustable resolution (60--600 dpi) with any mix of font size or style
* clean and easy to operate, with no ink wastage or spillage
* mono fluid system means the only cost of coding is the ink
* full graphics printer printing datamatrix codes, barcodes, special characters, alphabets and logos

For more details please contact us.

OCR and OCV

2011-01-19T12:34:00.005Z

We often speak about "OCR/OCV" in a generic way when we refer to a camera system that inspects a printed code and, depending on who you speak to, you tend to get a different definition of which is "better" and what function is being performed in each case.
A conversation earlier today thew up a nice, succinct definition, so it seemed worthy of a blog.

Firstly the meaning of the acronyms. OCV means Optical Character Verification whereas OCR means Optical Character Recognition.
The difference in what they do is that OCR is used when the characters being inspected are unknown and need to be "recognised" whereas OCV is used when the characters are known and their legibility needs to be "verified" to a known standard.

To demonstrate with a couple of examples. A cheque has a number at the bottom of it which is unknown at the time of inspection, but the OCR system will reconise the numbers for what they are and send this number to another system.

In pharmaceutical production a batch number and expiry date will be printed on the product and will be constant for the entire batch. Here the OCV system will be taught what the code should look like and will then will compare each print against the known image before determining whether it is good or bad. The system may be given several examples of what each character might look like and certain "danger areas" can be highlighted if one character could look like another e.g. an R turning into a P.

OCV systems, as used in the pharmaceutical industry, can also read a Pharmacode and Datamatrix barcode (including online grading) to give complete inspection of the printed code while confirming that the component being printed is the correct one.

As a footnote, we often use the OCR-B font for use with an OCV system as it is easier to inspect and there are no "danger areas"

As usual, if you'd like to find out more, just contact us via this link

(01)03400930000120(17)150800(10)956875

2011-01-18T22:10:00.004Z

Perhaps an unusual title, but, following on from the last blog, it will look familiar to anyone currently printing datamatrix barcodes to comply with CIP-13 legislation. The string of numbers contains three pieces of informtion according to EAN standards, namely

(01) - the GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) - always 14 digits long
(10) - the batch number - up to 20 digits, but no fixed length
(17) - the expiry date - in the format YYMMDD, always 6 digits long

CIP makes some minor adjustments in that the "CIP" number is only 13 digits long so has a leading zero and the order of the data is such that the variable length batch code is at the end. The brackets are not encoded, so, when the code is read, the position of the headers 01, 10 and 17 (more correctly know as Application Identifiers) is known and therefore the data correctly read.

There are some fine documents availabe that explain all of this in far more detail and also cover other matters such as printing and scanning standards. If you'd like to find out more, why not contact us and we'll send some information over.

CIP-13 has arrived. Are you ready?

2011-01-01T21:39:00.001Z

French CIP-13 legislation has now come into force requiring pharmaceutical packs to carry not only a lot and expiry date, but also a 13 digit "CIP" number along with a 2-dimensional datamatrix barcode that carries the same information in a machine readable format. For many companies this means a change for a simple "blind deboss" code to one that requires a far more sophisticated piece of coding equipment that is programmable and produces a visually distinct mark (e.g. black on white).
Throughout 2010 we have been busy installing such systems in a wide variety of locations and can offer either thermal transfer or thermal inkjet technologies to produce the high quality mark that is required in order for the barcode to meet the ISO/IEC 15415 standard. We can also advise on suitable scanning equipment (both online and offline) and can even install a complete package to offer a total solution.
If you have products that need to carry the new codes and would like to discuss a solution, why not contact us?

2010-09-15T09:07:00.004+01:00

With a high value item such as a cosmetic product , the look of the packaging is an all important part of the marketing, but it will almost certainly have to carry some form of coding - at the very least a lot or batch code. If that code is to be applied on line, the options are limited to either a simple contact method such as embossing or to a low-resolution inkjet device. If a high resolution is needed so as not to detract from the overall look of the pack, a technology such as Thermal Inkjet could be answer as true type fonts can be used at a resolution of up to 600dpi to give a very clear, sharp code. Employing a Hewlett Packard cartridge, such systems are clean in operation and require no maintenance, beyond changing the cartridge: an operation that changes the whole ink delivery system. The APS Apsolute has a range of both alcohol and water based inks, meaning that even non-porous surfaces such as blister foils and coated cartons can be successfully coded.
Another alternative for producing a high quality code is to print the packaging material - particularly a carton or sleeve – offline. Not only can a high-resolution method such as thermal transfer be employed, but also far more information can be printed than online which could help cope with language variants or a list of contents on a generic carton. Rotech have a wide range of feeders for offline overprinting that employ different feeding technologies and can have a range of coding technologies fitted.

You don't need to own a Rotech to use our services

2010-09-05T22:29:00.006+01:00

For many years at Rotech we have been supplying coding consumables for a wide range of coding machines from bench top brands such a Zebra, Datamax and TEC, to online coders such as Allen, Open Date and Markem. Whether the requirement has been to improve the quality of print or to reduce costs, our comprehensive range of hot foil tape and type and thermal transfer ribbons and printheads has always provided the answer.

Just recently we were asked to overhaul some Allen 4ACC offline carton printers. As we supply the more common spare parts for these machines such a pusher plates, top plates, belts and motor gears, we were happy to help, in some cases having to diagnose faults with the machines that prevented them from running correctly.

We pride ourselves on offering a response time that is often shorter than a machine's manufacturer and are often able to diagnose faults over the phone, giving a customer the choice of whether to carry out a repair in house or to ask us to visit. If this sounds like a service that would be of benefit, then click here to find out how to contact us.

Need a Feeder for your Printer?

2010-08-23T00:23:00.005+01:00

We have blogged on several occasion with details of the overprinting systems we can supply with printers already fitted, but if you are a manufacturer or distributor of coding devices and are looking for a feeder, we'd be delighted to hear from you. Our Feeder 250 is the perfect partner for a thermal transfer printer as its conveyor serves both as a product transport device and the platen for a continuous printer. The PLC controller will fire the printer at the correct time, every time and the feeder can be halted when the printer tells it that it's time to change the ribbon reel. The big advantage with using a continuous printer, apart from a high throughput speed, is the ability to print for as long as you like - we've even seen print format 125mm wide x 500mm long!

If inkjet is of more interest, the feeder be run at speeds of up to 1000m/sec while still maintaining pin-point print accuracy and, once again, can integrate signals from the printer into the control sequence.

Whatever it is that you need to print onto, we've probably handled it before, the range extends to cartons and sleeves, blisters cards, medical pouches, single cut sheets of Tyvek lidding material, seed packets, envelopes, in fact just about any product packaging.

If you're an OEM or distributor looking for a feeding solution to help a customer print some packs offline, why not contact us to see what we have to offer?

End of line CIP-13 coding

2010-08-19T23:18:00.009+01:00

In the last blog we spoke about the advantages of offline overprinting: one of them being the ability to print information on the pack that it's difficult to print online. Generally, offline coding is performed on the before the packaging meets the product, but there may be instances when it is more appropriate to print the pack after it is filled. One such case is the addition of a CIP-13 datamatrix bar code to the end flap of a pharmaceutical carton.

The photograph shows a compact conveyor fitted with an Apsolute V1 thermal inkjet printer - an ideal unit for datamatrix codes as it produces a very high resoution print that gives perfect, square, pixels (unlike continuous inkjet printers). Although this is a stand-alone unit which be thought of as an offline overprinter, it can be placed at the point where product is discharged from the cartoner and used online.

The CIP-13 legislation states that the datamatrix bar code must be printed to an acceptable standard (defined on a scale of 1(Grade E) to 5(Grade A) as having a score of at least 3 - or Grade C). Some of the criteria used to derive the score relate to the contrast and shape of each pixel, but others relate to the overall geometry of the barcode: something directly related to the way the product passes in front of the print cartridge. The Rotech conveyor system has a dead plate for the carton to pass over to ensure vertical stability and consistency of motion is guaranteed by the use of a special belt material and an optional top pressure guide.

Rotech can also supply a scanning system to check the quality of the code and, in conjunction with an online verification system, can reject faulty packs from the end of the conveyor.

If you feel this system could bring benefits to your production process or if you are having to gear-up for CIP13 requirements, by all means give us a call.

Offline overprinting

2010-08-17T23:13:00.013+01:00

Understandably, much effort is focussed on the efficiency of production lines: the hours in a day for which they are producing and the speed at which they run. The coding system is often a small part of such a line, yet can be one of the more complex items. In addition the range of coding technologies avaialble for use online can be limited by the speed and production method.

Coding packs offline may not suit all applications, but can offer great benefits if a large amount of high quality print needs to be added to a pack. It can also solve the problem of how to supply one or a number of hand-pack lines with coded components, be they cartons, sleeves, envelopes or labels.

One such common technology employed offline is Thermal Transfer as it offers a high-resolution print in a package that is easy to set up and totally clean in operation. The can be few production facilities that do not have somewhere a bench top thermal printer producing labels.

By combining the right type of thermal printer with a suitable feeding system just about any item can be printed offline and at surprisingly high rates of throughput.

For many years Rotech has produced a feeding system for folder and glued cartons and sleeves that has satisfied the demands of the food, pharmaceutical and healthcare markets to add a simple lot number, expiry or use-by date to their packs offline. More recently the range has expanded to include systems that can feed a much wider range of materials such as blister cards, seed envelopes, single cut sheets of paper and further systems are currently under development to handle a still wider range.

If you have an application that you think would benefit from such a system or, indeed, if you are a manufacturer or supplier of thermal transfer printers and are looking for a feeding system to satisfy a customer requirement, why not give us a call or drop us an e-mail?

Thermal Inkjet: coding with a lighter footprint

2010-06-15T01:11:00.002+01:00

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

2010-05-28T13:15:00.003+01:00

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

2010-05-03T13:27:00.007+01:00

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

2010-05-02T19:34:00.011+01:00

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.

2010-04-18T23:16:00.007+01:00

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 every 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?

2010-01-31T20:43:00.008Z

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?

2010-01-30T10:39:00.005Z

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.

It's no joke!

2010-01-11T11:54:00.001Z

With the weather much in the news, we wanted to just assure our customers that we are operating as normal and, indeed, have seen something of an increase in requests for spares and consumables, possibly as a result of other companies struggling to cope with the conditions.
Our location gives us a fairly unique advantage: we have a Parcel Force depot five minutes away and, by hand delivering goods to them, can ensure that they have the best possible chance of being delivered the next day.
We have good stocks of hot foil tape and type, thermal transfer ribbons and printheads and various other spares parts.
If the extreme cold is testing you current coding technologies, especially those were the viscosity of an ink has to be tightly controlled, we may be able to help. Our thermal inkjet printer uses an HP cartridge that can be easily removed from the printer when not in operation and, because of its very nature, generates heat to keep it running. Similarly, our hot foil coder is immune to ambient conditions as it has its own heaters and can be supplied from stock in a bench-top framework to allow offline coding of almost any packaging in its flat form. We can also supply, ex-stock, hot foil coder kits for mounting online.
If you need something, why not call us. We’ll always do everything we can to help, come hell, high water, or even some snow and ice!

French CIP13 coding and ECC200 datamatrix barcodes

2010-01-02T22:58:00.005Z

In a previous blog we mentioned legislation that is due to come into force in France on 1st January 2011 requiring that pharmaceutical and medicinal products carry both a new format of code (to the CIP13 standard) and also a machine-readable 2-dimensional, data matrix, barcode (to the EC 200 standard).

The following link gives the full information on the legislation as published by Club Inter Pharmaceutique (CIP) in Paris.

http://www.cipclub.org/institutionnel/fr/real/pdf/CIP-ACL%20Les%20Cahiers%2001%20Data%20Matrix%20Tra%C3%A7abilit%C3%A9%20V%20anglaise.pdf

At Rotech we not only offer both thermal inket and thermal transfer printers which offer the high resolution needed, but can also help in the implementation of these technologies to ensure compliance with the standards.

If you'd like to discuss an application in more detail, by all means give us a call or drop us an e-mail.

Happy New Year. Can we help with any resolutions?

2010-01-01T19:19:00.007Z

A very Happy New Year to all readers of our blog. We hope that we can provide some interesting topics for conversation in 2010.
The resolutions made at the this time of year often fail to be realised, but if there are matters you want to improve in your coding and marking operations, perhaps we can be the key to success.
Here a just a few ideas of areas in which we may be able to help.

1. Improving the quality of print of your online thermal transfer printers while reducing the cost of ribbons and replacement printheads.

2. Sourcing hot foil tape and coding type for your Allen coders at a lower cost with faster deliveries.

3. Overhauling any desktop thermal printers that are giving a less than perfect print.

4. Replacing a messy, unreliable, continuous inkjet printer with a clean, high quality, zero maintenance Apsolute thermal inkjet printer.

If these or any other coding matters could benefit from some attention in 2010, why not contact us? We'd be delighted to help make 2010 all the more productive (and prosperous) for you,

Need some help with an Allen coder? Rotech can help!

2009-12-30T20:26:00.005Z

For some years now, we have been servicing Allen Coding's machines -both the hot foil coders and the automatic carton coders -the 3/4ACCs. We often turn a repair on a coder round the same day and, if necessary, can perform component-level repairs to a pcb. Just before Chrstmas we were repairing some units for a major pharmaceutical company when another Allen customer rang us. He has been waiting since the start of December for, to us, a simple order - some hot foil type and a couple of typeholders. We had them in stock and said he could have them the following morning. The chap thought it would be a courtesy to cancel the order with Allen, but, as nobody answered the phone, asked us to go ahead and the good were sent. The next day we had one of those phone calls that makes running a business worthwhile -a satisifed customer thanking us for our help. This nonsense over not being able to get the coding consumables he needed had started to grate and we had solved a problem before the Christmas break. In the New Year we'll make a point of visiting him to see what else we can help with.

Like a Wolke, but Apsolutely not identical

2009-12-06T21:18:00.003Z

If you use a Wolke m600 coding system, you will be familiar with the advantages of a thermal inkjet system that uses HP catridges. The ink is contained in a sealed cartridge; the print is of high quality and the system requires no maintenance.

When APS developed the Apsolute printer, they were well aware of how readily the market had embraced these advantages, but wanted to take the technology further, paticularly by expanding the range of materials that could be printed. With only water-based ink available, surfaces had to be porous, or at the very least semi-porous; a limiting factor in much of the packaging industry. APS set about developing a range of alcohol based inks, along with the Apsolute printer that could drive the cartridge in an appropriate way for the new ink formulation. Suddenly this popular technology was capable of printing onto varnished cartons, coated papers and blister foils (without the need for any special lacquer) - in fact just about any packaging material.

Aware of the fact that a packaging line may require a code at several points (typically the primary pack, such as a blister pack, the secondary pack, such as a carton and possibly an outer case), the Apsolute was made multi-channel, allowing for each of up to four printheads to be printing a different message at a different position on the line and using its own print signal.

If you like thermal inkjet as a technology and would like to see what it's truly capable of, why not contact us and have us make some sample prints on your material. If you have a current project that needs a printer, we'll even come and demonstrate the Apsolute to you.

Now you can buy an inkjet for less than the cost of maintaining one.

2009-11-16T12:53:00.003Z

If you own a continuous inkjet (CIJ) printer, you will be well aware of the need to keep it in good condition to ensure reliable operation. It needs to be correctly started-up and, more importantly, shut-down so that the ink path does not become clogged and it also needs to be serviced after a set period of operation. This servicing, together with the parts used, is a real cost and most manufacturers will offer contracts for a set monthly payment that also covers emergency call-outs for any mishaps along the way. Such contracts seldom come cheap and you may wonder if, for the same money, you could buy a new printer. The fact of the matter is that you can. An Apsolute Thermal Inkjet printer requires no maintenance as the whole ink delivery system is replaced every time the cartridge is changed and can be simply switched off at the end of the shift with no dire consequences.
Rotech can now offer these on a lease hire basis with a monthly cost often less than the cost of the maintenance on a CIJ printer. For further peace of mind, in the unlikely event of the need to replace either a controller or a printhead, a replacement can be shipped on a same-day or next business day basis.
With the cost of the equipment all taken care of, all that remains is the ink. Again, the Apsolute keeps things simple with an ink that is supplied in a sealed cartridge (no pouring of inks and solvents). Furthermore, with a highly accurate metering system, the controller shows how many prints will be made per cartridge (which can be adjusted to suit a particular business need), so it's easy to dervie a cost per thousand prints.
And that's it. A fixed monthly payment takes care of the equipment and the ink costs are easy to work out. No shocks; no surprises; just a realiable, fixed cost, means of coding.
If this sounds interesting, perhaps it's time to give us a call before another month goes by!

Prolonging the life of a Themal Printhead

2009-11-15T21:10:00.006Z

We recently carried out a service on a Bell-Mark Thermal Printer and noticed that the printhead had clocked-up 500km of use since it was installed and it made us think about how this was achieved.
Firstly, the Bell-Mark clearly drives the head in a sympathetic way, making sure that it is not subject to electrical or thermal stresses and so reducing pixel failure.
Secondly, the installation is made with comprehensive adjustment to ensure that the maximum amount of heat is transferred from the printhead to the ribbon and onto the material. This may sound simple, but the position and angle of the printhead is crucial and the better the heat transfer, the less the energy required.
Thirdly, the customer uses a very low energy thermal transfer ribbon from Rotech which allows the amount of printhead energy to be dramatically reduced: again prolonging life.
Finally, we encourage regular cleaning of the head and can supply the correct grade of alcohol cleaning wipes for thermal printheads

We are always happy to advise on ways to improve printhead life, but can also supply them at very competitive prices. If this sounds like something we could help with, why not get in touch? If you're a new customer, we'll even send you a tub of wipes.

What to do if you need some type - urgently!

2009-11-15T20:32:00.004Z

We have posted before about how Frida's can be surprisingly busy and last Friday started with a urgent request from a customer for some embossing type. A batch of product was waiting to be packed when it was discovered that packaging specification called for the use of some lower case characters: something that had not been required before and, more to the point, something that the customer did not have. Furthermore, with the line all ready to run, it would be standing idle until the code could be correctly printed.
A phone call to Rotech set the wheels in motion and the job was immediately put up on one of the engraving machines. By early afternoon, the type was complete and on a motorbike to the site.
The shortage was even more frustrating for the customer as they use Rotech's Type Stocking system to ensure that they always have the type they need due to it being regularly inspected and replenished. At the outset, the composition of a "standard set" is agreed and all future replenishments bring a set up to this standard. In this instance, of course, the problem was that the digits did not form part of the set as they had never been required before. In light of this, the standard wil be reviewed and the new parts added.
All the same, disaster was averted by Rotech's ability to respond quickly to an urgent requirement. If it ever happens to you, give us a call. A human will answer the phone - even on a Friday aftenoon - and we will waste no time in responding to your needs.

A guide to Data Matrix barcoding

2009-11-14T10:32:00.003Z

In an earlier blog, we mentioned that French CIP-13 legislation on data matrix barcoding will come into force on 1st Janunary 2011. If this has relevance to your business, you may find this Introduction and Technical Overview, produced by GS1, the standard body behind the symbology useful to you.
In many cases this will take the coding of the packs to a new level, and it may well be that new equipment will be required. While Thermal Transfer printers have the resolution, speed capability and depth of contrast required to comply to the legislation, they are seldom found on pharmaceutical blister machines and almost never on cartoners.
Continuous inkjet printers (CIJ) may be able, in thoery, to print the symbols, but they are at low resolution, the pixels are round, not square, and meeting the stringent GS1 standard will not be possible.
Thermal Inkjet, by contrast, uses a very high resolution printhead, produces square pixels and can fully meet the legislative requirements. It does need some care when it comes to the installation and configuration of the system and that,s where Rotech come in. We can work with you to advise on your application, install the printer in the correct fashion and advise you how to ensure it complies with the legislation in production. If you would like us to visit you to discuss this face to face (we can even bring a printer along to make some sample prints) why not give us a call or drop us an e-mail ?

An inkjet where you decide the consumable costs

2009-11-12T23:23:00.004Z

The other day we installed an Apsolute Thermal Inkjet printer on a horizontal sachet machine at a major producer of food powders for products such as desserts and hot drinks. To increase productivity, they had adapted the machine to make two packs with each stoke of the machine, so could not use their legacy hot foil printer and were interested in the Apsolute; a clean, maintenance-free alternative to the CIJ printers they had on site.
Aware that inkjet printers could cost a lot of money in inks, make-up solution, spares and service, they were keen to assess the true cost of the Apsolute and were pleasantly surprised by the control they had.
The message to be printed was simple enough: a product description, a Best Before date and a production code. Our engineer set up a crisp, good looking code which, according to the inbuilt metering system, would yield 125,000 prints per cartridge. Not bad - about 50p/1000 - but with the sachets only selling in the shops for 10p each (and leaving the factory for a much lower figure), the customer was keen to reduce this to the minimum possible. The requirement was only that the code should be legible, no more, so we started to make the sorts of adjustments that simply aren't possible on other types of inkjet system. Firstly, the font was changed from Arial to Courier - a much lighter font, then the font size was reduced a little to save ink. Finally, the resolution of the print was reduced to 300 dpi vertically x 200 horizontally. Still far greater than anything achievable on a CIJ, but perfectly readable. The result was a figure of around 750,000 printer per cartridge and ink usage reduced by a factor of 6.
Here was a customer who had total control on his inkjet running costs. With no maintenance, no spare parts and no expensive service visits in prospect, he could decide what he wanted the ink cost to be and know that that would be the only ongoing cost of ownership.
If you'd like to find out how to bring your inkjet coding costs under control, why not contact us?

Are you ready for new Data Matrix legislation?

2009-11-07T10:37:00.008Z

If you are a pharmaceutical manufacturer that produces products for the French market, you will be aware of the requirement for all packs to carry a 2-dimensional Data Matrix barcode with product code, lot and expiry details as from 1st January 2011. Under the CIP-13 legislation, it is not sufficient simply to produce a code that reads; it needs to read to an acceptable grade or score.
Data Matrix codes have been around for some time now and low-resolution methods such as CIJ (continuous inkjet) and even pin engraving have been able to produce codes that read, but fall a long way short of the standard required to meet the pharmaceutical legislation.
Only a high resolution method such as the Apsolute thermal inkjet printer offered by Rotech can deliver the necessary quality of code, coupled with the ability to print on blister foils and coated cartons - the types of material most likely to carry the code.
Rotech have extensive testing and on-site demonstration facilities and are always happy to advise on the best way to help you comply with these new requirements. With only just over a year to go, now might be a good time to contact us

Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons?

2009-09-19T10:25:00.006+01:00

You may be familiar with this line from the Dire Straits track "Industrial Disease" and it's one that came to mind yesterday. While few companies have abolished work on a Monday morning, many finish early for the weekend, often at lunchtime on a Friday. That's fine if it meets the needs of their business (or, more importantly, their customers), but we have found that Friday afternoons are often one of our busiests times. It could be that our "competitors" are already on the golf course, or that our customers find it a good time to reflect on the week, plan for the next one and order the coding consumables they need from our extensive range.
It not just exisiting customers who want to talk to us, though. Last Friday, we took an enquiry for our thermal inkjet printer from someone at 4.30pm who had found our details on the internet. Two days later we had visited and performed a successful trial.
So, if you need us, call us. We don't let machines answer the phone as we think humans do it better. If you are desperate for something and we have it stock, we can hand deliver it to the local Parcel Force office up until at least 5 o'clock - even on a Friday!

How much heat can Thermal Ribbon take?

2009-09-17T00:03:00.007+01:00

In a previous blog we discussed the temperature needed to apply a hot foil code. Recently two customers asked us them to advise on ways to make their Thermal Transfer print withstand heat AFTER it has been applied.

To give some background, this was for printing onto pouches in the food industry where the product was a sauce that had to be hot to make it flow and so permit automatic filling.

While, in theory, the heat that puts the print on will also take it off, certain formulations of thermal ribbons will actually withstand very high temperatues (well over 100 degrees) due to their high resin content. They will require more energy (or heat) to make the print, but as distributor of thermal transfer printers Rotech is able to perform print tests to advise on the best ribbon and also the optimal settings on your printer.

Another advantage of working with Rotech is that we work with all the major ribbon manufacturers, so can test a wide range of grades to find the one that works the best. If you have a problem with the quality of your thermal print, why not contact us to see if we can help?

Engraved type requirements

2009-09-07T16:04:00.000+01:00

We often get a call, email asking for what the customer sees as an 'odd' requirement for engraved type. Little do they know that within our portfolio we have around 200 different styles/sizes of engraved type. These are used for anything from hot foil printing, blister machines, carton erectors to tube fillers. We offer a vast range of styles, sizes and typefaces (including OCR) and have the ability to match any variety or style exactly.

Engraved type is routinely manufactured for the following coders, cartoners and blister machines: Allen Coding, Kortho, Open Date, Preston (Overprint ), Metronic, Norwood, Bosch, CAM, Comardis, Ima Inverter, IWKA, Kalix, Klockner, Marchesini, Noack, Norden, Promatic, Romaco, and Uhlmann.

We have a unique cross referencing system to ensure type ordered today is the same as type previously supplied, however long ago and we do not sacrifice quality by 'bulking' customer orders together this has the added benefit of keeping leadtimes to a minimum.

We are told our type last longer than that of many of our competitors, why not give us a try.

How hot should a hot foil coder be?

2009-08-16T23:22:00.006+01:00

In the past couple of weeks we've visited two companies to look at their Allen hot foil coders in light of coding issues they were having.

At the first, a major food processor, they were having trouble with the print adhering to the labels. A change of grade seemed to cure this, but, while on site, we measured the temperature of the typeface and found it to only be around 120 degrees. This was hot enough to make a code, but someway short of the intended figure of 150-160 degrees. Changing the heaters cured the problem and the code durability became much better. The type of heater used does not tend to fail outright, it just starts to fade off and not deliver as much heat. Only by taking a measurement will this be seen.

The second, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical groups, was having the opposite problem with an Allen SuperCompact i.e. too much heat. Although the controller was set to 183 degrees, the temperature at the typeface was a shade over 200 degrees. Looking at the print with a 6X magnifier and, of course, an experienced eye, it was possible to see that the print had a "milky" appearance - a tell-tale sign of the foil pigment "boiling off" while in it's liquid phase. The solution, of course, was simple - turn the temperature down 20 degrees and all was well with a crisp, black code being made.

At Rotech we understand all aspects of the technologies we work with. Our consultancy services are available on an hourly basis, by the day or, quite often, free-of-charge, as part of the service we offer when customers come to us for either a hot foil coder or hot foil consumables. If you think you would benefit from our experience, why not give us a call?

Ever considered renting your coding equipment?

2009-07-31T08:47:00.007+01:00

If you run a continuous ink jet (CIJ) printer, especially if it's more than a couple of years old, you will undoubtedly be spending significant sums on maintenance and spare parts as well as having to buy expensive fluids to keep the printer running, even when it's not printing. As with those standing orders that draw money out of your bank account every month, the spend is often not really noticed, but can be considerable.
At Rotech we've been taking at look at the numbers and looking at what you could save if you replaced that CIJ printer with a shiny new APS Apsolute V1 and the numbers are quite compelling, so much so that we reckon that for a monthly payment of less than you currently spend on inks, make-up solution, maintenance and spares, we can supply a new printer that requires zero maintenance and will cause far less downtime than your CIJ printer - a real cost that doesn't feature in the calculation.
If you'd like us to drop in, show you what the future could hold and go through the numbers with you, just give us a call or drop us a line.

The advantages of independent businesses

2009-06-27T10:39:00.002+01:00

Twice this week it has struck us how being an independent business, run by its owners, better serves the needs of our customers.
Nearly all of our activity is concentrated in the "private" sector, but this week we had an enquiry from the public sector where they needed a range of labels printing in two colours. Time was against them and so they looked for a local firm that could help. They drove over to see us later in the afternoon and by lunctime the following day, the quote had been raised, the order placed and the job was underway. OK, we had to drop everything to achieve it, but that's what you do when a customer needs some help. In another instance a customer called us towards the end of the day needing an alternative thermal transfer ribbon. By 9.00am the next morning he had samples to try and the following morning had production reels to run his line with.
For many years we have been supplying hot foil tape and type along with spares for Allen hot foil coders. This week we learnt that they will be moving their production to Spain and scaling down their UK operations. Like many industries, coding and marking companies are either owned by one of a few large groups or are smaller, independents, such as Rotech. The large companies may think they project an image of stability, but, in our opinion, we offer better continuity and are free from the politics of corporate life that sees sites comes and go and, sadly, the staff that work within them. We'll be continuing to manufacture our hot foil coders in the UK. If you'd like one, why not give us a call?

No substitute for meeting in person

2009-06-20T10:25:00.000+01:00

The human elements in many things has disappeared: from cash machines to automated telephone systems, getting to speak to someone is become a rarity - meeting them even rarer.
Fortunately in some aspects of business it's still an essential and getting to grips with a coding project is a case in point. After a few conversation and e-mails with a customer in Lancashire looking to overprint labels, the time had come to arrange a meeting. They had identified that they had a valid project with the budget to fund it and we had indentified that it was something we could do. The devil, as they say, is in the detail, so we needed to visit to fully understand the application and ensure the scope of supply was correct, reinforcing our consultative approach to projects.
There were two approaches we could take. Either supply a very wide (8") bench top thermal printer or supply a more customised label transport / rewind system fitted with a Bell-Mark EasyPrint thermal printer. There were pros and cons for each solution, but a walk round the factory to fuly understand the working environment followed by a detailed discussion of requirements, allowed us to settle for the second of these as it offered and more flexible and robust solution with lower consumable costs.
If you have a coding application that you'd like to discuss, why not give us a call: we always answer the 'phone in person - never with a machine!

Sometimes simple is best

2009-06-13T10:27:00.000+01:00

It's always a pleasure to welcome customers to Rotech. We try to provide a warm welcome, a decent cup of coffee - maybe even lunch or breakfast - and, most importantly, sound advice on coding applications.
Yesterday we welcomed a customer who puts together gift packs for a major cosmetics chain. He needs to add a lot code to the tag that is attached to these packs by a piece of elastic. The tag in question is actually several tags held together, so automatic handling is not really viable. At the moment they are dropped onto a conveyor inkjet coded and then left to dry. All a bit labour intensive, rather fiddly and sometimes a bit smudgy!
Rotech's solution was simple -the Semi 60 bench top hot foil coder. The print is razor sharp, instantly dry, and can be changed from black to white as easily as changing the foil reel. The customer was impressed and asked that we provide a quotation to get him started, including supplying a small compressor.

Getting back to basics

2009-06-10T22:11:00.001+01:00

If you are responsible for running a pharmaceutical production hall, coding can seem like a frustrating distraction in the overall scheme of things. The equipment is small compared to the rest of the line and the print it produces is even smaller. However if it is not right, the pack is rejected, has to reworked and the production rate takes a nose dive.
A recent visit was made to such a production facility where we were asked to carry out some trials and come up with recommendations of how to improve code readability (like many lines today, the code is "read" by an OCR system) and, with it, the line efficiency.
Like many such tasks, it's a case of working through all the variables in a logical sequence, only changing one at a time and so working to deliver the optimum performance.

The technology being used was hot foil, similar to the Rotech Coder 60, but in this case an Allen SuperCompact. The first checks made were to ensure that the coder was functioning correctly and nothing obvious amiss. The backing pad material ,while in good condition, was changed to ensure that the type was printing against a perfect surface.

The SuperCompact unit has a variable temperature function that is a seemingly useful feature, but also an added complication and one that needed understanding at an early stage as too much heat can be as bad as too little. Measuring the temperature at the typeface showed that it was around 15 degrees hotter than indicated and, at around 200 degrees, a little too hot for standard hot foil tape. The effect is to give a "milky" - looking print which may seem like a strange description, but, once seen, highly accurate. The foil starts to burn away - to vaporise - and the heat needs to be reduced to return to a solid black print. Reducing the set temperature by 25 degrees gave a much sharper print - something that could be seen on the screen of the OCR-B system.

While a well respected grade of hot foil tape was being used, it also tended to mask the over-heating as it had a comparatively high release temperature. One of Rotech's grades, with low release temperature, showed the problem more readily and would be the one recommended for this application.

So, by getting back to the basics of the technology and applying a little knowledge a better result was produced.