Coder can look after itself

INTERACTIVE Coding Equipment (ICE), of Nottingham, has launched what it believes is the first fully self-maintaining case coder - the ICE Infineon. The company says that with the machine's arrival, high-resolution on-line printing has become a realistic alternative to printed labels and pre-printed outer cases, offering users cost savings alongside high print quality.

INTERACTIVE Coding Equipment (ICE), of Nottingham, has launched what it believes is the first fully self-maintaining case coder - the ICE Infineon. The company says that with the machine's arrival, high-resolution on-line printing has become a realistic alternative to printed labels and pre-printed outer cases, offering users cost savings alongside high print quality. Existing high-resolution inkjet systems are said to be vulnerable to the effects of dust and vibration unavoidable in factory environments, resulting in variable and often unacceptable print quality and necessitating regular and unplanned maintenance. To counter this, the Infineon's automatic self-cleaning system operates every time the machine is asked to print. This ensures that the print heads remain immune to dust and debris, thereby repeating quality print on each call without operator intervention and detrimental impact on the operation or throughput of the printer. In addition, no ink is wasted or spilt during the process. Capable of 180dpi, the print heads have 500 addressable jets allowing the reproduction of barcodes, company logos, time and date fields directly onto outer case packaging. Print area is 70 x 400mm, for each of up to four print heads, at a maximum print speed of 33 metres/minute. Typical print costs are claimed to be one tenth that of an equivalent printed label. A central ink management system allows up to four heads to be operated per machine. And ink replacement is by a sealed ink bottle - a clean and simple process with no need to stop the line.