Trident’s Innovative Printhead & Ink Provides Cost Savings and Enhanced Print Quality

23 May 2011

Trident Industrial Inkjet, a leading provider of industrial piezoelectric inkjet printheads and inks for 30 years and is a global leader in technologies for package marking and bar coding, has globally launched an innovative, new 384JetNP printhead and AllWriteA5000 ink.

Trident’s new technologies were developed in order to meet growing demand in the market. “We are seeing trends both for highly decorated packaging and for shrink film replacing corrugated on a cost basis,” observed Luigi Cazzaniga (business unit manager). “Responding to these trends, we have developed a new alcohol-based ink solution, which delivers high volume and quick drying, as an alternative to traditional label or wax-based printing. The 384Jet technology allows users to print information in a durable way directly onto the shrink wrap film.”

Together, the new inkjet technologies provide safe, high-quality, fast-drying performance and represent a new alternative for cost-effectively displaying graphics, alphanumerics and barcodes on non-porous packaging such as coated-corrugated and shrink wrapped tray packs.

The new technology is ideally suited for printing on non-porous packaging materials for a variety of food, beverage, wine, personal care, medical and nutraceutical applications.

The 384JetNP printhead provides high-quality printing of graphics and alphanumerics and consistently readable barcodes (including code 128 and ITF-14 barcodes) with a print height of two inches (50mm) and printing speeds of 200ft/minute (1 meter/second). The alcohol-based, non-toxic AllWriteA5000 dries in less than 10 seconds unassisted and in less than five seconds with air assist (substrate dependent).

The technology provides several key performance and cost-saving benefits over alternative non-porous options such as labels and wax-based printing. Unlike wax-based print which can smear during production or when overheated during shipping or storage, the 384JetNP provides durable, quality print. Cost savings are generated by eliminating the need for labels. Nonporous inkjet printing costs as much as five times less than labels.

To meet the challenge of providing a non-porous printing solution that dries quickly on packaging but not so quickly so as to dry within the printhead and cause clogging, Trident developed a patented sub-pulsing system. The sub-pulsing technology keeps the ink constantly agitated and moving, ensuring that clogging won´t occur and high-quality, fast-drying print can be delivered from the very first print even if the line has been left unattended for a period of time (for example during a lunch break).

The durable, stainless steel construction of the 384JetNP printhead is another selling point the Trident team was eager to emphasise. The 384JetNP features a rugged, industrial design with features like stainless steel construction and patented shock resistance designed to maximize life even in challenging industrial environments. The durability of Trident printheads reduces production downtime and can lead to long-term savings on printhead replacement costs when compared to “disposable” printheads that feature less durable materials. Moreover, the repairable design of the 384JetNP delivers further cost savings. It is no longer necessary to purchase a replacement printhead every time harsh factory environments damage printhead performance. The 384JetNP can be disassembled, fixed and put back to work, resulting in extended printhead life and significant savings on replacement parts.

Additional advantages of the new technology include simple networking with the user’s local software and an internal print cost calculation manager, which gives the printer the opportunity to change specifications to optimise cost effectiveness.

The 384JetNP has already been incorporated into printing systems from some of the world´s leading OEMs including Zanasi, Diagraph, Weber Marking Systems and REA Elektronik.

Source: Trident Industrial Inkjet