Off-Line Thermal Transfer Printing Cuts Complexity

The benefits of off-line coding systems reinforce their importance to the efficiency of production lines running a large volume of high quality print to be added to packaging.

By contrast, according to Rotech Machines, the range of coding technology available for use on-line can be limited by their speed and production method.

Rotech said that coding packs off-line may not suit all applications but it can solve the problem of how to supply one, or a number of hand-pack lines with coded components, whether cartons, sleeves, envelopes, or labels.

Conversely, off-line thermal transfer printing provides a high-resolution print that is easy to set up and totally clean in operation.

By combining the right type of thermal printer with a suitable feeding system almost any item can be printed off-line and at surprisingly high rates of throughput, added Rotech.

The company commented that it has produced a feeding system for folded and glued cartons and sleeves that has satisfied the demands of the food, pharmaceutical and healthcare markets to add a lot number, expiry or use-by date to their packs, off-line.

The range has been expanded to include systems that can feed a wider variety of materials, such as blister cards, seed envelopes, medical device pouches and single cut sheets of paper in addition to paper or film bags and sacks.

Fitted with a thermal transfer printer those systems can address a range of coding applications, such as printing seed packs with all the information relating to the product inside, which is claimed to save stocks of pre-printed products and provides only the packs that are needed, when they are needed.

Such systems are also successful with marking a medical device pouch, customising a generic automotive blister pack and printing single cut sheets of medical paper, used as a lidding device, with a 2D-bar code along with the usual traceability codes.

In addition, thermal transfer printing is suitable for printing directly on to large sacks of food ingredients instead of hand applying a pre-printed label.

With all those examples overprinting has undertaken in the customer's facility under their full control, before the product is packed.

Rotech Machines believes that providing pre-printed components to the line can reduce complexity and help maintain production efficiencies.

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