Trident Offers Customised Desk Top Printers

Trident Infotec is offering a range of printers with customised interface electronics, firmware or external appearance for medium volume applications.

Trident Infotec is offering a range of printers with customised interface electronics, firmware or external appearance for medium volume applications.

The announcement follows the signing of a supply agreement between Custom Engineering of Parma, Italy and Trident.

Under the agreement, Trident can offer customers a Custom Engineering S'Print printer adapted to interface with non-standard host systems, with firmware offering additional software features, or with housing designs and colours to fit in with a corporate colour scheme.

According to Trident, Custom Engineering is offering a semi-bespoke printer in production runs of a few thousand units, as opposed to the tens of thousands traditionally required.

The S'Print is a 24-column thermal desktop and portable printer for instrumentation and point of sale applications, offering 50mm per second printing, 384 dots per line and easy paper loading, claimed Trident.

Features include a compact lightweight design, ease of paper loading, an end of paper sensor, and the ability to operate from a rechargeable battery or mains adaptor.

It normally interfaces to the host system through a standard RS-232 interface with an IRDA interface available as an optional extra.

By implementing custom or modified interface electronics, the S'Print can be configured to overcome handshaking and buffering with a user's existing hosts.

It is said to support a completely non-standard interface that exists as part of a proprietary system that is too expensive to replace.

In this way, the life of an existing system can be extended by bringing printed output up to the current standards, or by replacing a worn-out and obsolete printer mechanism believes the company.

Trident can provide the press with modified firmware to allow auto-cutting after each print where the host system is unable to send a cut command, or to automatically add a logo or promotional message at the head or tail of a receipt, where the host system doesn't support this feature.

Using bespoke firmware, a message or command can be held in memory within the printer and automatically printed or carried out at the end of each receipt.

Custom Engineering also offer to vacuum form or mould custom housings around its mechanisms, to fit in with an in-store design concept, for example.

The company said it can also mould housings in corporate colours where needed.

Custom Engineering's UK sales manager Nick Jarman, said: "Custom is targeting the medium volume users who need extra functionality, or who need printers that work with older applications or non-standard systems.

The company can provide a level of semi-bespoke tailoring for most of its products, supported and project managed by Trident." That could include a modified interface, subtle re-designs to mechanical components, or even a complete housing design around an existing print mechanism, he added.

Trident Microsystems was formed in 1967 and is flat-panel displays and printer specialist with franchises as a dedicated displays and SBCs supplier.

It also has a division to sell and supporting printer, card reader and smart card products and an e-business operation selling high-tech office equipment over the Internet.

The company has ISO approval at its purpose-built 32,000sq.ft.

headquarters near Gatwick.

It is owned Abacus Group plc and is expanding in Europe.

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