Domino’s New A520i ink jet printer - combining durability with innovation
A new continuous ink jet (CIJ) printer – the A520i - has been launched by Domino to withstand the harsh production environments of the beverage and dairy sectors whilst delivering flexible, consistent and quality coding at high output speeds.
The A520i represents the next iteration in Domino’s successful A-series range of continuous ink jet printers. Building on the heritage of the i-Tech range, the new highly resilient printer has been designed specifically to provide optimum performance in the most challenging of production environments. Each printer comes ‘wrapped’ in an IP55 marine grade robust stainless steel cabinet protecting an IP66 sealed electronics enclosure. In addition, each print head is covered in a heavy duty casing, providing maximum protection during regular wash down cleaning procedures.
The A520i is also the first CIJ Printer to incorporate the innovative plenum airflow cooling system, which ensures the printer stays cool whatever the production environment.
The TouchPanel user interface (UI) is a separate component, which can be mounted either directly onto the cabinet or remotely to suit beverage and dairy production line requirements and layout. The A520i can also be controlled via any Windows® interface already on the production line.
James Shippen, Product Marketing Manager for CIJ at Domino, comments on the A520i’s assets he believes will appeal the most to beverage and dairy businesses: “The two new key qualities that set this printer aside from the competition are its flexible design and consistent performance. The robust, heavy duty stainless steel cabinet, print head covers and sealed electronics units provide total protection during regular wash downs. The presence of plenum airflow cooling system ensures optimum functionality no matter how challenging the surroundings, whether they are hot, cold, wet or dry. In addition, the ability to integrate the user interface anywhere along the production line is a further advantage that will prove beneficial in more complex work environments.”
The A520i offers a combination of the lowest cost of ownership with excellent OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) aimed to increase production efficiencies. Its i-Tech ink system can help dairy businesses drive down their solvent footprint, as it delivers the lowest measured consumption makeup on the market and an extremely low overall cost of ownership. Additionally, the machine requires no service and only minimal operator intervention thanks to the presence of CleanFill cartridges that can be changed while the printer is running. The i-Tech Module containing the working ink and ink filters can also be easily replaced in less than ten minutes. This is all the maintenance the printer requires and it’s an annual task that can be performed by anyone.
XS high speed print head
A further addition to Domino’s CIJ printer range is the XS print head, an option for high speed applications that prints top quality code, with clear and easy to read characters. Building on the company’s engineering expertise in the ink jet industry, and developed following extensive research, the XS uses a patented droplet handling system to deliver a wide range of print formats with great print quality and predictable performance.
The new XS print head is able to match pace or exceed the speed of the fastest production lines and thanks to its nimble precision, businesses are now able to print codes onto approximately 1400 bottles, cans or cartons a minute, without sacrificing accuracy or legibility in the process.