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Pharmaceutical manufacturer upgrades their laser coders from 30W to 60W to increase the throughput to meet production demand for COVID-19 vaccine.
A major manufacturer of pharmaceuticals produces medicines and now COVID-19 vaccines on high-speed lines. Because this customer had 20 years’ experience with Linx printers, they didn’t hesitate when they needed to upgrade their laser coders to increase throughput to meet demand.
The customer codes four lines of human readable code onto paper labels which are then applied to ampoules running at a rate of 400 items per minute. The laser codes while the line is static, and the static coding time is 300 fps. The lines run two shifts a day, five days a week.
On another line, the customer codes four lines of human readable code plus a data matrix code onto carton boxes. The production line speed is 131 feet per minute and 250 cartons are coded every minute. These lines run for two shifts a day, five days a week.
The Linx CSL60 laser coder is a 60W, CO2 scribing laser coder that offers reliable coding for faster and more demanding operations enabling the customer to increase capacity. The flexibility of the coder means that the customer can have the right combination of tube and lens for their application. This level of tailoring means that the laser tube is always running at an optimum rate, which extends the laser tube life beyond other suppliers, and also extends the time between service intervals. As a result, the customer will enjoy less downtime and a lower cost of ownership.
The all new Linx 8900 was a hit during its debut at Pack Expo Las Vegas! Visitors loved the simple one-touch fluid refill design, the enhanced user interface paired with the large touch screen, the engineer-free self service module, and, of course, the industry leading reliability that comes with the Linx printhead. The Linx 8900 leads the way into the next generation of small character continuous inkjet printers.
One-touch Fluid Refill
The Linx 8900's new one-touch fluid refill design allows operators to change ink and solvent in one easy step. The solvent capacity in the inkjet printer has been doubled to better match the ink-to-solvent use ratio and the printer features an 8 hour low-to-empty warning, allowing manufacturers to run an entire shift without having to refill fluids.
10" Capacitive Touchscreen with Easy User Interface
The customizable user interface allows plant managers to put the functions most important to the line's operations right at the fingertips of the operator. The Linx 8900 also features real time output reporting and gives you the option of tracking the cause of line stoppages. All of this made easier by a large capacitive touchscreen that doesn't require you to remove your gloves to operate.
Engineer-Free Self Service Module
The Linx 8900's new self service module assembles all critical service parts in one place, allowing machine operators or on-site maintenance professionals to conduct routine maintenance without the need to call in a Diagraph field service engineer. All you have to do is follow 7 easy steps prompted by on-screen instructions to install the new self service module to accomplish routine maintenance in 30 minutes or less. What's even better is the extended machine maintenance interval of 18 months and the ability to schedule maintenance around your own production schedule.
Industry Leading Printhead
No other printhead allows up to 100 starts/stops between printhead cleanings. The secret to our typical 3 month cleaning interval is in our sealed design. When cleaning is required, it can be done more quickly without the risk of damaging exposed parts or the need for readjustments. Many of our customers struggled through poorly designed printheads before arriving at our Linx CIJ printers as the ultimate solution. If you are delaying production time to keep your printheads clean, we need to talk.
Contact us to learn more about the Linx 8900. We will put you in touch with a Diagraph marking and coding expert located in your area.
A different laser technology has been getting some new press lately, thanks in part to growth in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market. Fiber lasers aren’t new, but their application in the consumer packaged goods market has definitely hit a growth spurt. Product packaging is evolving and making use of different materials, like High Density Polyethylene or HDPE which is most desirable for its high-quality presentation, durability, and versatility in handling liquids from automotive oils to shampoo and specialty drinks. It’s no mistake then that the fastest growing laser marking technology is fiber laser which has the ability to mark directly onto HDPE as well as a range of materials not previously well served with CO2 lasers.
What then, are the other key differences between CO2 and fiber lasers?:
Fiber lasers don’t necessarily use more power, but do use power differently. The laser beam produced is in a different part of the light spectrum and is a much tighter beam. This is what allows the laser to mark materials that other lasers can’t, such as HDPE. Or, mark into other materials better such as rubber and metals.
By comparison, fiber laser can be quite small and compact. Instead of a bulky tube of gas, fiber lasers use optical fiber as their lasing medium. The exact science of it can be quite detailed but the bottom line is: these lasers are compact and have a small footprint. This allows for easy and convenient installation to the packaging line.
Like most industrial equipment, fiber lasers do come with their own set of safety requirements which can be managed safely through proper guarding and training.
CO2 Versus Fiber Laser Feature Comparison
Comparison of CO2 and Fiber Laser Marking Materials
The good news in the FMCG packaging and product identification market space is that there are lot of new materials and innovative packaging designs. Even better, Linx Printing Technologies has introduced a fiber laser with easy integration, reliable operation, and the flexibility to deliver high quality codes across the widest range of materials for both static and dynamic applications. This durable product, which includes the IP54 rated marking head, enables the coders to operate in more challenging environments with the fiber laser beam source lasting more than 100,000 hours. If you have any questions about the benefits of lasers, or specifically about the Linx FSL20 (20W fiber) or FSL50 (50W fiber), feel free to reach out to one of our marking and coding experts here at Diagraph. We are happy to walk you through the best options to meet your specific application needs. Call 1.800.722.1125 to speak with an expert today!
No longer is it the case that snacks are packaged specifically for children’s lunch boxes. Today, the snack market is heavily geared towards adults with 94% of adults snacking at least once a day and 50% snacking 2 to 3 times a day.* Snack producers are tasked with changing traditional packaging to address a different kind of consumer.
To stay on top of fluctuating snack market trends, food companies find they need to develop new packaging such as single-serve packs, convenient on-the-go solutions, and sustainable “green” packaging. Aside from creating a trendy and appealing packaging aesthetic, snack packaging frequently requires variable codes such as “Best By” or expiration dates. With consumers growing more and more health-conscious, some code requirements include allergen information, genetic modification information, and country of origin.
Many snack food companies make use of continuous ink jet (CIJ) printing technology to meet these coding requirements. CIJ is cost- effective and has a wide range of fluids to ensure coding adhesion and legibility on both porous and non-porous packaging like cardboard, plastics, metal, glass, or flexible packaging. At a minimum, your CIJ equipment must be able to produce legible and durable date, lot, and identification codes on a variety of substrates. However, there are other key features to look for when selecting a continuous ink jet printer to keep your snack packaging operations in uptime by minimizing maintenance and human errors including:
Given the wide variety of packages and product types at snack food manufacturers, the flexibility offered by CIJ is also considered an appealing benefit. Leading systems’ printheads can be used in any orientation with 360 degree printhead positioning and many can be moved from line to line to accommodate many shapes, sizes, and levels of packaging.
Diagraph offers the Linx 8900 Series CIJ printers to help our customers produce a long lasting, quality mark on a variety of packaging materials. The 8900 Series is designed with many smart, easy-to-use features to keep your production line up and running. Live chat with one of our equipment specialists to learn more. Or, read up on the latest innovations in snack food packaging in our latest whitepaper.
2018: Innovations in Snack Food Packaging
We understand that manufacturers are often faced with a number of factors that contribute to inefficient operations including under-skilled labor, lack of automation and aging equipment. As a trusted partner and a manufacturer ourselves, we believe in making it as easy as possible for our customers to implement marking and coding solutions so they can focus on what really matters – making the best product possible.
For a personal care and beauty products manufacturer with seven lines of Linx 4900 continuous inkjet units, they began to question the longevity of the systems. While the systems continued to run and perform, the year over year increase of service costs were a direct reflection of the age of the systems.
Pleased with the consistent performance of the Linx 4900 systems, the Maintenance Manager turned to the upgrade of the 4900: the Linx 8900. Through testing this potential replacement on one of their lines, the Maintenance Manager discovered that not only was the 8900 system solving their issues with frequent servicing but the easy-to-use menu settings made day-to-day use more intuitive for the operators.
Less scheduled maintenance, less printhead cleaning and less fluid use than the prior systems made the decision to upgrade all lines to the Linx 8900 CIJ systems a simple choice. What really sealed the deal were the substantial savings realized when the customer calculated their cost of ownership analysis if all lines were to upgrade their CIJ units.
Is your aging marking and coding equipment starting to bleed you on servicing and fluid costs? Aging equipment requires more manpower to maintenance and drains financial resources that should be spent on growing your business. At Diagraph we believe our customers’ time is valuable and shouldn’t be spent on rework involved with date code printers or case coders.
Download our case study brief to find out how much this personal care products manufacturer started saving annually when they upgraded their aging CIJ equipment.
Interested in the differences between the Linx 4900 and the Linx 8900? Download our comparison datasheet to learn how upgrading the Linx 4900 printer saves time and money.
Linx Printing Technologies has announced a change in its distribution network for the Linx range of small character continuous ink jet (CIJ) printers in the United States.
Diagraph, An ITW Company, who has been a distributor of Linx printers, parts and consumables for over 12 years, takes responsibility for Linx distribution previously conducted by Matthews Marking Products© with immediate effect. Diagraph will be responsible for all new Linx CIJ product sales, customer service and on-site servicing and technical support of Linx coding equipment. The Company also holds inventory of Linx equipment, including printers, spare parts, accessories, inks and solvents.
“We already have an excellent relationship with Linx, an expert knowledge of its products, and we welcome the opportunity to provide the highest levels of service for Linx customers that have yet to experience Diagraph,” comments Bruce Castro, Director of Service, at Diagraph, An ITW Company.
Diagraph is a leading manufacturer and distributor of marking, coding, labeling & RFID systems and supplies. The Company has been engineering and building automated product identification systems for over 30 years, and has been in business for over 100 years. With the resources and backing of ITW (a Fortune 200, multi-billion dollar organization), Diagraph can provide the highest levels of best-in-class products, cost-saving services and customer-friendly business practices all delivered by a nation-wide network of experienced direct sales & service representatives.
If Linx printer owners have an immediate servicing or printer requirement and would like to speak with someone from Diagraph, please call 800-722-1125.
The latest Continuous Inkjet Printer from Linx Printing Technologies, the 8900 Series, reflects the fundamental Linx design philosophies of Ease of Use and Reliability and is supported by the MK11 hermetically sealed printhead that protects all critical components during operation and cleaning.
The most notable of the 8900 Series' features is the auto flush multi-stage process – the industry’s most thorough automatic self-cleaning process – which allows Linx printheads to run cleaner for longer. Bonus benefit – less solvent waste! Few competitors flush both nozzle and gutter, leading to longer start-ups and more frequent printhead cleaning. Comparatively, older competitor printheads require a scab of ink to form on the nozzle to keep their ink line sealed or a mechanical screw to join the nozzle to the gutter to keep air from fluid lines during shutdown.
In the unique Linx printhead auto flush process, both nozzle and gutter are solvent cleaned then left to dry with a vacuum purge. The head feed valve closes and stops nozzle weeping, leaving the printhead clean and dry for a period of storage or an overnight stop. This entire process is initiated with a simple press of a button, cutting out time needed for operator shut-down procedures and increasing productivity.
Linx Printhead Autoflush Diagram (Simplified for demonstration)
As a result of the easy-to-use, push-of-a-button auto flush system, operators can pick up where they left off, with full confidence that the Linx 8900 will start-up quickly and easily without additional cleaning. The process improvements have been tested and reveal with typical inks and in typical application environments, customers can expect 100 starts and stops without the need to clean the printhead. Testing actually found 3 months as typical, and in some cases can go up to 6 months.
Diagraph has been assisting customers for over 120 years improving production line efficiencies with simple, reliable, cost-effective coding and labeling solutions. Contact us at 800.722.1125 to learn more about the Linx product line.