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Not enough time in your day? Are you tired of firefighting coding defects? Stop being vulnerable to human mistakes and resource drains with NEXTConnect. This centralized dashboard saves you time and footsteps and offers peace of mind that your product is accurately coded. Become empowered to master critical coding tasks from a single screen, whether working from your PC, laptop or mobile device.
Saves time and motion. NEXTConnect saves time and motion required for operating product identification equipment across primary, secondary and tertiary packaging levels within a centralized dashboard. The centralized dashboard provides visual indicators (printing, paused, idle or error state) across technologies of connected equipment due to its remote printer management and monitoring application. The visual indicators provide real time status as well as a preview of the currently printing message. Real time status indicators allow resources to be deployed where and when needed. In addition to the indicators, notification of events and maintenance due reminders allow you to schedule resources as efficiently as possible.
Easy to use. You can directly populate print messages with your ERP’s product and job information using the centralized printer management software. Product identification errors are virtually eliminated by centralizing the print message selection. The NEXTConnect application can also increase efficiencies by sharing print messages across all compatible coders in your entire connected fleet.
Watch this video and contact us to schedule a 2-minute software demo of NEXTConnect.
See how easy it can be for you to achieve the peace of mind that your operations are running at an optimal level.
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is transforming manufacturing and a whole host of other industries. IIoT connects industrial devices that can monitor, collect, exchange, and analyze data, and leverage that data and connectivity to help you make smarter, faster and more effective business decisions.
Chances are, you’re already automating parts of your business -- but IIoT takes automation to a whole new level. Two major IIoT trends to watch for in 2020, according to Mobidev, are wireless connectivity and predictive analytics. If you aren’t leveraging IIoT as part of your marking and coding process, it’s a wasted opportunity.
Centralized printer management software connects wirelessly to your printing and coding equipment, creating a central database so that operators can review printing status and start jobs remotely using their mobile devices – among other capabilities. Centralized printer management software can also track prints and analyze operational history, to deliver valuable insights about your processes.
The robust interconnectedness of IIoT technology such as a centralized printer management system, can innovate the product identification process in a number of ways. For example, imagine being able to run your production processes without having to constantly keep an eye on your coding and labeling equipment.
Some other benefits of centralized printer management software include:
Here’s a checklist of common complexities and pains that manufacturers experience with production. If any of these experiences sound familiar, you could benefit from deploying printer management software in your facility:
Improving manufacturing processes is an ongoing challenge, and IIoT can help. For your marking and coding process, centralized printer management software offers many benefits and seamlessly automates a complex operation.
Take the next step to automating your coding and labeling operations. Try NEXTConnect™ printer management software for free for 90 days. Contact a Diagraph representative today at nextconnect@diagraph.com for a trial license.
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.
New from Diagraph, An ITW Company
St. Louis, MO. . .Diagraph introduces the latest generation of controllers in its IJ3000™ line of large character ink jet printers—the IJ3000 ES Controller. This powerful, low-cost web-server based HMI features a color touchscreen display, drives Diagraph’s Integrated Valve or Impulse Jet printheads, and has a 100-base T Ethernet network port for web browser, network connectivity.
Standard Features:
The Ij3000 ES controller drives Diagraph’s integrated valve printheads, (perfect for applications that call for coding tray packs on opposing sides) or drives Diagraph’s high-resolution impulse jet printheads (perfect for printing alphanumerics; reliable, verifiable bar codes; and high quality logos and graphics on corrugated cartons or other substrates, porous and non porous).
To launch this new product, Diagraph has created special package “Ij3000 ES kits” for dual head Integrated Valve 9 or 18 dot printhead applications and has special introductory pricing through September 30, 2007. Interested parties should call 800-722-1125 for pricing.
Each kit includes
Shown above: The New Ij3000 ES Controller, (2) IV9-dot Integrated Valve printheads, photoeye, printhead cables, mounting brackets. Application shown: coding opposing sides of traypacks.
Shown above: A new IV9-Dot Integrated Valve Printhead marks date codes on tray packs easily and ledgibly. Driving this printhead is the new Ij3000 ES Controller.
Shown above: The family of Ij3000 controllers. From left to right: XLS, LS, and ES controllers. The Ij3000 ES is “small and mighty”, packing a lot of punch for its size.
Like all Diagraph ink jet printing systems, the Ij3000 ES Controller is built to last, with minimal maintenance, even in hostile industrial environments. It provides reliable performance in all kinds of conditions—hot, cold, wet and dry.
For more information, call Marketing Services for Diagraph Large Character Ink Jet Systems at 800-722-1125 or send e-mails to info@diagraph.com
St. Louis, MO. . .Diagraph introduces the latest generation of controllers in its IJ3000™ line of large character ink jet printers—the IJ3000 XLS Controller. This web-server HMI features a large, 10.4” colored touchscreen display, 200 and 300dpi print resolution and enhanced message editor with drag-n-drop field placement.
Here’s a snapshot of its features:
Standard Features of the IJ3000 XLS Ink Jet Controller:
Upgrades and Expandability:
The XLS controller drives Diagraph’s high-resolution impulse jet printheads, making it the ideal choice for printing reliable, verifiable bar codes and high quality logos and graphics in sizes from 1/4” to 4” tall on corrugated cartons. Plus, the IJ3000 XLS Controller is backwards compatible with existing Diagraph IJ3000 Impulse Jet installations.
Features of the IJ3000 Impulse Jet System:
The automatic cleaning printhead feature allows the operator to program the Impulse Jet printer to self-clean at any desired times on any selected days. At the programmed times, a pump and vacuum device is automatically activated to remove accumulated contaminants from the printhead and transport them to a reservoir that can be emptied and disposed of as needed.
The touch screen allows operators to control the system with the touch of a finger and enjoy previously unimagined levels of convenience and productivity. The graphical user interface visually displays menus and commands so operators can enter messages and codes in minutes. And batch codes can be changed during a run, without interrupting production.
The IJ3000 Impulse Jet has a built-in high-speed Ethernet connection that permits networking with another printer on the other side of the factory, or on the other side of the world. For multi-location manufacturing customers with constantly changing batch codes, this smart feature is invaluable for making changes and checking status. The system is designed to work with Web browsers (including Netscape and Internet Explorer), existing local area networks (device net, arc net, etc.), or wireless (radio frequency) using off-the-shelf converters.
Another smart feature is 24/7 monitoring and diagnostics. Operating on PCs, PLCs, and LANs, it can be used to obtain up-to-the-minute system status. The IJ3000 Impulse Jet can even be programmed to monitor ink levels and provide an alert when the supply needs to be replenished.
Like all Diagraph ink jet printing systems, the IJ3000 Impulse Jet is built to last, with minimal maintenance, even in hostile industrial environments. It provides reliable performance in all kinds of conditions—hot, cold, wet and dry.
Learn more about the IJ3000 XLS Industrial Ink Jet Controller Here
For more information, call Marketing Services for Diagraph Large Character Ink Jet Systems at 800-722-1125 or send e-mails to info@diagraph.com.
Diagraph, a division of Illinois Tool Works Inc., manufactures and distributes automated industrial marking systems and supplies. Primary product lines include: small character ink jet systems, large character ink jet systems, and automated labeling systems. With sales and service offices located across the United States and throughout the world, Diagraph is a leading international supplier of product identification marking systems.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturers in essential industries such as food, hygiene products, and medical supplies are needed more than ever. It’s critical that these products continue to be produced and shipped in a timely manner, to support the growing demand. Current manufacturers are doing the best they can to keep their production up at this time. And moreover, companies in industries from cosmetics to breweries to sustainable clothing are pivoting in the face of the COVID-19 disaster.
But maintaining or increasing production to meet demand during this time, while vital, also brings challenges -- including gaps in the supply chain, dealing with new and heightened hygiene and safety requirements, and navigating new packaging compliance requirements during a company pivot.
There’s no place on the planet that is not being impacted by COVID-19. With the globalization of manufacturer supply chains over the past several decades, this means that almost no supply chain will be unaffected by the crisis. Freight shipping has been drastically reduced in an attempt to help slow the spread of the virus. Truck driver shortages were already being reported before the spread of COVID-19, and now the demand for their services has only increased. With shelter in place orders, regions closing and opening on an unpredictable schedule, facilities having to follow quarantine restrictions, even essential manufacturers will be seeing shifts in their businesses.
To further complicate matters, supply chain disruptions cause food that is desperately needed to instead be wasted, as perishable food products are unable to reach market. Milk, for example, has been hit particularly hard already, as the U.S. government has been asking dairy farmers to dump their supply. Meat and produce can be frozen, grain can be moved into siloes, but milk and many other dairy products cannot be kept from spoiling over the long term and those dairy farmers are scrambling to pivot their bulk production to retail packaging.
Your company will be dealing with many potential points of failure across the supply chain. And there are more challenges to overcome as well.
Food, medical supplies, and other essential industries cannot afford to cut back production like other industries. But the workers in these industries are already seeing a much higher rate of infection than the general population. In North Carolina, 23 meatpacking plants have reported outbreaks, with more than 1,300 workers testing positive for COVID-19. And a meatpacking plant in Minnesota has reported almost 200 cases among its workers.
It’s more important than ever that companies implement good hygienic practices to keep workers safe. Proper deep cleaning procedures and 2-week quarantine periods can take time away from the production output of goods or shut down a plant all together. However, these measures ensure the health and safety of essential employees who are mission critical to meeting production demands that fuel the economy.
A number of companies in non-essential industries are pivoting to provide essential supplies during this crisis. Breweries and distilleries are producing and shipping hand sanitizer, due to having the majority of the ingredients already in-house. Meanwhile, restaurants are selling groceries, and the dairy farms that previously sold in bulk are switching over to serve more direct retail clients.
But switching over production means new compliance requirements. Additionally, processing and coding technologies that worked well for previous product needs may not be suited to print on new substrates. With so many challenges being faced, how can manufacturers keep up? Luckily, it can be fast and easy to shift to a new product coding solution.
Small character inkjet coders, for instance, are a great solution for manufacturers wanting to add new printers on their line or for those manufacturers who have switched over to packaging hand sanitizer or more retail packaged foods. Alcohol resistant inks are even available to ensure proper code adhesion even on hand sanitizer products or to withstand more rigorous cleaning procedures. More advanced continuous inkjet systems have simple set-up requirements, making self-installation achievable for facilities keeping a lockdown on visitors.
And in this time of economic uncertainty, manufacturers can lease coding equipment, spreading out payments instead of having to spend a large amount of capital upfront for new printing systems. For operations requiring consumables like inks, ribbons or on-the-shelf spare parts, supplier partners can work up blanket contracts to ensure savings over the long-run. There are multiple ways manufacturers during this time of crisis can meet current and new coding demands in a cost-efficient way.
The landscape of business everywhere is changing rapidly and even essential business manufacturers will be feeling the impact of these changes.
Your company will be dealing with many challenges during this time -- potential points of failure across the supply chain, the dangers of pivoting, rigorous new safety and hygiene requirements. Don’t let your product coding be one of these new challenges. Not when the solution can be so simple. Talk with a Diagraph Marking & Coding consultant to understand your options if you’re being met with coding challenges in your production and we will help you understand your solution options and how to implement them.
To accommodate the demand of retailers, manufacturers are doing shorter runs of customized products resulting in as many as three product changeovers on each line in a single shift. This often means spending more time changing over the line than running the product, with costs incurring each time your line operators shut down a line and input a new message before starting up production again. Most CIJ systems do not have the ability to store line settings for future use, making it a manual messaging input each time products are changed over. Increasingly important features in a continuous inkjet system are therefore repeatability, ease of operation and minimal touches.
In your evaluation for a CIJ printer that lowers your changeover costs by cutting out the risk of user error and minimizes touches, make it a priority that your printer allows for:
1. Ample storage for production line and messaging settings to avoid manual input for each new message or product being run on a single shift.
2. Meaningful, pre-programed line settings to quickly understand and easily retrieve the right message for the right product every time, no matter who is running the line.
3. Prompted fields that can help guide even workers with minimal training through the message creation and editing process.
Having these features at the top of your list will get you closer to an effortless product changeover process. Wondering what other criteria in your CIJ system you should be looking for? To aide those in the process of investigating CIJ systems, we have rounded up a list of hidden costs associated with total cost of ownership.
The Hidden Costs of Continuous Inkjet Coders Whitepaper