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• Simplify use with one touch product coding solutions

  

  Many quality equipment manufacturers strive for an easy to use designation. When comparing the ease of use of products, nothing is simpler than distilling a process down to a single step. Diagraph focuses on delivering one touch solutions that make it easy for our customers to make the perfect mark.

  When evaluating product coding solutions, it is important to consider the following:

  One Touch Consumable Replenishment

  Consumable replenishment is the most frequent type of product coding equipment intervention and finding a solution that offers a one touch process saves time, money and keeps work simple for operators.

   

  

   

  The simple one touch design on our Linx 8900 Series small character and Thermal Jet high-resolution inkjet coders allows you to open the ink compartment with a simple press of the door. No tools, twisting or turning is required to access the compartments. Fluid cartridges easily slide in and out, with no need to spend time pouring fluids into the printer.

  Our high resolution Thermal Jet printers feature easy “snap in/snap out” HP cartridge replacement.

  Centralized Ink Management

  The Diagraph IJ4000 high-resolution inkjet printer’s centralized ink delivery system provides a single point for fluid monitoring and replenishing. Because the Diagraph IJ4000 can drive up to four individual printheads, this centralized ink delivery system approach eliminates the need to monitor ink levels on individual printheads, guaranteeing that ink won’t run out at different times. Refilling the ink delivery system is also a one step process that can be performed while the printer is still running.

  Configurable User Interfaces

  Coding equipment that allows for the configuration of operator screens enables manufacturers to put the printer functions most important for day-to-day operations right at their workers’ fingertips. This simplifies print message selection and allows operators to easily access saved printer configurations when preparing for production changeovers.

  Interested in learning more about how you can save time and money by upgrading to easier to use product coding equipment? Speak with a Diagraph product identification expert today by calling 1.800.722.1125 or contacting us through the website.

• The Total Cost of Ownership:

  The Total Cost of Ownership:

  Small Character Continuous Ink Jet Coding

  When looking at purchasing small character continuous ink jet coding equipment, it’s important to take a step back and look at the total cost of ownership. As consumers, we have fallen into the habit of looking at the sticker price, no matter if it’s a car, dishwasher, or ink jet printer and immediately formulating an opinion based on the price tag. “It’s too expensive” or “it costs more than other ones just like it” might be typical reactions when finding something that looks like it’s priced higher than similar looking, competitive models. And it’s easy to understand why we do that…and we ALL do that. Typically, it’s a large purchase. Or in the case of buying something for business, it’s a capital expenditure, and the purchase needs to be justified. However, if you want to find the true cost of what you’ll spend, you have to look at more than just the initial purchase price, or “perceived price” of any item…you’ll need to look at the total cost of ownership. Doing a proper cost analysis may take a little time and effort, but it’s time well spent. It can save you in both dollars and “sense” later on.

  With the purchase of a small character continuous ink jet (CIJ) printer, there are three main areas when considering the total cost:

  1. Purchase Price 2. Maintenance & Production Downtime Costs 3. Consumables & Parts Costs

  Purchase Price

  Again, the first and most obvious indicator of pricing comes from the purchase price of the item. And there’s a pretty healthy range of pricing and options when it comes to CIJ printers. Make sure you are comparing equivalent features and options when looking at printers head to head. And if CIJ printers are designed to print, whether it be alphanumerics; date codes; batch codes; lot codes; bar codes; graphics or logos, what makes one different from the other? They all still print the code, right?

  The old adage, “you usually get what you pay for” greatly comes into play with CIJ printers, just like it does with automobiles. The similarities are uncanny. Every automobile, when it came off the showroom floor, was designed with at least one commonality in mind: to get you from point A to point B. But think about the vehicles you’ve owned. Hasn’t there been one that drove better, last longer, provided more reliability than others that you’ve had? It’s the same with CIJ printers. They’re all designed to come off the showroom floor, or in this case out of the box, and “drive” or print. However, just like your favorite vehicle, there is a difference from one CIJ to the next, on how it drives, how long it lasts, how reliable it is over time. And in the end, just like an automobile, you usually get what you pay for. In a sense, you can “pay now or pay later”. (“Pay now” meaning the initial cost may seem more expensive, but over time will be minimized by less maintenance, less downtime, less headaches. Or “pay later” meaning a lower cost initially, but over time more expense through frequent maintenance, more downtime, more headaches.

  After purchase price, we need to look at an area that may be thought about the least, but arguably should be considered the most. It’s the categories that we don’t automatically think about when we think about “price”, but these are a very important part of the equation when adding up to the total cost of ownership.

  Maintenance & Production Downtime Costs

  Some important questions to ask while comparing CIJ printers:

  • How much time does it take for the CIJ printer to start up? Some CIJ printers can require up to 10 minutes of flushing, tweaking, and coaxing in order to be ready for production to begin. That is down production time, plus labor time.
  • Can I add fluids to the CIJ printer on the fly, without having to stop the production line? If you have to stop the production line to add ink and solvent, add that time as a cost.
  • Does the CIJ printer do a complete autoflush at shutdown in which the lines and nozzle are purged with solvent? Some CIJ printers evacuate the lines, but do not put solvent through the nozzle, thus leaving it with crusty, dried ink for your start-up the next morning. This will add to your maintenance & production downtime.

  Do you see the reoccurring theme? Let’s face it, time is money. And the time that your production line is not running is costing your company money. Ask any Maintenance Manager who oversees a CIJ printer on the production line about their joys or pains. Depending on the CIJ printer, you’ll either hear “I press the go button in the morning for start-up, I press the red button in the afternoon for go home, and the time in-between I have no problems.” Or you’ll hear responses like, “my CIJ printer takes forever to start-up, I have to clean the printhead daily, I have to manually make adjustments to the printhead, it’s a mess.” So one of the factors that needs to be added in to the total cost of ownership is time. How long does the printer take to get up and running? What’s involved? How much time is spent daily on maintaining the printer, or more specifically, the printhead? Are manual adjustments to the printhead needed in order to maintain print quality throughout the day?

  Is the printhead your friend or foe? For example, if daily printer startups takes 10 minutes every day x 7 days week x 52 weeks/year, that’s an average of over 60 hours spent just on getting the CIJ printer to print! How much is your time worth per hour? Do the math. How important is it to have a CIJ printer that does not require daily printhead cleaning nor any manual adjustments made to the printhead? How much time could that save? How much money could that save! That too is part of the cost of ownership that needs to be factored in.

  While not all CIJ printers require factory air, many today do. So another cost as part of your analysis is factory air. How often does the air filter need to be replaced? What is the cost of the air itself? $400/year? And what about portability or rather mobility. Some manufacturers like to have one printer to move to multiple production lines at different times of the day. If so, how easy is it to move the CIJ printer if there is an airline connected to it? Will I need an airline added in another location? If you’re comparing a CIJ printer that does use factory air vs. one that does not, make sure to take those items into consideration as well. They too are part of your cost.

  Also, and without getting into the details, it is important to know how frequently your CIJ printer will require scheduled maintenance. You’ll want to understand from your CIJ vendor what is recommended by the manufacturer and factor that into your cost.

  Consumables & Parts Costs

  Make sure that you are comparing apples to apples when it comes to consumables. Ink consumption will be based on the volume used to mark your product. Solvent consumption has many variables based on ambient temperature and fluids management (i.e. are you wasting solvent on printhead cleaning, are you needing to refresh systems with new solvent when you haven’t finished your old solvent yet). Figuring how much ink and solvent your CIJ printer requires to put your mark on your product is part of the cost analysis. Also, in terms of purchasing fluids, make sure that you are comparing the volume of fluids per case. Some vendors will package and sell 6 bottles to a case; others will be 10 bottles to a case, so make certain you are looking at the total volume when looking at cost per case on consumables.

  Replacement parts should be purchased from a manufacturer-approved source. Discount replacement parts (i.e. from a third party) may prove to be more costly due to increased maintenance & service costs.

  Summary

  So that’s basically it. The key to determining the total cost of ownership is to look at the total picture. And if you’re working with a reputable vendor of CIJ printers, they’ll alert you to this and even aid in figuring your total cost. The main thing to remember is that a CIJ printer with a higher purchase price does not make it a more expensive printer. In fact, it will probably save you money because of its quality, reliability, and longevity.

  At the end of the day, what you’re really buying is value and peace of mind. If you have to continually stop your production line to babysit the CIJ printer because it’s time to add fluids, tweak the printhead, etc. on a printer that you saved a few thousand dollars on, you’re not saving money. With CIJ printers, you really do get what you pay for. Remember, it’s about dollars and “sense”.

  And just like automobiles, you should be able to do a “test drive” of the CIJ printers before you purchase. A quality vendor will access your application needs, make a recommendation based on best-fit technology and provide you with a free, no-obligation demonstration of the CIJ printer on your production line. If they can’t or won’t do that, look elsewhere.

• Delivering Innovation at Diagraph for 125 Years – and Counting

  

  Let’s set the scene: The year is 1893. Pepsi is introduced to the world for the first time as “Brad’s Drink” in New Bern, North Carolina. The zipper – referred to as a “clasp locker” – makes its debut at the Chicago World’s Fair. Inspired by views from Pikes Peak in Colorado, Katharine Lee Bates writes “America the Beautiful”. And on the banks of the Mississippi River along the St. Louis Levee, cargo piles up as it’s awaiting hand addressing…

  In this Mississippi River cargo traffic jam, Andrew Jackson Bradley saw an opportunity for innovation. By November of 1893, he invented the first stencil cutting machine, the Bradley Stencil Machine, to aid in marking goods neatly and quickly to expedite the laborious hand addressing process of cargo. The stencil machine was an alternative to expensive brass stencils and reduced inconsistencies and labor associated with hand marking.

  The Bradley Stencil Machine emphasized its ease-of-use -- with successful operation that could be achieved by nearly anyone with just 15 minutes of practice. The invention boasted new possibilities in the marking industry by making it simple to include a variety of shipment information including the name and address of the recipient, routing number, weight, description of contents, and even branding. This would only be the first time of many in Diagraph company’s 125-year history in which commercial business would be revolutionized.

  Throughout the years since the creation of the stencil machine, milestones in innovation have continued to define Diagraph:

  • 1904 - The Bradley Stencil Machine received the Gold Medal Award at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World’s Fair) for its revolutionary impact on product marking
  • 1915 – World’s first full service product marking supplier
  • 1969 – World’s first roll coder: the DiCoder
  • 1986 – World’s first integrated valve jet technology
  • 1990 – World’s first high resolution piezoelectric print engine – Trident Technology
  • 1996 – World’s first centralized ink delivery system design for high resolution inkjet
  • 2002 – World’s first automated cleaning system for high resolution inkjet technology
  • 2008 – World’s first all-electric automated labeling system platform

   

  In 2018, we are celebrating our long-established heritage at Diagraph and our products that are known to last, last, and last. This commemorative year means a new, modern look for Diagraph that exhibits the strength and integrity of our quality craftsmanship, products and people. We are marking  this moment in history as a meaningful stepping stone in delivering the next 125+ years of excellence to our customers through an entirely new approach to service and support.

  We want to bring our loyal customers and employees along on this celebratory journey with us throughout the year. Check back for more deep dives into our past and announcements for what the future of Diagraph brings!

• Key Considerations for Assessing Coding Equipment Uptime

  

  System uptime is the average length of time a piece of equipment runs between interventions are required to keep it operating smoothly. When comparing system uptime when assessing coding equipment, it is important to look at several factors including:

  1. How long a coder can run between consumable replenishment
  2. How long it takes to refresh or restock the coder’s consumable
  3. How long a coder can run between preventive maintenance service intervals

  To understand system uptime better, let’s take a closer look at each of these key areas:

  Length of time between consumable replenishment

  Consumable replenishment is the most common and necessary interaction with any given piece of coding equipment. The amount of time a system can go between consumable replenishment, like adding more ink to an inkjet coder, replacing ribbon stock in a thermal transfer printer, or replacing labeling stock on a labeler largely depends on the capacity of the individual piece of coding equipment. There are additional factors to consider when assessing consumable replenishment.

  For inkjet coders, it is important to understand how long a printer can run after the bottle or cartridge of ink has run out of fluids. Does the system provide an advanced notice warning giving a countdown to when the coder will be truly empty? Does it provide enough of a warning that allows for fluids to be replenished at ideal production times like before and after shift changes? Can the fluids be replaced while the system is actively coding?

  For thermal transfer printers, ribbon capacity as well as total ribbon usage are important to maximizing the length of time between replacing ribbon stock. For ribbon capacity, look at the maximum size of the ribbon roll for your chosen ribbon type. To maximize ribbon usage, look for thermal transfer printers that offer ribbon saving features that utilize as much surface area of the ribbon before advancing it for ribbon waste collection.

  Streamlining consumable replenishment

  Although replenish consumables is unavoidable for the most common types of coding equipment, the very act of replacing or replenishing a bottle of ink or solvent, a roll of ribbon, or a roll of label stock can be made easier and less time consuming for system operators.

  Inkjet coders tend to be the easiest type of coding equipment when it comes to consumable replenishment since most inkjet coders can keep running while being refilled. Look for inkjet coders that offer mess free, mistake free refill options like needle and septum systems that prevent leakage and dripping when swapping fluid bottles. This is ideal compared to inkjet coders that require fluid bottles to be manually poured into the system. Another factor to consider is how many touches or actions are required to complete the fluid refill process. Look for systems that provide one-touch fluid refill options as well as variations in shapes and sizes between ink and solvent bottles to simplify the process as much as possible while preventing the wrong fluids from going in the wrong compartments.

  Due to the nature of thermal transfer printing, the printer will become temporarily unavailable for coding while ribbon stock needs to be replaced. Look for thermal transfer printers that have an easy-to-web design as well as easy to remove and replace ribbon cassettes. Investing in an additional ribbon cassette that can be loaded and ready to go when ribbon is low minimizes downtime on thermal transfer printers as much as possible.

  Like thermal transfer printers, automated labelers also become temporarily available for use when label stock needs to be replaced. Look for an automated labeling system that has an easy label webbing design to make it easy to unload spent stock and load a fresh roll. Manufacturers with high production commands benefit from having alternate labeling machines available. When one machine signals that its label stock is low, the other starts applying labels so that the low system can be replaced. This virtually eliminates downtime with automated labelers.

  Preventive Maintenance Service Intervals

  Although consumable replenishment is required more frequently than maintenance, preventive maintenance procedures take more time to complete and often require the coding equipment to be completely unavailable for printing while being serviced. Not all coding systems are created equal. Service intervals are usually stated in the amount of system hours that can pass before preventive maintenance is required. Things like ink type, manufacturing environment, and overall wear and tear caused by the application can impact recommended system intervals.

  For inkjet coders, look for systems that can run as long as a year or more before maintenance is required. Better yet, look for systems that provide advanced warnings about upcoming maintenance so that you can schedule interventions around your production schedule. Another factor to consider is how easy or complicated it is to perform maintenance. Look for systems that have self-contained service modules that can be easily swapped out without the need for a service engineer. Systems that have screen-guided instructions for service interventions tend to be the easiest to use.

  For thermal transfer printers, take a look at preventive maintenance requirements that are recommended by the manufacturer. How many parts require replacement? How long does the manufacturer state it will take to perform maintenance? How easy is it to access parts that need to be replaced? These are all important questions to ask when evaluating thermal transfer printers.

  When it comes to automated labeling systems, all-electric systems allow you to replace wear parts while relying on pre-programmed settings to get the labeler operating as quickly as possible. Pneumatically operated labeling systems require extensive adjustments after replacing wear parts, making maintenance interventions anything but fast. Also look for labeling systems that offer screen-guided instructions for quick and simple service interventions. Another advantage of all-electric labeling systems over pneumatic is that electric options allow for a gentler application of the label to the substrate. This cuts down on overall wear and tear, allowing the system to go for longer between maintenance intervals.

  If you have any questions about how to calculate the uptime of your current coding equipment compared to new coding equipment technology, we are here to help. Contact a Diagraph product identification expert today by calling 1.800.722.1125 or contacting us through our website.

• Top 3 CIJ Features that Minimize Product Line Changeover Touches

  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

• Small Character Inkjet Features That Shine in the Meat Packing Industry

  The meat packaging industry has coding and traceability requirements similar to other food industries, yet the cold and humid environments indicative of the industry can pose additional challenges for packaging equipment not experienced in more temperate facilities.

  In the past, a typical minimal requirement for meat packaging would be batch and/or lot numbers and “best-by” date codes. Moving forward, code requirements are becoming increasingly complex and often may include allergen information, animal reference codes, genetic modification information, and country of origin.

  Many meat and poultry packing plants make use of Continuous Ink Jet (CIJ) printing technology to meet the coding requirements on primary packaging. CIJ is cost-effective with a wide range of fluids to ensure coding adhesion and legibility of the mark in refrigerated environments on both porous and non-porous packaging.

  With the meat industry known for particularly harsh processing and packing environments, small character CIJ printers must maintain optimal print quality throughout use. The Linx 8900 Series CIJ printers are uniquely designed to withstand these tough conditions.

  Superior Print Performance Monitoring – Print performance measures like time of flight and viscosity readings are performed directly in the printhead, automatically adjusting the ink and solvent mix in real-time to guarantee optimal print quality throughout use. Monitoring these critical readings in the printhead as opposed to in the printer body provides a more accurate analysis of the environment at the exact location of where the code is being applied – this guards against the frequent clogging issues experienced in cold temperature and high humidity environments by competitor technologies.

  With ever changing coding requirements, the flexibility to easily modify codes is critical. The Linx 8900 Series CIJ printers have features designed for ease of use in cold environments to keep your coding on track.

  

  Large 10” touch screen – The Linx 8900 Series features a highly visible color capacitive touchscreen that can be accessed while wearing gloves; a real time saver in a refrigerated environment.

  Icon Based User Interface – Similar to smart phones, the Linx 89xx Series has an intuitive user interface for easy to use message selection and prompted content editing.

  Customizable carousel – You can place your most used editing and printer functions on the home screen. Reduce costly coding errors by minimizing steps to change messages by making use of prompted fields.

  If you’re in the meat or poultry packing industry and want to know more about continuous inkjet solutions for your production, call 1.800.722.1125 or email info@diagraph.com for more information.