Domino Launches Enhanced Version of A-Series plus Duo Continuous Ink Jet Printer

Following its successful preview at Emballage in November, Domino has launched an upgraded version of its high performance and efficiency-enhancing A-Series plus Duo range of continuous ink jet (CIJ) printers. The commercial version of the new A-Series plus Duo offers even greater benefits to manufacturers in Domino's mainstream CIJ markets, such as the food and beverage sectors. In particular, the easy-to-use A-Series plus Duo meets industry needs for improved print performance and additional lines of data beyond standard date/batch codes - without compromising production line speeds or throughput levels - by printing double the amount of lines at the same speed. This allows two-line printing at the speed of a single line, or four-line printing at the speed of two lines, thanks to an innovative dual nozzle printing system using two streams of independently deflected ink, rather than a single ink jet. 'The typical speed achievable when printing three lines is normally only around half that of printing two lines; this is not the case with the A-Series plus Duo, which eradicates such inefficiencies,' says Nick Plaister, Product Identification Director at Domino. New printing format for improved efficiency Since last year's Paris preview, Domino has incorporated additional efficiency-improving updates to the A-Series plus Duo, largely through the incorporation of enhanced rasterisation technology. This significant modification reduces the gap between the twin lines of print produced, enabling the printer to apply codes to a much smaller area. 'Over time the white space allocated to coding has been tuned to the needs of single-jet printers and is often too small to print into with conventional bi-jet solutions,' adds Plaister. 'Our A-Series plus Duo enables manufacturers to effectively lay down in-line printed data in areas where two-line code from a single head printer would be applied, but at twice the speed. This is a vitally important attribute given the increasing demand for twin-line coding capability.' Superior performance to match high-speed production line requirements Domino's A-Series plus Duo also maintains production line efficiencies by matching the throughput demands of high speed canning/bottling lines, which can run at up to 2000 products per minute. This makes the printer an extremely cost-effective solution and eradicates the need to install additional printing solutions to match high-speed production line capability. These attributes are underscored by the performance and results enjoyed by beverage packaging machine supplier, KHS, who has installed three A-Series plus Duo units on a high-speed canning line at a leading beverage manufacturer's UK site. 'Thanks to its high speed and reliability, the A-Series plus Duo easily meets our customer's requirement for high quality two-line coding and full-line speed throughput of 1600 cans per minute,' explains Nigel Wilkins, Area Service Co-ordinator at KHS. The user-friendly A-Series plus Duo also benefits from Domino's hallmark technological excellence, thereby ensuring quality ink jet printing from basic coding requirements to tough industrial applications in harsh environments. Based on Domino's proven A-Series range, the A-Series plus Duo delivers robustness and dependability and meets user needs for improved overall equipment effectiveness and availability. The A-Series plus Duo prints up to eight lines of code, text, automatic serial or batch numbering and real-time clocks, while meeting the same objectives for sustained uptime and manageability as Domino's successful A-Series plus range. This is achieved thanks to: remote management capabilities for monitoring areas such as message selection, system status, alerts & alarms, ink levels, production counts and service due dates; as well as Ethernet Communications Protocol as standard, which offers greater control over network- or enterprise-wide printers. In addition, the A-Series plus Duo is geared towards minimal operator intervention to further avoid performance issues. An improved user interface increases accuracy and eliminates costly training overheads by guaranteeing simplicity and ease of use, while installation is assisted by familiar set-up wizards that reduce the chance of error. Downtime is also avoided by the printer's large volume ink system which decreases the need for consumable changes. Ink supplies can be replenished cleanly and easily during printing, thereby preventing interruptions to production.