Showing what Paul Barton, Americas Region, sales manager for HP Specialty Printing Solutions says is the “only kind of product out there like this,” HP launched its new Thermal Inkjet 108-mm bulk printing solution to the North American market at PACK EXPO Las Vegas. The solution comprises a stitched print head with five heads with dual channels. Stitching occurs when a pair of overlapping print heads print a pair of adjacent image segments that meet in a stitching region; printing at each location in the stitching region is accomplished by both print heads with a weighting that depends on the location being printed within the stitching region.
“What this allows you to do is print on labels or right onto a box a very high-resolution barcode with information that’s easily readable and scannable,” explains Barton.
HP’s TIJ 108-mm bulk printing solution for coding and marking on secondary packaging allows companies to shift away from complex and expensive label application processes by enabling direct printing onto the outside of packaging boxes, improving recyclability by avoiding glues and other adhesives required with traditional labeling processes.
Says HP, “As customers look to replace complex and expensive label application by direct printing on packaging, customers love the simplicity and ease of use of this solution, given the challenges in finding and training labor in manufacturing and logistics environments.”
According to Barton, the print head needs no servicing. HP’s proprietary micro-recirculation technology ensures the ink is kept in print-ready condition within the printhead prior to printing and in between jobs to ensure the pigments do not settle. Other features include a 10-mm throw distance, a print resolution of 600 x 600 dpi, and speeds to 800 ft/min. The ink delivery system is made up of 775-mL cartridges that are hot-swappable with water-based inks. PW
