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Up to 600dpi marking on uneven, porous or contoured surfaces
Matthews Introduces Coditherm and Swing Families
of Direct Digital Thermal Transfer Printers
for High-Resolution Marking of Variable Information
Pittsburgh, PA, January, 2005 -- Matthews International Marking Products Division unveiled at Pack Expo International 2004 two new families of direct thermal transfer printers, Coditherm™ and Swing, offering capabilities not available from other thermal transfer printers on the market. Among these unique capabilities: high-resolution printing (up to 600 dpi) directly on rigid, uneven surfaces such as chipboard or corrugated and on round/contoured containers or products; excellent adhesion even on nonporous substrates with no need for special additives; and changing/inputting messages digitally in real time.
Pharmaceutical, medical device, food and other applications requiring clean technology also benefit from the avoidance of using toxic inks that are used with some other technologies. Because of the high resolution possible with these printers, now one printer can be used to apply both constant (logos, company information, etc), as well as variable information such as bar codes, lot numbers, sequential numbering and expiration/”use by” dates with one printer.
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Many applications have been using a thermal transfer printer for the variable information and hot stamping, silk-screening or wet ink printing for the constant information,” notes Trace Bocan, Matthews’ product manager for Coditherm and Swing printers. “These new printers can help packagers – especially those running small batches – print fixed and variable information with one technology, and also can reduce their reliance on labels, which can cost about five times more than the Coditherm direct thermal printing.”
| Coditherm™ Family |
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 Until now, direct digital thermal transfer printing on uneven, porous surfaces such as chipboard, corrugated, and even plastic (which can have many imperfections or debris if not perfectly machined) has not been possible because direct contact with such materials wears out a printhead quickly.
Using a patented double-ribbon design, Coditherm’s printhead never contacts the surface being marked, which opens up the possibility of printing on a wide range of surfaces/shapes. The mark is created electronically and then transferred to a silicone-treated heated pad or roller, which then marks the package or product. The mark is instantly dry.
Simple text messages may be typed in via a built-in keyboard. For more complex messages, labeling software (either the customer’s or EasyCode® from Matthews) may be used. Graphics and logos in bitmap format may be uploaded from a built-in floppy drive.
Four Coditherm printers are available, each suited for a particular packaging application:
- Coditherm Rocker – for printing primarily on rigid plastic or chipboard packaging, the mark (up to 95 x 50mm) is applied to a flat or slightly cylindrical surface with a rocking pad to press out air bubbles;
- Coditherm Roller - the most appropriate model for uneven surfaces such as chipboard packaging, wooden boxes or PVC bags, the Roller has a marking area of up to 95 x 260mm and has a roller transfer device that traverses the surface to apply the mark;
- Coditherm Still – for printing round or cylindrical (even tapered) containers or products such as syringes or vials. With this model, the printing mechanism descends to apply the mark [up to 95mm x 360mm size] to the object as the latter is spun.
- Coditherm Pad – for marking small objects, such as bottle caps, using either a curved pad (marking up to 95 x 10mm) or a flat pad (50 x 40 mm).
See the Coditherm Product Page
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| Swing Family – faster for plastic film marking |
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Available in intermittent and continuous motion models, Matthews’ new Swing thermal transfer printer also offers fast and easy input/change to messages –by either the built-in keyboard, standard floppy drive or standard labeling software or Easycode software from Matthews. Swing prints at up to 300 dpi resolution directly on to plastic packaging film or other smooth surfaces, such as premium cardboard boxes. Applications include plasma bags, lidding stock for syringes or pharmaceutical blisterpacks.
Swing printers offer the highest speed in the thermal transfer category – up to about 180 ft/min. The intermittent motion Swing also prints across a wider area than other thermal transfer printers – 128 x 520 mm, making it ideal for multi-lane packaging machinery. Swing printers are also available in smaller widths.
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For more information on Matthews’ products, contact Matthews International Corp., Marking Products Division, 6515 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Telephone (412) 665-2488. Fax (412) 365-2042. Web site www.matthewsmarking.com.
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