Printer and consumable material from one source

MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection now also offers its own consumable material for its new thermal transfer printer (TTO): thermal transfer ribbon, thermal printheads and cleaning material are specially matched to the TTO printer.

The print quality with the thermal transfer printing process depends very much on the interaction between the printer, the consumable material and the substrate to be printed. It is for this reason that MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection now also offers its own thermal transfer ribbons in four grades - Standard, Standard Plus, Extra and Premium - for its new TTO thermal transfer printer. The ribbons differ in their proportion of wax and resin. "Wax ribbons are suitable for textured surfaces, such as paper labels, in order that the colour pigments can be fully absorbed. The smoother the surface of the packaging film, film labels or varnished label surface, the higher the proportion of resin in the ink ribbon has to be", explains Matthias Lüdtke, who is responsible for the sale of consumable material at MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection.

A rough, porous paper requires a high wax proportion, since wax flows better than resin when heated, and it therefore evens out irregularities better in the surface. The colour binds firmly to the substrate. This means that good scuff resistance is achieved. If however an ink ribbon with a high proportion of resin were used in such a case, the print would appear grey, since the resin and paper would not bind correctly. On the other hand, a high proportion of resin is required for printing on a smooth film or surface. A wax ribbon offers too little scuff resistance in such a case. "It is a question of finding the right balance every time", says Lüdtke.

High level of availability

In order to ensure the maximum availability of the printer, MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection offers thermal transfer ribbon rolls, which are optimised in their running length to the capacity of the printer. "This ensures that there is less downtime when the ribbon is being changed", says Lüdtke.

The roll core is also matched technically to the higher running length of the ribbon; the core is actually made of plastic. "Cardboard cores can become deformed when the wound thermal transfer ribbon has reached a certain pressure. This means that the cores no longer fit onto the carrier roller in the printer and they can not be used", adds Lüdtke. The rigid plastic cores can also be fitted quickly and simply in the cassette.

Complementary Services

MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection offers its customers other services as well: the label specialist can carry out tests on request with labels or film material from its customers, in order to determine the optimum ribbon grade. Customers receive a sample reel after the tests, so that they can test the ink ribbon themselves under production conditions. "Temperature, air humidity or grease content in the air on site at customer can often vary from the conditions in our test room", explains Lüdtke. If an optimum print result is also achieved under actual production conditions, then the customer can order the appropriate material. All grades are ISEGA certified, i.e. declared as safe for use in the food sector.

In addition to this, MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection can also examine at customer's request defective thermal printheads under the microscope. "One of the main reasons for the failure of thermal printheads or individual dots on a printhead is contamination", points out Lüdtke. This can originate from dust or greasy particles in the ambient air, but adhesive from the label material can also lead to contamination. In some cases, dirt particles are even absorbed during the manufacturing of the labels and these can then be released during use.

As a label distributor, MULTIVAC Marking & Inspection can also supply the right label material. This ensures that all the materials used and the machines are perfectly matched to each other.