Multi-head thermal printer built for high speed lines

With increasing costs hitting their bottom lines, food producers are looking for ways to make efficiency gains by speeding up production.

This means the slowest machine on the line determines the overall output. As a result machine makers have been attempting to make their products faster. Machines must also be easy to clean so as to reduce downtime on the line.

The ThermalPak Model TP-4000 from Norwood Marking Systems comes standard with three to six prints heads, depending on the needs of the processor. Each print head prints fixed or variable data on a variety of flexible packaging materials.

Unlike traditional transverse thermal transfer printers, which use one print head to print to several lanes across a web sequentially, the TP-4000 uses multiple heads to print to numerous lanes simultaneously. The multi-head feature allows faster printing. Each print head can print up to 5.5 inches (250 mm) per second.

Each print head can be dedicated to one lane or can be configured to handle multiple lanes. A 24-lane VFFS system filling small condiments can be equipped with a six-head TP-4000 where each print head traverses only four lanes rather than all 24 lanes, the company stated.

The printer's design allows quick changeovers on the production line. Changes to print, including text and graphics, can be achieved by recalling the print image from memory via a handheld display.

Changes in lane configuration, which could involve changing the positions of the print heads along the carriage as well as adding or removing print heads, can be achieved by one operator in less than two minutes, the company claims.

The TP-4000 integrates with a variety of intermittent motion, multi-lane equipment including vertical-form-fill-seal, horizontal-form-fill-seal, blister packing, thermoforming, overwrapping, bagging and other types of packaging machines.

The TP-4000 can print at high speeds while tracking with real-time data such as UPC, lot and production codes, expiration and use-by dates, which are produced in-line as products are packaged, Norwood stated.

The machine has full clock, calendar and serialization print functions. It can print fixed and variable text. Text and graphics, including a wide array of two-dimensional or RSS barcodes, can be printed with a resolution of up to 300 dpi (12 dots per mm) both horizontally and vertically. A wide range of font styles and font sizes are available.

To make it easer to use on high line speeds, Norwood has equipped the TP-4000 with a 4000-foot (1200m) ribbon roll, which is longer than many traditional thermal transfer printers. This reduces ribbon roll changes.

The TP-4000 has an intelligent ribbon handling feature that eliminates ribbon waste by sequencing a number of short ribbon feed cycles and long ribbon feed cycles, depending on the application, to make ribbon consumption more efficient. This technique assures that there are minimal unused areas of ribbon.

The ThermalPak TP-4000 offers a print area up to 4.17 inches (106mm) wide and 7.87 inches (200mm) long, per head. Print heads can be positioned at any point along the head carriage with a minimum print head center distance of 3.35 inches (85mm).

Norwood is a division of Illinois Tool Works.