New wash-down version of thermal transfer printer

The Ingress Protection (IP55) means that the printer does not need to sited within an additional costly or bulky enclosure. Also the printer is protected against ingress even in damp or dusty environments such as salad packing or frozen food factories, said the company.

Retaining its 8.4-inch SVGA touch-screen graphical user interface with icon-based controls, the Zodiac is supplied with an IP65-rated cassette cover. Before washing down at the end of a production run, the operator replaces the standard ribbon cassette with the wash-down cassette to make the unit IP65-compliant.

Wash-down routines​

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Since the printer does not have to be removed from the production line or protected with a sheet during cleaning and washing-down routines, there are significant time savings on pre-cleaning preparation and post-cleaning reinstallation and setup.

A patented direct-drive ribbon technology is supplied as a standard feature of the printer. With no wearable parts, this is said to increase reliability and minimise the downtime and costs associated with ribbon breaks.

The 1,000m ribbon capacity is one of the longest standard lengths on the market resulting in fewer changes and higher production line efficiencies, claims ICE. The simple ribbon cassette makes changeovers fast, easy and virtually fail-safe, it added.

The design is said to enable the operator to easily substitute the ribbon cassette for the wash-down cassette at the end of production. This minimizes both the time taken on pre-cleaning preparation and post-cleaning reinstallation and setup, and reduces the risk of damage during washing-down.

Harsher environments​

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The company’s director, Chris Gent, said: “The fact that the Zodiac control unit is now IP55-rated enables operation in harsher environments, eliminating the need for additional costly, bulky and cumbersome IP-rated enclosures​.

“These additional enclosures are often accidentally left open by operators, which leads to control unit damage and costly repairs; the new IP-rated Zodiac eliminates this issue. This is even more important when equipment is hosed-down at the end of production, such as in a meat processing plant.”​

David Banham, engineering manager at Yorkshire Fresh Salads, said: “… in a wet or wash-down environment it is obviously necessary to bag or remove the printers to permit full wash-down. The new IP Zodiac wash-down printer from Ice is ideal to address this​."