Domino offers new ultra fast-drying ink for pharmaceutical sector
BK652 ink dries in less than half a second
Domino Printing Sciences has developed the ultra-fast drying BK652 ink to enable manufacturers to meet the regulatory requirements of item level serialisation while maintaining line speeds and reducing the drying time by more than 50%.
The ink also displayed exceptional light-fastness in independent tests, retaining readability after exposure to light equivalent of Blue Wool 6 and showing four times more resistance to fade than typical inks used in retail packaging.
BK652 ink is available for use with Domino’s G-Series thermal inkjet range, which prints high-definition coding onto a variety of substrates including cartons, sachets, pouches, labels and blister packs. The multi-substrate G-Series printers can print barcodes, 2D codes, human readable information and graphics onto both porous and non-porous surfaces.
Domino says the ink’s drying time enables data and codes to be completely fixed and bonded in record time without impeding the productivity of the rest of the packaging line. Cartons with data printed using BK652 can be picked up in the second and third operations on the line much quicker, significantly increasing operational efficiency.
The super-fast dry time combined with excellent de-cap time will reduce the initial rejects manufacturers see after the machine has been idle
‘We anticipate that BK652 will build on the success that we have already seen in this sector with BK651. Our in-house ink development team re-formulated this product in light of the legislative requirements we see in Europe and the US. The super-fast dry time combined with excellent de-cap time will reduce the initial rejects manufacturers see after the machine has been idle, thus cutting reworking requirements. The application of tamper evident labelling, for example, is also made possible almost immediately with no risk of smudging,’ said Alan Mutch, Product Manager for thermal inkjet at Domino.
Craig Stobie, Global Life Sciences Sector Manager at Domino, added: ‘The Falsified Medicines Directive places new emphasis on code quality beyond the point of manufacture. Under the legislation pharmaceutical product will be authenticated at the point of dispensation, making long-term ink light-fastness and contrast vitally important, even after what could be years in the supply chain. Simply, if a code cannot be scanned before it reaches the patient or consumer the product will likely be scrapped.
‘BK652 has been developed with these challenges in mind and we have received exceptional results from independent testing and excellent feedback from manufacturer trial sites.’
