Domino Printing Sciences has launched the K600G, a blister foil and web digital printing solution for product-level serialisation in pharmaceutical applications.
The product, developed in collaboration with pharmaceutical industry innovator Gallarus, with engagement from SeaVision, is aimed to meet the needs of pharmaceutical manufacturers.
“Over the last couple of years serialisation at pack level has become a global requirement in the pharmaceutical industry,” said Craig Stobie, Director of Global Sector Development at Domino. “In the future, it is likely that serialisation of individual pockets of a blister pack will become the new standard, in order to further enhance patient safety and reduce medical errors.
“The K600G has been developed to provide manufacturers with an on-site solution for variable data printing, which includes coding at the item level, to meet these future requirements,” he said.
Using digital printing technology to customise product packaging allows pharmaceutical manufacturers to react more easily to legislative changes or variations in product labelling requirements.
The K600G includes options developed for different installation types, including off-line, near-line, top-of-line, sealed-blister-coding for printing directly on formed blister packs, and an integrated-line version developed to meet the needs of OEMs.
“Digital printing and flexible supply chains are beginning to play a much greater role in pharmaceutical manufacturing – and so the K600G is a necessary investment to keep up with future legislation and market trends,” says Volker Watzke, EU Medical Devices Sector Manager at Domino.
The printing module has a native resolution of 600dpi and greyscale capability. Based on Domino’s piezo drop-on-demand inkjet technology, the printer is also capable of building up imagery using multiple different drop sizes to give manufacturers more control over their ink consumption.
“In pharmaceutical manufacturing, code quality and legibility are of key importance, and, owing to the cost of unplanned downtime, it is also imperative that machines are kept functioning at optimal performance,” says Bart Vansteenkiste, Global Sector Manager - Life Sciences at Domino. “The K600G was developed with this level of reliability and durability in mind with automated maintenance systems to reduce operator intervention and to keep the system running at optimal performance.”
Its capable of printing up to 75 m per minute and print widths range from a single print module, covering 108mm (4.25”), up to seven dual print modules with a combined width of 782mm (30.81”). The i-Tech StitchLink micro-motor provides print head alignment and image stitching to achieve printing across a full web print width.
The K600G cleans the print heads when not in operation, leaving them wiped and capped, ready for the next use.
