New ink offers thermal inkjet benefits to blisterpacks
Total Processing and Packaging Exhibition
Stand no: 5735
UK coding, marking and labelling solutions company Sunala is to unveil a further major development in Wolke’s thermal inkjet technology with the introduction of a new ink that enables the printer to be used on non-porous surfaces, including blister foil packs.
The specially formulated solvent-based ink is said to offer excellent finish and enhanced clarity even for small characters. It is available exclusively through Sunala for the UK and Ireland pharmaceutical market.
The new ink is incorporated into Wolke’s m600 Advanced thermal inkjet printer and Sunala can supply a special traversing unit that enables it to be integrated into existing blister lines with multiple head configurations.
The availability of the ink opens up the pharmaceutical blisterpack market to the many advantages of thermal inkjet technology. The m600 Advanced can print variable data using a wide variety of character formats including algebraic and Arabic. It is also able to print variable Datamatrix codes to ECC 200, which offer greater flexibility and accuracy and can include a large amount of information in a concise format, delivering enhanced tracking and traceability benefits.
The pioneering m600 design features the unique HP cartridge system, which contains both the ink and the print head and provides a maintenance- and trouble-free operation since the key elements of the printing system are replaced at the same time as the ink supply is replenished. This also ensures a consistently high quality and easily readable code.
Equally importantly, using cartridges prevents ink spillages during operation and changeovers to maintain a clean working environment. The easy to use control panel allows product set up and changeovers to be carried out by operators on line. New cartridges are simply clicked into place in a matter of seconds to minimise downtime.
‘We are very excited by this latest development in the continuing success of the Wolke m600 thermal inkjet printer,’ said Alan Turner, Sunala’s managing director. ‘Pharmaceutical manufacturers can now enjoy the benefits of mess-free high quality codes for their blisterpacks.’
