An International supplier within the aluminium extrusions industry upgraded from CIJ to DOD to achieve 50% improved efficiency, lower costs, and anticipated one-year ROI.
After experiencing consistent, production-halting performance issues with their existing CIJ printing solution, the company tackled their challenge by implementing VIAjet™ V-Series DOD Inkjet Printer with the MPERIA® automation platform from World Leading coding experts Matthews Marking Systems.
The company’s CIJ marking equipment regularly caused production line stoppage, putting their schedule at risk. Known for quality, expertise, and timeliness; failing to deliver on time to customers was unacceptable. The team replaced their existing printing solution with the VIAjet™ V-Series DOD inkjet printer with the MPERIA® automation platform.
Implementing this advanced system allowed the company to quickly achieve:
+ 50% greater line efficiency
+ Centralised control of print production
+ Substantially lower maintenance costs
+ Decreased ink costs
The new solution didn’t require any modifications to the existing production line and overall they anticipate seeing a full return on their investment within one year!
The Challenge
The company’s existing CIJ solution was not sustainable. They needed a dependable, industrial-grade marking solution that could:
+ Excel in the mill’s harsh environment,
+ Reliably perform with minimal maintenance, and
+ Produce a quality mark consistent with the brands reputation.
Their Plant Manager explained, “The system required a lot of ongoing maintenance, and regularly drove up our downtime costs. There were times when we couldn’t fulfill customer orders because the printers were not working. At times, the team was forced to move their one functional CIJ printer between facilities in order to maintain production flow. We couldn’t afford to consistently delay customer orders due to printer malfunctions and those delays hurt our customer relationships and were damaging to our brand.”
The Solution
The VIAjet V-Series DOD inkjet printer with the MPERIA automation platform easily fulfilled their requirements, ensuring they could confidently meet operational goals while delivering customer satisfaction.
Outstanding Reliability, Durability, and Efficiency
The solution is durable enough to withstand even the most challenging industrial environments; provides optimal efficiency with the longest-life printheads in the industry (over 9 billion firings); and reliably prints crisp, clear marks with precise placement and timing. Routine cleaning and maintenance is greatly simplified with the flushing valve systems in the V-Series. An advanced printhead nozzle design, featuring exclusive micro-valve ink circulation technology, dramatically lowers ink consumption without compromising print quality. The combination of reliability, durability and efficiency allowed them to maintain maximum line productivity with minimal maintenance and almost no down time, driving their efficiency boost to a 50% gain.
Seamless Integration and Full Scalability
Designed to integrate easily with existing or new production lines, the VIAjet V-Series DOD inkjet printer with MPERIA controller is a complete solution that can function in a stand-alone or networked environment. The modular nature of the system makes it easy to grow from one V-Series on a line to multiple V-Series printers on additional lines, all driven by a single controller.
Centralised Control and Usability
MPERIA gives the company the capability to control marking and coding operations at any point on the production line from one central location. The single “one-touch” user interface controls all equipment—printers, barcode readers, vision systems, scales, and actuators—without the need for third-party software. MPERIA’s built-in message automation combined with the easy-to-use
control interface provides labour savings over the previous CIJ solution by reducing equipment touches and the training requirement for line operators and maintenance personnel.
Clear, Crisp Marks
The VIAjet V-Series DOD valve jet printheads produce incredible print quality on both porous and non-porous substrates including cardboard, wood, metal, rubber, and more. And they are able to achieve this high level of quality while also offering one of the fastest printing speeds in the industry at up to 780 feet per minute. The system is compatible with a wide variety of pigmented, dye-based, and fluorescent inks—including fast-dry versions—ensuring customers always have the exact ink needed for their mark.
The Results
“The VIAjet V-Series DOD inkjet printer has improved our efficiency by 50%. In addition, the system is extremely robust and reliable, requires only minimal maintenance, and is much easier to operate. We finally feel confident that we can consistently deliver our customers’ orders on time,” explained their Plant Manager. In addition to these critical benefits, the company also reduced their
consumable costs thanks to the V-Series more efficient ink usage and lower-cost inks. They expect a full return on their investment within one year. By implementing the VIAjet V-Series DOD inkjet printer with MPERIA, the company has successfully ensured the end-to-end efficacy of their operation and eliminated issues that were negatively affecting customer relations and brand reputation.
ENDS
About the MPERIA® VIAjet V-Series Printing System
The MPERIA® VIAjet V-Series printing system represents the latest and most robust industrial ink-jet marking technology available, ensuring dependable long-term performance and reliability in the most demanding operating environments. The system provides exceptional versatility and print quality for the application of variable product information and traceability codes, as well as barcodes, logos and graphics onto both porous and non-porous materials.
Typical applications include the coding & marking of Construction Products, Chemicals & Fertiliser, Industrial Packaging, Automotive Products, Foams, Plastics & Films, Paper & Pulp. The capability to operate in these sectors means that more basic applications are also suited to the V-series printer.
Click here for more on the VIAjet V-Series System
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For further information about MPERIA® and our range of printing technologies, please call Xact on 0151 479 3020 or email info@xactpack.co.uk