DOMINO DEMONSTRATES THE POWER OF DIGITAL PRINT

“The Domino N600 is the ink jet press that makes sense of digital,” asserts David Ellen, Senior Vice-President, Digital Printing Solutions at Domino North America, “and we’re delighted to be introducing it to the market at Labelexpo.”

Ellen’s comments follow the N600’s launch at the UK’s IPEX show in May. Based on visitor reaction there, Domino is confident that there is huge potential for the N600 in North America, thanks to its productivity, cost-effectiveness and ease of operation. The N600 stands apart from the competition in that it runs at speeds that deliver 50% higher productivity than any comparable printer on the market – 246 feet/minute (75 meters/minute) with three grayscales or 164 feet/minute (50 meters/minute) with four. Nominal print resolution is 1200dpi (native 600dpi) and the printer is compatible with a wide range of PE and PP label stock, thanks in part to the use of durable UV inks. Ellen says that while the vast majority of labels are flexo-printed, the benefits of digital – simplified workflows and increased customer responsiveness through fast turnaround and easy customization of jobs – mean that migration is both desirable and inevitable.

“The Domino value proposition is very clear in this context,” comments Ellen. “There is a large market for four-color labels where the N600 delivers twice the productivity of other digital presses due to its high speed print engine. Combine this with utter simplicity of operation and reliability and you have the formula for very rapid return on investment.”

“This fact was not lost on visitors to IPEX, with many returning several times during the show with different customers to show them just what the N600 is capable of,” he reports, “and we’re expecting to see this repeated at Labelexpo.”

The first installations of the N600 are expected to take place around the time of Labelexpo. Ongoing development means that a fifth color option will shortly be available, while the printer’s modular design allows integration with conventional presses to deliver hybrid solutions and with a variety of existing finishing solutions.

At IPEX, Domino also announced a partnership with EskoArtwork to deliver their Digital Front End for the N600, so offering workflow integration, color management and RIP functionality from the acknowledged market leader in the packaging and labeling sectors. Also on show at Labelexpo is the N600’s single-color sibling, the Domino K600. Featuring the same high-performance ink jet technology as the N600, the K600 features double the print resolution of its predecessors in the K-Series range combined with multiple grayscales. It reproduces high quality variable data such as barcodes, 2D codes including QR Codes, numbers, graphics, logos and personalized data in a range of different image sizes. Significantly, the 600dpi K600 satisfies the growing market requirement to digitally print complete products. Print widths range from 4.25” (108mm) to 30.8” (780mm), with scalability being achieved by mounting print modules across a bar.

Like the N600, the speed of the K600 is compelling, with line speeds up to 490 feet/minute (150 meters/minute) accommodated. “Alternative binary technology, although high speed, cannot match the simplicity of the K600 piezo-based technology or indeed get close to the print quality,” continues Ellen. “There are numerous applications in the tickets, tags and labels arena where we believe this product will be seen as a significant advancement.”