Domino’s New Solution for Printing on Secondary Packaging

Domino recently launched the new Cx350i – an all-new piezo inkjet (PIJ) printer for  outer Case Coding

The Cx350i is a direct-to-box large Character Printing solution for low-cost printing of high-quality, GS1-compliant machine-readable codes onto cases, trays, and other secondary packaging types.

The printer has gone through extended testing at various sites prior to the global launch, with customer trials across the US and Europe. International food manufacturer, Kerry Ingredients, with operations in the US, Ireland, and mainland Europe, participated in customer trials and was delighted with the Cx350i’s performance.

“We were very impressed with both the ease of use and print quality,” says John Beecher, Maintenance Manager, Kerry Ingredients. “With so many other competitors in the marketplace, we feel Domino has stepped up its game and created a wonderful product that will now give us more flexibility and better print quality than any other device we have worked with before. Both the barcode and human-readable prints were crisp, and the user interface was very easy to set up for multiple-sided printing.”

“Code quality, especially with regards to barcodes, is a top priority when printing on secondary packaging,” says David Edwards, Product Manager – PIJ, Domino. “A poor quality barcode may fail to scan, which can lead to rejection by retailers, costing manufacturers huge amounts in rework and wasted stock. GS1 estimates the cost of poor barcode quality in the UK to be somewhere between £500 million and £1 billion per year.”

Traditionally, inkjet solutions for printing directly on secondary packaging have had a poor reputation when it comes to print quality – unreliable, messy, and requiring frequent cleaning and intervention to achieve high-quality prints. Consequently, print and apply labeling is often used as a more reliable solution than direct printing on boxes – however, this is higher cost and creates additional waste.

“Direct printing on boxes is a great way for manufacturers to reduce complexity, cost, and waste, but a reliable solution has always been missing from the marketplace,” says Edwards. “We recognize that there is significant customer demand in this area, and have sought to develop a solution which  removes the pain, rework, and risk, and gives manufacturers a real alternative to labeling.”

The Cx350i is equipped with Domino’s QuickStep user interface, an intuitive touchscreen control, which allows operators to quickly adjust settings and select, edit, or create print designs with ease. The user interface is common across the Domino range, reducing the need for additional operator training.

“The Cx350i delivers where alternative outer Case Coding solutions fall short,” says Paul Clarke, Product Director – Inkjet, Domino. “I am very pleased to be able to offer our customers a reliable, worry-free solution for outer case coding.”