Domino Printing Sciences PLC, a leading brand in the development and manufacture of digital ink jet printing technologies from UK has launched its first digital cold foil solution based around the proven Domino K600i digital print module. The solution uses the K600i to print a digital adhesive and create the image area prior to UV-curing and delamination. The digital cold foil solution introduced by Domino is based on real conventional metallic foil to provide a higher quality finish and enable the use of security and decorative holographic images within the foil.
Philip Easton, Director of Domino’s Digital Printing Solutions Division said that they have been facing an increasing demand for a digital coil foil solution over the last seven years. So they have now combined the latest higher resolution K600i print technology with an advanced adhesive formulation and a web handling solution supplied by AB Graphic International.
The digital cold foil solution can operate at speeds up to 75m/min (246ft/min) depending on the substrate. It can be supplied as a stand-alone unit or be retrofitted to an existing foiling station. Upto seven different foiling widths ranging from 108mm (4.25”) up to 782mm (30.81”) are offered.
The new K600i cold foiling solution is based on the same technology as K600i monochrome ink jet printer which was launched in 2010, . Since then, Domino has installed over 200 modules in a range of different production lines, including label presses for hybrid printing, and finishing and sheet-to-sheet lines. The inclusion of Domino’s unique i-Techintelligent Technology productivity-enhancing smart features optimizes the printer performance and maintains the highest levels of productivity. Domino’s i-Tech ActiFlowink circulating system ensures that the ink is always moving around the print head, even when the print head has stopped, while the revolutionary i-Tech CleanCap automated print head cleaning and capping technology reduces manual operator intervention. In addition, the i-Tech StitchLinkmicro-motor controller technology ensures that all heads are automatically and precisely calibrated to print as one, enabling seamless print across the full web width.
Digital foiling represents a unique proposition for security applications. Parallel trade and anti-counterfeit activities can be prevented using digital foiling. When holographic foil is converged with digitally created images, it provides additional product complexity and makes counterfeiting an intricate task.
A trend which be witnessed across the label and packaging market is the demand for short run lengths and multiple SKUs. Digital foiling is set to capitalize on this segment. Easton stated, “According to our customers, production run lengths are getting increasingly shorter. More importantly, brand owners are expecting lead times in some cases as short as 24 hours.
The only way a label converter can efficiently respond to this demand is by digitally printing the labels. And, if the produce then needs foiling, our digital solution can be cost effective but also an efficient way to quickly process multiple small runs.”
