Norwood Marking Systems, a division of ITW will introduce the new 53XL, an economical, high performance thermal transfer printer, at Pack Expo Las Vegas at booth #C-617. This latest addition to Norwood’s popular 53 family of printers features the largest print area, allowing users to print more serialized, variable, batch and/or fixed text and graphics to packages and labels. Capable of printing GS1 barcodes for track-and-trace and electronic pedigree serialization, the affordable state-of-the-art 53XL is ideal for food manufacturers, packagers and the OEMs that target these customers.

The 53XL can achieve a print area up to 2 x 3.1 inches (53 x 80 mm) in size.  It is available in intermittent motion for easy integration with a wide range of host equipment including vertical- and horizontal-form-fill-seal systems, primary labelers, thermoformers and overwrapping equipment.  The standard 53XL is available off-the-shelf with a 29-inch bracket for quick 48-hour delivery.  Norwood will customize the bracket to meet other requirements. 

The printer can mark a variety of substrates with fixed and variable text including clock and calendar functions and serialization. Text and graphics, including expiration dates, product identification information, lot-batch numbers, company logos and a wide array of linear and composite barcodes can be printed both horizontally and vertically.

Unlike traditional three-component thermal transfer printers with multiple connection points, the 53XL’s two-component design minimizes space requirements and improves reliability with a single connection point. It offers 300 dpi (12 dots per mm) resolution, printer-resident barcodes, cassette ribbon loading and a best-in-class thermal print head.  A new spent ribbon quick release makes ribbon changes fast and easy.

The system includes Norwood’s JDS5 program, the latest generation of full-featured label design software.  With all the necessary tools to create complex labels within an intuitive user interface, the JDS5 software is easy to use with WYSIWYG functionality and integrated help assistance. The software is compatible with most current operation systems including Windows 7 (both 32 and 64 bit) and currently supports eight different languages. 

Norwood Marking Systems
800.626.3464; www.itwnorwood.com