Videojet Technologies Inc. (www.videojet.eu), a world-leading manufacturer of coding, marking, and printing products, introduces two new Thermal Transfer Overprinters (TTO) to its industry-recognized DataFlex^® product line. The new DataFlex 6320 and DataFlex 6420 are designed to address a range of flexible packaging and labeling applications in the snack foods, bakery, meat & poultry, confectionery and other markets. The DataFlex 6320, available in both 32mm and 53mm print width formats, is designed for low cost of ownership and is ideal for moderate speed applications including vertical form, fill and seal. The high performance DataFlex 6420 offers higher throughput to provide more capability for faster marking applications. Offered in both 53mm and 107mm print width formats, the DataFlex 6420 application range spans ultrafast horizontal form, fill, seal and wide format coding applications requiring a significant amount of content. Both models offer advanced features to improve uptime and productivity including a standard high capacity ribbon roll and ribbon saving features that provide industry-leading line throughput between ribbon changeovers. Videojet’s new TTO products are fundamentally simple to operate and come standard with Code Assurance. Videojet Code Assurance offers advanced features that help virtually eliminate product waste and re-work caused by coding errors by helping to ensure the right code is printed on the right product, time after time.

Gain an uptime and productivity advantage

The Videojet DataFlex 6320 and DataFlex 6420 maintain the already-proven, patented, clutchless ribbon drive of the DataFlex offering. Installed on thousands of operational printers, the patented drive is completely software controlled, requiring no additional mechanical devices such as dancer arms, encoders or load cells to control ribbon movement and tension. This ensures that whether the application demands small codes at high print speeds or large format codes containing a lot of data, there will be virtually no unscheduled ribbon-related downtime due to ribbon wrinkling or ribbon breakages.

The Videojet DataFlex 6320 and DataFlex 6420 printers offer as standard a high capacity 1200 meter ribbon length, which provides up to 9000 more prints compared to competitive 1100 meter ribbons.

“Our unique ribbon drive system eliminates failure prone dancer arms that take up critical space inside the ribbon cassette. This means that for comparable size printers, we can now offer a class-leading 1200 meter ribbon inside the same form factor as our previous generation products. This provides our customers maximum uptime between ribbon changeovers while simultaneously minimizing the amount of space we take up on the line,” says Andy Millar, Videojet business unit manager. “In addition to the productivity benefits, there are process benefits from placing fewer supply orders and environmental benefits from producing less packaging waste”.

The right codes keeps brands strong 

Coding errors can mean waste, rework, regulatory fines and potential damage to a manufacturer’s brand and profits. Common mistakes include codes that are one digit off, dates that don’t exist, codes on wrong products and typing errors. These simple but costly mistakes are often a result of operator interaction and can be removed by improving that process. The Videojet DataFlex 6320 and DataFlex 6420 possess Code Assurance features to foolproof and help prevent mistakes, keeping customer production lines productive and ensuring brand integrity. The task of selecting the correct information to print onto products can be simplified further through the use of an optional USB scanner that can scan and select the appropriate print job information stored on the printer.

Ease worries with simple usability

The Videojet DataFlex 6320 and DataFlex 6420 are designed to minimize and simplify the operator’s interactions so less time is spent at the printer and more time is spent maximizing line productivity. Operators can access all common operations in five touches or less on a large, highly visible color touchscreen interface. On-board diagnostics make troubleshooting quick and easy. And when the infrequent, but necessary, ribbon replenishment is required, the DataFlex 6320 and DataFlex 6420 provide the operator with the simplest of replenishment processes thanks to the unique patented ribbon drive. Only two rollers are involved in the process of ribbon replenishment compared to the additional rollers, dancer arms, encoders and load cells of competitors’ TTO products.

“Videojet is constantly striving to deliver coding and marking solutions that maximize printer uptime to ensure our customers are as productive as possible,” says Millar. “With the introduction of the DataFlex 6320 and the DataFlex 6420, Videojet has provided customers with two fantastic options to meet a spectrum of flexible packaging coding applications. As standard, both models offer the DataFlex patented clutchless ribbon drive, a 1200 meter ribbon length and on-board Code Assurance. Working together, these features provide our customers with the uptime and productivity advantages they require to deliver their operational and throughput objectives.”