Industry & Business

Newly established business, Co Westmeath-based Needham Coding Ireland Limited, which was formed following a merger between The Needham Group and long-standing Irish distributor, Advanced Coding Solutions (ACS), will be highlighting a wide range of continuous ink jet (CIJ), thermal ink jet (TIJ) and laser coding and marking equipment and associated printer inks and makeup at the Food & Drink Business Expo in Dublin. The company’s newly-launched, own brand ‘N’ series (CIJ) printers, which offer small and large character printing from 0.6mm up to 19mm, will be on display in Ireland for the first time.

Providing major cost, performance and environmental benefits, the low maintenance, user-friendly ‘N’ series CIJ printers boast a Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) of 40,000 operating hours and are designed for harsh wet and dry applications across the food and beverage industry.

Ideal for global coding and marking applications, the compact ‘N’ series uses multi-national character sets, featuring multiple languages and Unicode character printing. The printers accurately and reliably reproduce a wide range of fonts such as bar codes, batch numbers and best before, sell-by and expiration dates, as well as other logos and graphics, directly onto uneven or flexible substrates like glass, plastics, paper, metal and rubber.

The ‘N’ series offers a range of exciting features including Trupoint™ which provides superior CIJ print quality. The printers also incorporate Needham Coding’s proprietary CleanStart™ technology which automatically cleans the system eliminating the need for daily and weekly manual cleaning.

Depending on the model, the ‘N’ series can print a single line of text at speeds exceeding 600m/minute, two lines over 200m/minute and three or four lines of print at 100m/minute.

The controls are housed in an ergonomically designed stainless steel cabinet which is sealed to IP55 or IP65 standards.

A large 10.4” touch screen is available as standard with full colour display making set up and reprogramming both simple and intuitive. The printers’ CodeConnect™ function boasts integrated USB, RS232, multiple programmable inputs and outputs and optional Ethernet communications enabling network connectivity allowing integration into any applications.

External fill fluid addition allows On-The-Fly Ink and Makeup Filling without needing to open the enclosure. Ink and makeup bottles drain completely so every drop is used with no wastage. An Ecotec™ fluid management system, which comprises a proprietary ink tank, SmartFilter™ pump and twin trap vapour condensing unit, reduces solvent consumption and lowers overall cost of ownership while extending the time between solvent additions and filter replacements.

There are several models in the ‘N’ series – the N16, N16 Plus, N25 and N32. The N16 ink jet printer is designed for basic, entry level applications printing one or two lines of text, barcodes and graphics, while the advanced N32 is aimed at high speed applications printing up to five lines of text, barcode and graphics and offering 10,000 hour operation between service intervals.

The company also offers several exciting ‘N’ series models for specialist global food grade, ultra-violet, heavy pigment and small character applications. The N32 FG is a food grade CIJ printer specially designed for harsh production environments and for use with food grade inks supplied by sister company, Needham Inks Limited. Compatible with FDA, EU and other compliant inks, the N32 FG is capable of printing directly onto food products, such as eggs, fruit and vegetables, or permeable packaging.

Needham Coding Ireland Limited is also the exclusive distributor of Tykmar-Electrox and Macsa laser coders; large character printing and thermal transfer overprinters from Kortho; Anser thermal ink jet printers and dot preening from Marking Box.