Through a global network of 25 subsidiary offices and in excess of 200 distributors, the Domino Group operates in over 120 countries employing over 2,700 people worldwide with manufacturing facilities situated in UK, China, Germany, India, Sweden and USA. On 11 June 2015, Domino became an autonomous division of Brother Industries Limited. Brother Industries Limited is a public company based in Nagoya Japan and is listed on the Japanese Stock Exchange.
Cx350i Domino, state of the art piezo inkjet printer
Domino Printing Sciences (Domino) launched the new Cx350i – a state-of-the-art piezo inkjet (PIJ) printer set to remove the worry and stress involved in outer Case Coding and give manufacturers a real alternative to the higher costs and material waste of labelling. The Cx350i is a direct-to-box printing solution that is reliable, low-maintenance, and optimised 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, which has 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.”
Maximising the customers efficiency and reduce manufacturing waste
The printer’s launch comes as part of Domino’s ongoing commitment to help customers maximise production efficiency and reduce manufacturing waste linked to inefficient coding.
“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 labelling 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: clean and reliable printing at high speeds
“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 recognise 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 labelling.”
The Cx350i is optimised for clean and reliable printing at high speeds. The printer has been designed for maximum stability, clean operation, and to ensure precise code placement and consistency, even when subject to production line vibrations. The stainless steel printhead produces finer resolution printing of GS1-compliant barcodes, batch and product information, and other variable data. Optional inline barcode validation further reduces the risk of printing errors and incorrect codes.
Domino’s QuickStep user interface with touchscreen control
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.
For manufacturers looking for connectivity and smart factory solutions, the Cx350i is compatible with Domino’s coding automation solutions, which provide options for integration into factory ERP and MES systems. Manufacturers can also make use of optional Domino Cloud connectivity, for remote monitoring of production line performance.
“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.”
