Can anyone direct me to a new company to get hi-speed printer ink that doesn't rub off, our inners lines run at 7,000+ fpm, useing lazer jet printers. Can anyone help??

Hi there,

Wow, lets see if I understand your question correctly:


1 - A laser beam accelerates the ink droplets towards the hot insulation without evaporating the solvent in the ink droplets.

2 - Character dot matrix printing.

3 - Wire line moving at 7,000+ feet per minute?

4 - Ink rubbing off?


How does the ink rub off? Quantify if you can please! (For example, vigorous rubbing with a dry or perhaps a wet cloth or rub once gently with a dry cloth?)

I assume this is a small gage wire insulation line (like 22/24 AWG) and the insulation is polyethylene. (LLDPE, LDPE, MDPE, Skin-Foam or Skin-Foam-Skin) Please confirm.


A - Is the printing clean and not blurred?

B - Is there good contrast between each character and the background before the ink is rubbed off or is there hardly any ink there at all to start with?

C - Who made the printers and supplied or recommended the inks and what do they say about your problem? They are the logical first contact for your problem.


Kindest regards,

Peter Stewart-Hay
Principal
Stewart-Hay Associates
www.Stewart-Hay.com
Peter@Stewart-Hay.com

Have you tried domino printerS? They can print up to 7000ft per min.?

Is it correct that you are marking at 7000 fpm, and using ink jet markers?

Hi Tom,

I personally have never seen any successful ink jet printing (clear and legible with good contrast) even remotely nearing these speeds but lets keep an open mind for the moment. I have asked for a technical representative from Domino to give us some reliable information.

Remember that sometimes there is a wide gap between the claim and the reality.

I have seen 24 solid AWG insulated with PE at speeds nearing 8,000 FPM but never with any form of printing or even ring marking. At these very high speeds of course, process reliability is fundamental for high productivity and that means very serious process and plant engineering and an extremely high level of maintenance including both the planned and preventative variants. Likewise, huge volume orders are required for as you know, that apart from some minor personal prestige, "there is little sense in driving a racing Ferrari a block to the corner store".

We have however ring marked 24 AWG pvc insulated wire at speeds of 4,500 FPM for many years.

See www.domino-printing.com/uk/solutions/byt...codingandm/laser.cfm for the Domino dot matrix laser technology that was referenced above.


Kindest regards,

Peter Stewart-Hay
Principal
Stewart-Hay Associates
www.Stewart-Hay.com
Peter@Stewart-Hay.com

Here is the reply I got from the manufacturer. The speed he references is of course not really practical for our industry but the other comments seem pretty much on target.

Hi Peter

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

I have checked and the maximum speed our continuous inkjet printers can code at is 1289 feet per second.

We also supply scribing laser coders, but these are less likely to be suitable for cable applications as they do not use any ink - they create contrast by changing the properties of the surface or removing the top layer.

It is rare to find applications that our printers cannot keep up with in terms of speed and our sales manager says that 7,000 fpm is far higher than anything he has come across for a cable coding application.

We have a page on our website (link below) dedicated to cable and wire marking and we have a printer designed for the cable and wire industry - the A200CE (Cable and extrusion):

www.domino-printing.com/uk/solutions/byindustry/cableandwi.cfm

I hope this is of help and if you have any further queries, please contact me and I will put you in touch with someone more technical

Kind Regards
Nick Ray
UK Marketing

Domino UK Ltd
Tel: 01954 782551
Fax: 01954 789139
Web: www.domino-printing.com


Please note that US inquiries should be directed to:


Domino Amjet. Inc.
1290 Lakeside Drive
Gurnee
Illinois 60031
Tel: +1 8472442501
Tel 2: +1 8472442502
Toll Free: +1 8004867351
Fax: +1 8472441421
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Kindest regards,

Peter Stewart-Hay
Principal
Stewart-Hay Associates
www.Stewart-Hay.com
Peter@Stewart-Hay.com