At the PPMA Show 2009, Interactive Coding Equipment (ICE) will be launching the latest version of its CLARiTY operating system for its proven range of ZodiacTM Thermal Transfer Overprinters and TorusTM high definition inkjet printers.
The solid-state ribbon drive within all Zodiac overprinters has been proven to deliver a quantum leap improvement in reliability and has been the foundation for the model's international success, with thousands of units installed worldwide. Another contributor to this success has been the CLARiTY operating system (common to Zodiac and Torus) which provides unrivalled ease of use and error free coding.
As part of the process of continuous improvement the latest version of CLARiTY to be launched at the PPMA Show includes a number of enhancements.
To minimise running costs the Zodiac has a number of ribbon save modes as standard to reduce the cost per print. This has been augmented with the latest version of interleaved radial ribbon save. When overprinting a radial print on a flow-wrapper, for example, competitive thermal transfer printers can waste as much as 80% of the thermal transfer ink ribbon. Radial ribbon mode can automatically move and now interleave multiple prints to provide a five-fold reduction in cost per print with no degradation of print quality.
The new printer cloning feature available in CLARiTY allows the complete printer configuration to be saved directly onto a USB-key (memory stick). This profile is stored on the USB key so that if new or replacement equipment is installed, this can be used to quickly produce a clone to minimise downtime and increase the speed of commissioning for new equipment.
Maximum uptime is also assured with the new Zodiac print sensor logic which compares encoder input information (speed) and inputs from the host packaging machine to identify faults such as incorrect installation or a break in the packaging web to be overprinted.
Barcode support has been increased. In addition to typical Point-of-Sale barcodes, the release of this software adds support for the GS1-Databar (RSS) Expanded and Expanded Stacked barcode symbologies. The barcode rendering software supports all standard barcode features along with intelligent human readable generation with automatic bracketing for application identifiers. Warnings will be generated where application identifiers do not follow GS1 rules.
The latest release also includes the QR barcode from Japan which is increasingly being used for commercial tracking applications and consumer-oriented applications.
The Zodiac has always been designed to minimise energy use when printing so as to reduce running costs, and the latest software release expands on the power saving features. For example, the user interface will dim after a period of inactivity (typically one minute) and turn off after a longer period, even when the printer is in normal operation, so as to reduce power consumption. The screen will automatically re-activate to display relevant errors or warnings or when an operator presses the touch-screen.
We pride ourselves on providing manufacturers and packaging equipment suppliers with high quality service and expert support. Ensuring that our products continue to evolve to meet new and changing customer and market demands is an essential component of this. explains Chris Simpson, Director of ICE