Domino Printing Sciences plc, the leading ink jet and laser manufacturer, has added to its portfolio of variable data ink jet printers with the launch of its high-speed, high-quality, K-Series drop on Demand printing solution, taking Domino into new areas that extend beyond the core capability of ‘part personalisation’ and into complete printing of whole documents. Launched after comprehensive research into user requirements, the K-Series responds to the increasing market need for fast printing without compromising on print quality.
The K-Series, whose flagship is the K200 printer, raises the bar in terms of speed and boasts three times the number of print nozzles than Domino’s first generation of drop on demand printer. Significantly, this makes the K200 capable of providing fast and accurate 300dpi printing at 300 feet per minute, which equates to a speed three times higher at the same print resolution. As a result, print production in traditional Domino commercial printing sectors, such as direct mail, labels and plastic cards is achieved far more efficiently, whilst the overall range of applications is vastly increased thanks to the K-Series’ higher specification.
Domino has undertaken extensive testing in the design of the print-head, the result of which is a system that, rather than remaining in a fixed rectangular position, is angled to create the exact image required according to the needs of the particular print job. The K200 allows multiple heads to be grouped together, thereby increasing the achievable image area. As such, the K-Series takes Domino into new areas that extend beyond the core capability of ‘part personalisation’ and into complete printing of whole documents. Philip Easton, Product Director for the K-Series comments, “The versatility in the K200 print-head is a key differentiator to previous Domino systems which typically print only the VDP part of a document, the rest of which has probably been printed by alternative methods.
This offers users an extended range of applications that open up new market areas and increase their overall service capability.” Adds Easton, “Even in traditional Domino applications, the level of flexibility offered by the K-Series is greatly enhanced. For example, in the printing of labels or game cards, which typically have a pre-printed area, the possibility now exists of printing variably anywhere on the product, rather than being confined to specifically putting the print-head at the top and printing the address or number in that position.”
The K200 handles spot colour printing with ease and will be offered with Domino CMYK UV inks. The high level of colour accuracy achieved enhances quality, especially, in plastic card applications. Explains Easton, “The print quality achievable with, for example, barcodes on plastic cards is far greater than that of other methods like YAG lasers, which provide much less contrast than the K200.”
The K200 also benefits from Domino’s Editor GT controller technology which operates on a Windows XP platform and is capable of networking up to eight K200 or sixteen K100 print-heads. If required, different Domino printers can be managed by the same controller, so an A-Series and K-Series printer involved in printing different aspects of the same print job can be easily linked. In addition to the K200, Domino has introduced a K100 variant as a versatile evolution of its Domino ON Demand system launched two years ago. Increased control allows the print resolution and running speed to be optimized by simply changing the angle of the print head.
Thanks to a sophisticated electronics system, the K100 offers increased control and manageability by integrating directly with the Editor GT Controller to enable a range of applications and ensure cost-effectiveness and simplicity. “The K-Series has been introduced to offer commercially viable applications that, whilst cost-effective, offer no compromise in the balance of speed and quality. The user-friendly system is based on Domino’s proven technology of over almost 30 years as an ink jet pioneer and we are certain that its arrival will be welcomed by those users who constantly strive to increase their service offering to customers”, concludes Easton.