The Trébol Group, official distributor of Allen Coding in Spain, offered Embalajes Blanco a completely new coding system for its pallets: the IJ4000 large character coder. The high-resolution inkjet printers are a modern coding system that offers several advantages over marking with stamps.
Embalajes Blanco is a company founded in 1995 near Logroño (Spain) and is a leader in the manufacture of pallets and wooden packaging. It currently supplies more than 1,000 customers throughout Spain every day. This production volume places high demands on coding. Every day, more than 8,000 pallets have to be labelled with Aenor and Euro pallet stamps as well as with specific customer logos. Traditionally, as in other companies in the industry, a Labelling system with branding stamps used. Pablo Blanco, the company's managing director, was very open to change.
With this investment, Embalajes Blanco has achieved an improvement in productivity, considerable time and cost savings and, above all, a more pleasant way of working. The features have convinced Embalajes Blanco. Two IJ4000s were installed and, due to their good results, two more devices were added just three months later. This completely replaced the old stamping system.
Integration into the production process
The technology is impressive thanks to the high-quality printing of barcodes, logos, stamps and text. Dhe change of information to individualise the labelling with the logo of each customer without changeover time is automatic. It is possible to print variable data in dynamic processes (batches, times). Printing can be integrated directly into the production flow at high speeds; it is not necessary to stop the products.
However, the technology has not yet been used for labelling pallets because it was not reliable enough for this type of application. This is because the special conditions in pallet production, with many vibrations on the line and a dusty environment, lead to problems with conventional labelling systems.
The labelling system with the high-resolution IJ4000 inkjet printer is predestined for labelling pallets. The centrepiece is a piezoelectric Trident print head from our own production, with unique and exceptional advantages:
- double the print distance, in contrast to other devices up to twelve millimetres. It adapts perfectly to the conditions of pallet production and reduces the impact of dust on the print head
- up to 100 millimetres print height for large-area printing with a single print head, which is 30 per cent more than other devices.
- Dual printing system for simultaneous printing on both sides of the pallet
- Automatic print head cleaning system that removes wood residue to achieve stable and optimum print quality
- Corrosion-resistant steel construction with an exclusive patented design that is highly resistant to shocks and vibrations on the production line.
„We are a family business that endeavours to innovate for the quality of our products and the satisfaction of our customers. We are very pleased with these investments,“ emphasises Pablo Blanco, Managing Director of Embalajes Blanco.
