AstroNova has introduced its flagship QuickLabel QL-125 desktop industrial colour label printer, said to deliver ‘dramatically lower’ total cost of ownership and ‘significantly enhanced’ user experience.
The company adds that the new printer offers a 10% longer lifetime than its predecessor and improved speed, reliability, network integration and ease of use. AstroNova says the QL-125 prints at up to 13 inches per second (330 mm/sec) while maintaining 1,200 x 1,200 dpi output without compromising print quality or printhead life.
Designed for high demand production environments such as manufacturing and warehouse operations with continuous labelling requirements; pharmaceutical and healthcare organizations requiring label traceability and regulatory compliance; and food and beverage producers managing demanding environmental conditions and frequent label changeovers, the printer features a built-in processor to speed up variable-data printing, whether run through the included CQL Pro software or a standard Windows printer driver. The QL-125’s expanded print duty cycle aims to sustain high-speed operation longer before thermal throttling.
The new QL-125 uses the same printhead as the QL-120 series printers with water-based dye inks as well as two-level auto cleaning, dual-level manual cleaning and a nozzle check and compensation function, seeking to eliminate defects and sustain print quality over time.
To reduce consumable spend and service frequency, the company states that every maintenance interval has been extended and a new Lifetime Transport Unit is designed to outlast the printer under most application conditions. Maintenance cartridge replacements will only be required after around 800,000 labels on average due to an ink pre-fire function that reduces wasted ink during intermittent or short-run printing and 42% larger capacity.
A purpose-built colour touchscreen and integrated hardware interface provide operators with live status on ink levels, printhead life and print count, as well as user-programmable shortcuts and a full on-device QuickGuide with step-by-step visual maintenance instructions. AstroNova says the built-in USB 2.0 memory port enables fast settings transfer, suitable for hot-swapping printers during production.
According to the company, a built-in GPIO interface with six inputs and ten outputs eliminates the need for a separate external control unit and adds three new GPIO commands: reprint last label, auto cleaning and head cleaning request. The printer also features a built-in firewall, DNS/mDNS support for name-based printer discovery, IPv6 support with automatic configuration and SNMP support for remote monitoring of printer status, ink levels, and errors through standard network management tools.
In other printing news, in August Mondi unveiled a new packaging concept combining a corrugated outer box with recyclable, laser-marked flexible packaging, designed for e-commerce and bag-in-box applications. Mondi states that its internal Product Impact Assessment results indicate significant CO2 reductions for its bio-based laser-marked StripPouch compared with a conventional fossil-based printed and laminated stand-up pouch.
Later the same month, Videojet Technologies revealed its 1880 C continuous inkjet printer, designed to help reduce cleaning, service calls and unpredictable downtime for pigmented CIJ printing. The new printer is suitable for applications including beverage cans, personal care packaging, industrial products and flexible materials.
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