VIDEOJET Outlines the Need for Washdown-Safe Thermal Transfer Coding

Recent Press Release

VIDEOJET® Outlines the Need for Washdown-Safe Thermal Transfer Coding

WOOD DALE, Ill. — July 2, 2012 — Food safety, a focus of a recent Videojet whitepaper, has continuously been thrust into the public spotlight with new regulations and requirements introduced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent food borne illnesses and a rising concern among consumers with the use of “pink slime” in beef-based products. A key requirement imposed on manufacturers is a rigorous daily washdown of processing and packaging equipment to prevent contamination. With nearly 92 billion pounds of meat and poultry produced in the United States annually¹ the daily washdown adds a substantial amount of time and cost for companies in the meat and poultry industry.

Also affected by the washdown requirements are thermal transfer overprinting machines, which are located and installed on the production line. During washdowns manufacturers will either uninstall the printer and then re-install it once the washdown is complete – a time consuming and expensive process – or will use a plastic bag to cover the machines, which is a faster method, but has risks where printers are exposed to damaging moisture and dust. Ordinarily, it takes from 30 minutes to an hour to do both the uninstall and reinstall of a single printer on the production line. The costs can increase exponentially when considering the total number of hours associated with these printer uninstalls/reinstalls taking place on numerous production lines.

As illustrated in the Videojet Washdown-Safe Thermal Transfer Coding whitepaper, one solution to meet the FDA washdown requirements, save on costs, and improve productivity is by utilizing Ingress Protection (IP)-rated thermal transfer overprinters. Videojet Technologies Inc., a world-leading manufacturer of coding, printing and laser marking products, fluids and accessories for the product identification industry, outlines the benefits of using IP-rated thermal transfer overprinters, including:

Minimal preparation work: It takes 30 seconds to prepare an IP-rated thermal transfer overprinter for washdown as compared to 30 minutes to an hour for the uninstall/reinstall printer process.
Low risk of moisture damage: The IP-rated overprinter uses a sealing cover in place of the ribbon cassette during the washdown. Once the washdown is complete, the sealing cover is removed and the cassette is quickly put back into place.
Decreased risk of accidental damage to the printer or other equipment: Since the printer is never uninstalled and removed, there is little risk of dropping it or damaging other equipment that is integrated with the printers.

With an ever-changing market and increased attention to food safety, manufacturers are looking for cost-effective ways to comply with government regulations and perform daily washdowns. Companies can greatly benefit from implementing an IP-rated thermal transfer overprinter on their production lines to decrease time and cost while preventing damage to printers or production equipment.

For more information on any of the printers, please call 800-843-3610 or visit www.videojet.com.

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About Videojet

Videojet Technologies Inc. is a world-leading manufacturer of coding, printing and laser marking products, fluids, and accessories for the product identification industry. As experts in continuous inkjet (CIJ), thermal inkjet (TIJ), case coding, thermal transfer overprinting (TTO), array, and laser technologies, Videojet has more than 275,000 units installed worldwide. Sales, service, training, administrative and application support is provided by direct operations worldwide, including Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom, with more than 250 direct sales and service personnel in the United States alone. Videojet’s distribution network includes more than 175 distributors and OEMs, serving 135 countries.