Domino readies white ink facility on digital label press

Domino will unveil a white ink version of its inkjet label press at Labelexpo next week.

The UK-headquartered manufacturer of coding and printing equipment has also revamped other elements of the press.

The latest N610i version will have its global launch at the show. It will be available with up to six colours, plus white.

"We are using two printheads for the white, to create high levels of opacity," explained Domino director of digital printing Philip Easton. "That doesn’t mean we will use more ink, though, because it’s a smaller drop size. And those smaller drops give better definition.

"We recognised we would need white ink for this market when we first launched it, but we wanted to solve it with a higher-resolution head," Easton added.

Domino uses 600dpi Kyocera heads in the press, which also has new unwind and rewind units and a fresh look.

"It looks spaceshippy!" said Easton.

Pricing will be "consistent with the existing model".

In its interim management statement (IMS) issued today (17 September), Domino said sales in the ten months to the end of August were up 7% year-on-year, with latest acquisitions Graph-Tech and PostJet accounting for 2% of the increase.

The firm was upbeat about trading in the USA and in parts of Asia including China. However, it said trading conditions in India had "worsened" and the weak Indian rupee could impact future results. India currently accounts for 6% of Domino’s global sales. Market conditions in Europe remained difficult

Chairman Peter Byrom gave a cautious outlook statement: "There is little evidence that more positive economic news reported recently is yet having an impact on the confidence of our customers or their investment plans."

Domino said there had been no significant developments at TEN Media, the US egg-coding venture that resulted in a significant write-down in Domino’s interim results.