Thermal transfer printer speeds up snack packaging
With its range of products beginning to grow, it was important to Portlebay Popcorn to have an efficient production line. When the time came to update one of its printers, it thus turned to Allen Coding Systems.
Jonty White of Portlebay Popcorn commented, “We have worked with Allen Coding for several years and use the company’s printers on our bagging machines. We know them to be reliable and understand their equipment so, when an old, now obsolete coder finally began to fail, it was an obvious move to replace it with Allen’s recommendation of an up-to-date 53XL80 thermal transfer machine.”
Allen Coding Systems describes the 53XL80 as compact, simple, reliable and easy to install and use, whilst also requiring minimal maintenance.
Operating at speeds of up to 65 bags of popcorn per minute on a Vertical Form Fill Seal (VFFS) bagger at Portlebay’s Plympton site, the Allen unit’s reliability has made a significant impact on the production process, with far fewer stoppages due to equipment breakdown.
Bags of Kracklecorn in Applewood Smoked Cheddar, Wasabi & Sweet Ginger, Crispy Bacon & Maple Syrup, Chilli & Lime, plus the more traditional flavour of slightly sweet and lightly salted, are now coming off the production line more rapidly, as date codes and Julian codes are printed clearly and efficiently at 300dpi by the 53XL80.
The thermal printer offers many advanced features usually found on more expensive alternatives, such as state-of-the-art, high resolution printhead technology, the flexibility to print fixed and variable text, data and graphics, plus 600-metre ribbon capacity.
Jonty concluded, “The product and service provided by Allen Coding was exceptional and way beyond our expectations. We would definitely recommend them to other manufacturers of snacks who are wishing to improve the efficiency of their production packaging process.”
