“Am an incrédulo of the laser, except that it change the technology”

The commercial director of Clover group, Raúl Reigosa, still remembers fascinado how eleven days after the tsunami that asoló in March of this year the Japanese region of Tōhoku, in front of the Pacific Ocean, the company Hitachi, where produce the devices of coding and labeling inkjet that Clover distributes in Spain and Portugal, went back to work of way normalised near of the place of the catastrophe. It is not of extrañar, then, that in front of the current crisis, that also has affected to his sector, Reigosa show trusted that, further of the vaivenes, will produce a progressive growth. 

Safe that yes. Each 5 years, roughly, the inkjet applies in new niches of market that give him a new impulse to the sector, with the sale of thousands of teams to world-wide level, that initially was not foreseen to sell. Now we are studying the use of the inkjet in new markets and applications that suppose the development of new inks and software for the teams, that improved the sales in the future.

Like consumer the most important information and besides, easily identifiable, is the date of caducity. Besides, in a lot of cases can identify the date of production and the rest of the code is used to to be a number of batch, recognizable by the manufacturer, but no by the consumer, where reflect data like line of production, date and hour, factory, etc… Like this, in case of a claim or any type of incidence, can locate of simple and fast form all the game affected.

What can affirm categorically is that a no marked product does not offer guarantees. If we can not know his date of preferential consumption, in case of some problem of quality do not go to be able to locate the cause of the same. The mark the product guarantees us the fast location of the problems and the taking of immediate measures to solve them.

The economic situation is not extraneous to this sector, and affects us as to all the world. The market has contracted and sell fewer teams that in 2007. The customers have reduced his investments, there are fewer lines of new production and realise/realize fewer renewals of ancient teams. We can calculate that the contraction of the market during the crisis is in the order of the 20-25%. It is not our case, that have grown during the two last years, but the sector in global terms has decrecido. This has carried to any of our competitors to “thin” his staff, what at the end translates in a worse service to the customers.

5 years ago our coverage of market realised/realized of direct form in 30%, and of indirect form in 70%, through local distributors. At present 90% of our sales, and of the technical assistance, realise/realize them directly with the staff of employees of Clover group. This is like this because every time it needs a greater profesionalización and specialisation/specialization to the hour to attend to our customers, so much commercial as technically. Our staff, increasingly wide and with a total coverage of the territory, fulfils/fulfills these specifications, since Clover group devotes of exclusive form to the coding by chorro of ink.

It is necessary to be very brave to do them, in these moments in that any “gurú” of the economy dares, and those that do it make a mistake, but go to try it. Since it invented this technology (Japan, 1975) the sector has not done more than growing and grow. I carry 24 years working in the world of the inkjet and every year hear the same: “This market already is saturated”, which is categorically false.

For example, in full economic crisis to world-wide level have sold all over the world more than 42.000 inkjets in 2009. In 2010 this figure grew until more than 49.500 units, roughly 18%. The global forecast is that this go to more. Every time there are teams faster, more types of inks to cover new applications, new markets, etc… that allow, to this sector already “madurito” after more than 35 years, keep growing “cool” as if it went a new technology.

Besides, to day of today does not exist a system of labeling so generalista and flexible like the inkjet that can oust it of the podium of the sector of the coding. The forecast: except some ‘go up-and-low' been due to the crisis, the sector will keep growing strong to rhythms of between 12% to 18% annual to world-wide level.

On 11 May of this year, to first hour of the morning here in Spain, could live in direct by the television, while it took a coffee before going up to our offices, the catastrophic earthquake and back tsunami that asoló the Japanese coast of Pacífico. The factory of our inkjets is very near of the most affected zone. Fortunately, in spite of being in front of the sea, have in a high zone that saved it of the destruction of the tsunami.

The same 11 May, Hitachi formed a cabinet of crisis chaired by the gentleman Mineguishi, director of the Division of Inkjet. On 14 May 80 employees were working inside factory putting in order all that disaster. On 22 May (only 11 days afterwards!) 90% of the staff was working and restarted the production of machines and inks of normal form, inside the difficult circumstances, all a record.

Quite grave, in spite of having us rid of the tsunami, after an earthquake of this magnitude, can one imagine ceilings fallen, absolute disorder, doors and windows broken, cracks in the walls, etc… But the true is that, as I have explained before, in only 11 days achieved to recover the normality. During the crisis, Hitachi kept us on time informed at all times. A lot of customers concerned and some multinationals asked us that we certified them by writing that the supply of inks, dissolvent and spares would not see affected, as like this it was. In fact we have launched a new model the past month of September, the team PH, that will be presented the next Empack 2011 in Madrid, after a titanic effort of the team of R&D to fulfil/fulfill the forecasts.

Hitachi Is valuing this option, but still is only an idea.

With all sincerity am an incrédulo of the laser, except that it change the technology. The laser has opened a gap in the market of the labeling by the little reliability of some systems inkjet, detours of chorro, dirt, unpleasant smells, high consumptions of dissolvent, bad technical service, etc… The customer that has had an experience like this done in hands of the laser without looking other options neither study what the market offers now.

Inkjet/laser. Pros And contras

• Argue 1: The laser does not have expendable and the inkjet yes. Against-argument: The laser has expendable, one on a long-term basis (the tube) and another newspaper that is the filter of the extractor of smokes. The inkjet every time consumes less. We are underneath of 3,5 millilitres/milliliters of dissolvent to the hour.
• Argue 2: The laser is clean and the inkjet dirty. Against-argument: The laser produces smoke, because it burns. Therefore, it is not clean. In our inkjet no longer there is detour of chorro. Therefore, it is clean.
• Argue 3: The laser is more reliable that the inkjet. Against-argument: it Exists some laser with 5 years of guarantee? The inkjet Hitachi offers with these guarantees of operation.
• Argue 4: The laser is faster that the inkjet. Against-argument: it Is categorically false. Only a laser of masks under determinate conditions can arrive to be faster that the inkjet. In the rest of the cases, the inkjet keeps on being the king”.

Of course that no. In some clear cases that it is indispensable, but what more look the customers is the reliability, the not having unemployments of line is fundamental. Afterwards of course they look other factors like the operative costs, speed, ease of use…

Can ensure reliabilities of more than 99%, but the absolute security does not exist. The majority of our customers mark with an alone inkjet without any problem, and can be years without that it occur any incidence, but understand perfectly to customers like Cobega (Coca Tail), that teach you the line of production faster, until 120.000 tins/hour, working 24 hours to the day and that can not stop on no account. Neither they pose do an alone coding, since besides the low consumptions of our teams neither increase of significant form the costs by the fact to duplicate the labeling.

The inks are another parallel world to the of the machines. The first aim that Hitachi marks to the hour to design a new ink is the reliability and the stability in the time inside the printer. On the other hand, it has to be adapted for the application for which designs , have a high adherencia in polietileno, resistance to the alcohol, to the fats, that was alimentary… and all this with the philosophy that, besides, was respectful with the environment.

In this sense Hitachi works in the development of free inks of heavy metals and based in alcohol etílico. Many of these inks already are available and are those that usually install in our customers from 8 years ago.

Almost all these inks already are available. The challenge is to do these inks in different colours/colors and ensure the adherencia on the big diversity of existent substrates in the market, for example a vegetal preserve until does few years was a tin of hojalata. Now, the same product can pack in tin of aluminium/aluminum or steel, in transparent glass, labelled or covered by a sleever or in a plastic container termoformado.

In all the cases have to face up to the demand of inks termocromáticas or resistant to the sterilisation/sterilization on all this variety of substrates.

The black colour/color is the most popular. Roughly 85% of our installations do with black inks. The white or the yellow uses to print on dark bottoms, and use with preference the yellow inks since his base are compound vinílicos, very easy to use in a team inkjet standard. The white ink, by the contrary, bases in salts of titanium and this does that it was necessary to design teams inkjet special and costlier to work with them.

The variety of white and yellow inks is inferior to the one of black inks. One of the aims of Hitachi is to expand the variety of inks pigmentadas and approach it to the existent variety of black inks.

Although we mark on any type of substrate (metals, glass, paper, wood…), undoubtedly the protagonist in the world of the labeling and of the container and packaging in general, is the plastic, or better said the plastics, because, really, this is not a substrate, but a family of materials very different between himself.

Basically is the family of new plastics created for different types of applications so much of container and packaging, as of coating of wires, as for pieces of automotion, increasingly light, cheap, insulating….

The form is not a problem for the inkjet. Therefore it is the system more generalista, popular and flexible of labeling. When being a system without contact, gives us the same mark on something smooth, rugoso, concave or convex. The difficulty is in the adherencia to this substrate.

When an engineer of materials creates a new plastic, does it thinking in that it goes to be more flexible, lighter, more resistant, more economic, but never thinks in that afterwards it is necessary to mark it with a date or with a batch. Sometimes, find the suitable ink that adhere on this substrate and afterwards was resistant to the water, to the condensation, to the sterilisation/sterilization… is really the most complex.

The speed is important because if a codificador does not reach the minima demanded by the line of production, is not the solution that the customer needs. The absence of maintenance, or better said the absence of maintenance correctivo (failures) is what call ‘reliability of the machine' and is what really prime to the hour to choose the inkjet suitable.

Three are the ways in which we work:

1.- Low consumptions of dissolvent to avoid the unnecessary broadcasts to the atmosphere. Here we are leaders.

2.- Elimination of heavy metals in the inks. Almost all our inks are already free of these elements contaminantes. All the standard inks already are it and, step by step, go deleting in the formulation of what call special inks.

3.- System of collected of waste. Although, nowadays almost all our customers have a system of collected of waste contaminantes, still there are a lot of companies, especially the ones of lower size, or that by his innocuous activity do not produce this waste, that do not have this service. Clover group puts to disposal of all these customers our service of collected of waste, from an agreement with the company Safety Kleen, that collects periodically our waste and the ones of our customers of our offices of Madrid. This service is free.

“Clearly bet by:

1. The expectancy generated by the team Hitachi PH, that present officially in Empack, an inkjet of high provision to a really competitive price.
2. Hitachi RX, the team presented in the past edition of Empack and that has fulfilled/fulfilled a year in the market with some really excellent results, with more than 120 installed units in the environments but demanding.
3. Hitachi PB, that already is a classical in the world of the coding inkjet and that, after 6 years in the market, has showed the greater ratios of reliability. It is a team for simple applications (2 lines of text) that until today has not been surpassed by anybody”.

The forecast is, at least, repeat the results of previous years, that really have been very satisfactory. The economic expectations are not very halagüeñas to European level, but the greater part of the companies follow looking for ideas to improve his productivity, reduce his costs, be more effective in his work and Empack is a good forum to see what the market offers in this regard and to collect ideas that help to improve the productive processes.

Therefore we expect once again a good participation in this event. Besides, in spite of being a small fair, by his dimension in square metres/meters, at the same time is very concentrated regarding number of expositores, what turns it into an attractive and easy forum to visit for the companies of the zone centre/center and south, for which sometimes supposes an additional effort displace to Barcelona, where usually celebrate this type of industrial fairs.