As companies struggle to compete in the increasingly competitive global market with production costs rising and unemployment rates at all-time lows, more and more are investing in automation. The Printer Applicator and Automatic Bagging Systems markets are expected to be a high growth segment for thermal transfer printing over the next several years on a global basis. 

More automation = more ribbons needed!

Label Print & Apply System - Label Applicator

What is Print & Apply Systems

Print & Apply Systems provide automatic labeling and application of the label to a box or product, usually on a conveyor system. As a result of the high volumes typically associated with these applications, Printer Applicators are significant drivers for media - both labels and ribbons.  According to Marketing Insights, the label applicator market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.2% through 2028.

Applications of Label Applicator

• Pallet labeling
• High speed corner wrapping
• Food packaging
• Wraparounds
• Pail and container labeling

IMP's Z107plus Premium Resin-Enhanced Wax Thermal Transfer ribbon for high speed print and apply applications

Faster, better, or cheaper- pick two! This old adage has been applied many times throughout different industries to various products and services, but the meaning still remains the same. The opposing forces of speed, quality, and cost work against each other and cannot all be achieved simultaneously.

It's impossible for a company to provide a solution that encompasses all three - fast, better, and cheap, it's just not possible. Right?

WRONG!!

Z107plus thermal transfer ribbon manages to achieve all three elements of performance:

Faster: Z107plus is capable of printing up to 16 inches per second, making it one of the fastest ribbons on the market today. This allows the user to increase print speed in print and apply applications, which will improve label throughput and production efficiencies.

Better: Z107plus  prints darker than most resin enhanced wax ribbons at the same print energy levels. Higher optical density (blackness) is visually more appealing to the user and can improve readability and scan rates. Resin-enhanced means the printed image is durable and is scratch and smear resistant. Also, a more sensitive ink formula, allows the user to reduce printhead heat settings, therefore extending the life of the costly printhead. On average, today's Print Engine replacement printhead cost is approximately $500 to the end user.

Cheaper: We prefer to say less costly, but you get the point. As the world's only vertically integrated producer of thermal transfer ribbons, we offer significant cost savings versus industry standard legacy products. High volume = $ big savings.

Improved Productivity:  IMP’s ribbons are also available in longer length ribbon sizes, up to 900 meters and can be customized to match and/or be kitted with longer length label rolls.  This reduces the number of media roll changes, further increasing production efficiency and minimizing costly printer downtime.

To see how IMP’s Z107plus  performs against one of the industry leading resin-enhanced wax formulations CLICK HERE.

Automatic Bagging System Ribbons

IMP provides thermal ribbon solutions for most of the popular bagging systems, including Autobag, Sharp Packaging, Advanced Poly Packaging, Clamco, and others.

Z107Plus and Z201 for popular bagging systems

Our Z107plus premium wax and Z201 premium wax/resin thermal transfer ribbons are well suited for printing on polybags at high speeds and with excellent print quality. Performance meets or exceeds the OEM specifications while offering significant Total Cost of Ownership savings.

Check Out Thermal Transfer Ribbons – Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Reach out to us or contact your IMP representative today for pricing, free ribbon samples, or just to strategize on ways we can help you expand your ribbon and label sales.