Inkjet & Digital Printing
SETTING STANDARDS IN INDUSTRIAL INK JET
Wednesday 10. February 2010 - Over three decades, Domino has gained a reputation as a pre-eminent supplier of ink jet technologies for product and document identification and traceability applications. From its global headquarters in Cambridge, the heartland of the UKs high-tech sector, Domino has set the industry standard for the quality and reliability of its technology and unrivalled customer support.
Many of todays demands for personalisation and identification, from in-line addressing to unique numbering and coding, are met by variable print solutions from Domino. The 2010 addition of a brand new range of four/five colour digital presses marks Dominos transition from an acknowledged market leader in the application of product identification codes and variable data to mainstream supplier of full colour digital printing equipment.
Founded in 1978, Dominos initial focus was on the commercialisation of continuous ink jet (CIJ) technology. Since then the company has not only radically developed CIJ, but also added a number of coding, marking and print technologies, such as valve-jet, drop on demand (DOD) and thermal ink jet, laser coding and thermal transfer to further extend its product portfolio. Domino has also developed secure data management packages for use in conjunction with its printing systems to address market requirements such as Track & Trace, serialisation and secure management of personal data.
Corporate Facts and Figures:
In 2009 the Domino Group (Domino Printing Sciences plc) achieved a turnover of £256.1 million (287 million), its 31st year of consecutive growth, and an operating profit of £36 million (40 million), also up on the preceding year. Both measures are remarkable in light of the prevailing economic climate – the most challenging encountered in the companys entire history.
Domino floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1985 and since 2008 has been listed in the FTSE 250 share index (share code DNO). The Group employs 2,000 people worldwide and sells to more than 120 countries through a global network of 25 subsidiary offices and more than 200 distributors. Domino’s manufacturing facilities are situated in Canada, China, Germany, India, Sweden, UK and USA.
Ink Jet Heritage
In its infancy, ink jet was a relatively simple but effective tool for applying variable date such as best before dates or serialised numbers. Over the years it has evolved to become one of the most versatile print technologies at our disposal, capable of printing on everything from microchips to building wraps.
A pioneer of industrial ink jet technology, Dominos credentials in the sector are beyond question. The company was formed following the successful demonstration of a prototype continuous ink jet system at the 1978 interpack trade show.
The companys first commercial application was for printing unique codes onto Bingo tickets – a requirement that it is still fulfilling over 30 years later. Many of the companys sales in the early years were in similar applications in the commercial printing industry. A major milestone came in 1980 with the EEC directive for labelling of perishable goods with a sell-by date, rapidly expanding the market for Dominos ink jet printers into different market applications such as food, beverage, healthcare and electronics – all sectors that continue to be major users of Domino technology.
Continuous ink jet (CIJ) is the platform on which Domino was built and it remains a mainstay of the portfolio to this day – the Domino A-Series is the worlds best-selling continuous ink jet printer, with the 100,000th unit sold in 2008 and an estimated 28% – 30% worldwide market share. The A-Series is used extensively for printing best before dates on food and beverage packaging and in the printing industry it is used for numbering labels, tickets and security products for traceability purposes.
Technological advance combined with a growing awareness among brand owners of the potential of variable printing for marketing as well as compliance purposes prompted an expansion of the Domino ink jet portfolio from the mid-1990s. High quality reproduction of barcodes, text and graphics was made possible thanks to alternative drop placement techniques together with more sophisticated software and high performance inks.
In the intervening years, a number of other ink jet technologies have been added to the Domino line-up: the longstanding Bitjet+ is based on binary ink jet technology and is designed specifically to deliver the combination of speed, high quality print and substrate flexibility required in the printing and mailing industries.
In 2005, Domino added piezo Drop on Demand ink jet to its portfolio in the form of the highly successful K-Series. Piezo is widely used in desktop printers but significant investment and innovation by the leading print head manufacturers in recent years has resulted in flexible solutions to address a range of industrial applications. The strength of the technology lies in its very high resolution – typically up to 600 dpi with multiple greyscales – which makes it ideal for reproducing high quality single colour text and graphics in post-press operations at a quality indistinguishable from pre-print. Straightforward hard- and software stitching of heads allows varying web widths to be accommodated with ease.
Thermal ink jet is the latest addition to Dominos portfolio for the printing sector. Introduced in 2007, the L-Series reflects market demand for low capital cost, high quality volume print for mailing and addressing. The technology is derived from an industrialised form of bubble jet, an ink jet technology first seen in the home/office desktop market. Operating costs can also be controlled by the use of bulk ink tanks, while new ink developments facilitate printing on a wider range of substrates without the need for significantly increased maintenance.
Over three decades, then, Domino has evolved from a supplier of low resolution single jet continuous technology now becoming a manufacturer of full colour digital printing equipment. The story is one of continuous investment over a sustained period.