FDBusiness.com

Tonejet, the only manufacturer of advanced electro-static drop-on-demand digital print engines, and Rockwell Automation, the world’s leading company dedicated to industrial automation and information, have been announced as the winners in the ‘Innovative Partnership’ category at this year’s Innovation Awards at InPrint 2017 in Munich.

The InPrint Innovation Awards, sponsored by Ricoh, acknowledge significant advances in the industrial print industry, awarding innovative and forward-thinking entrepreneurship in two categories: Innovative Partnerships and Extraordinary Products. The awards take into consideration several themes, including future-oriented partnerships, unusual products, sustainable printing technologies and challenging print surfaces.

The Innovative Partnership prize was awarded for the integration between Tonejet and Rockwell Automation in the Tonejet Cyclone Digital 2-piece Can Decorator for direct to shape metal can printing. The Tonejet Cyclone unites Tonejet’s unique digital print engine with the innovative iTRAK® intelligent transport system from Rockwell Automation.

“Winning the Innovative Partnership Award honours the incredible work that has gone into developing the Tonejet Cyclone,” says Simon Edwards, VP of Sales and Marketing at Tonejet. “This system represents a huge leap forward in direct-to-shape metal can printing, with features that enhance quality and efficiency while radically reducing time to market. However, we’re very proud to have been given this award considering the quality of the finalists.”

Conventional can printing production has traditionally been hindered by a lack of flexibility in transport and handling processes, meaning that the slowest process dictates the indexing time, and the largest operation dictates the overall size of the machine, which determines the throughput as well as the footprint of the machine. Combining linear and rotary motion, the iTRAK® system delivers a flexible, fully integrated solution that helps machine designers achieve a new paradigm in packaging and handling efficiency with improved throughput. The Tonejet Cyclone utilises the iTRAK® system to accurately transport the cans during the print process, adjusting to the time and space required for each individual operation. This results in higher productivity than conventional processes allow, and ensures a high-quality finish.

Tonejet’s highly economical and efficient electro-static drop-on-demand digital print engine allows beverage packaging virtually limitless personalisation and customisation opportunities, without stopping production to change plates or inks. The Tonejet Cyclone with the integrated iTRAK system enables beverage packaging producers to respond quickly to customer demand for seasonal or regional trends, or produce highly diversified product ranges.

Tonejet is a member of the Rockwell Automation Partner Network™ program as an OEM Program Participant, Partner Level. Members of the Rockwell Automation OEM Program demonstrate a commitment to offer high-quality, innovative machines and equipment that help manufacturers improve business agility, optimize automation and motion infrastructure, as well as effective interoperability with the safety system, other automation assets within the line and the enterprise solution at the plant.