Primera Technology's new Catalyst laser marking system can quickly and easily produce highly durable synthetic labels.  

Primera Technology, Inc. of Plymouth launched a new marking system based on industrial fiber lasers on April 1, which is said to be able to quickly and easily produce highly durable synthetic labels for a variety of demanding service applications. Minnesota, professional Leading manufacturer of digital printing equipment.

Labels produced using laser marking systems (including the new Primera's Catalyst laser marking system) are often used to replace metal sheets or resin thermal transfer printers that produce less durable labels on polyester substrates. Typical applications that require such high-durability labels include the U.S. Department of Defense's IUID program, UDI labels for medical equipment and healthcare equipment, automotive VINs and under-hood part numbers, warning and instruction labels, aerospace and solar panel labels, outdoor Series of labels for power equipment, spare parts for vehicles and ships, construction tools and materials, etc.

Text, graphics, and linear or 2D/3D bar codes are laser imaged onto color laser film (CLF), which is developed and manufactured for extreme indoor and outdoor applications. The CLF label is very strong and does not require additional lamination to withstand prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays, chemicals, liquids and temperatures up to 300C/572F.

Catalyst does not use ink, but uses a beam of 2, 4, or 8 fiber-coupled laser diodes and matching, patent-pending high-precision lenses to image on the CLF. Bundled fiber lasers have never been used in roll-type desktop laser label imagers before, which makes Catalyst unique among similar products. After the CLF material is imaged, Catalyst’s built-in proprietary digital die-cutting system cuts the label into any shape without the need for pre-die-cutting the label. Unlike other laser-based marking systems, it uses blades instead of laser beams to cut labels. According to reports, this eliminates the need for a fume extraction system, saving more money in terms of initial equipment costs and ongoing costs, as well as the hassle of regular filter replacement, cleaning and other maintenance.

Compared with Yag and CO2 lasers, Catalyst's imaging method has several significant advantages in producing highly durable labels, including:

 ▪ Cost. Catalyst’s entry-level V2 model with two laser diodes costs only $2,995—about one-tenth the cost of a machine with the same speed and image quality. Two faster versions are also available: the V4 with four laser diodes is twice the price of the V2 at $3,995, and the V8 with eight laser diodes is twice the price of the V4 at $5,995 .

 ▪ Simple mechanism. The Catalyst design is more like a standard industrial label printer, such as Primera's LX910 color label printer, rather than the more traditional but more complex and expensive computer-controlled galvanometer. This method makes the machine much more complicated and does not require special maintenance or continuous calibration.

 ▪ Easy to operate. Catalyst is installed on the PC as a standard Windows printer. Any popular Windows-based label creation software can be used to send image files. No special operator training or certification is required.

Mark D. Strobel, vice president of sales and marketing at Primera, said: "We are very pleased to introduce this breakthrough new laser-based label imaging system. For companies that need to use labels in harsh and demanding service environments, even tasks- For critical applications, Catalyst is the most affordable and easy-to-use laser marking label printer."

The printer driver for Windows 10 can be downloaded online. You can also download Seagull Scientific's easy-to-use label design and printing software called BarTender®2021 for Windows. Wired USB and Ethernet connections are standard. Use a cheap (less than $50.00) universal Ethernet to WiFi adapter to use wireless Ethernet.

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The static charge is applied to fix the label in the injection mold without a vacuum port, which will significantly increase the cost of manufacturing and maintenance tools.

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