Topflight acquires MCS’ Array Inkjet system

MCS has announced the purchase of its MCS Array Inkjet system by Topflight of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, USA.

‘We initially bought the MCS Array for an application from a power tool manufacturer. They needed 2D serialization codes on all of their drill handles, for warranty support and to track sales at the retail level,’ said Mike Glidewell, director of technical services for Topflight.

At the time, Topflight’s variable imaging equipment was 10 years old and the ink wasn't durable enough to withstand the use that a power tool would go through. ‘That led us to MCS,’ explained Glidewell. ‘They could handle the 2D barcodes, and had the software to support it. There were a lot of inkjet systems to choose from at the time. We looked at two to three competitors, and all had come up a little bit short of MCS' capabilities. They either came up short with the inks, the portability of the platform, or the software to drive the numbering schemes. MCS had the right product at the right time.’

The MCS Array supports a print area that expands from two to 16 inches. It prints at speeds of up to 250 or 375 feet per minute – and can be integrated to most flexographic label presses or rewinders and on surfaces ranging from labels, primary and secondary packaging as well as corrugated boxes. Each two inch print head on the Array System has four individual industrial cartridges of inch width. By using two print heads across the web, Topflight is running four lanes of labels through it at a time.

Glidewell said: ‘The equipment is so portable and compact, we put it on a portable frame in order to move it from press to press and various rewinders. On the rewinder, we use it to serialize the back of liners for a medical device component. For medical and pharma applications, our clients have very strict label reconciliation procedures, which we integrate into a rewinder. So if we say we're shipping 250 labels, they better get exactly 250.’

Rod Stone, president of Topflight, added: ‘Now we can take on more customer jobs than before. The Array's flexibility goes across many markets, from cosmetic, to consumer goods, to pharma and medical device manufacturers. It allows us to offer more options to more customers.’

Patty Britton, VP of business development, agreed: ‘Now when we put together sample kits, we often include 2D barcodes and QR codes to show them what we can do. And we recently developed an anti-counterfeiting application with serialized 2D codes, which has increased our capacity to offer overt and covert brand security.’

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