Rotech Machines Ltd

Rotech Machines company overview

Rotech are a coding and marking specialist providing solutions that work around you. From standard online printers, desktop printers to fully automatic offline systems and specialising in design to order solutions. Whether you give preference to a standard coding and marking solution or a special system designed precisely to your needs, Rotech offer you a comprehensive range.

If you have a requirement for late stage customisation and need to print or apply text (sell by dates or batch numbers), clear images (logos and graphics), scannable barcodes (including datamatrix), or variable data directly onto your product, then Rotech have a system for you.
 

Our range of equipment is complimented by our range of consumable supplies, not only for Rotech Machines, but also for machines produced by other makers of coding and marking equipment. Our specialty here is the ability to offer a solution matched to your needs taking into account the equipment, substrate and application be it a demanding or standard one. This is backed up by comprehensive testing facilities at our factory.

Rotech offer a range of coding and marking technologies, including thermal inkjet, thermal transfer and hot foil to a wide range of industries. Our range of printing and coding equipment covers both online and offline applications for printing a simple date code to barcodes, logos and graphics.

Our business revolves around established ‘clean’ coding technologies generally used for online applications:

• Thermal Inkjet
• Thermal Transfer
• Hot foil

To compliment these technologies we have developed a range of offline feeding and printing systems for automatic and semi automatic feeding of a wide range of products. We can feed including cartons, sleeves, blister cards, seed envelopes, medical device pouches and single cut sheets of paper in addition to paper or film bags and sacks.

Fitted with the right type of printer/labeler these systems can address a range of coding and marking applications and collated with ease.
 

Thermal inkjet technology

Versatile, reliable and exceptionally low maintenance, thermal inkjet printers also have the great advantage of being programmable. Other attractions include:

• combined printhead and ink cartridge, making for zero maintenance 
• exceptional print quality with high speed capability, giving total flexibility 
• fast dry/alcohol inks suitable for printing onto non-porous packaging materials (such as plastics)
• ability to change ink colour in a few seconds
• uses only environmentally friendly ink; no hazardous or polluting fluids required.

It comes in three models to meet all your marking needs:

• Essential: for simple coding (up to 2 print lines per head; Arial and non-Latin fonts)
• Dynamic: for advanced coding (simultaneous printing on up to 2 production lines; True Type fonts)
• Universal: for complex coding (simultaneous printing on up to 4 production lines; True Type and customized fonts)

All Apsolute V1 models have a print area of 0.5–12.7 mm, with a 0.5–25.4 mm option for the Essential model and a 0.5–50.8 mm option for the Dynamic and Universal model.

Thermal transfer printing technology

Thermal transfer is based on placing a thermal transfer ribbon between a heated printhead and the substrate to be marked. The heat passes through the ribbon and releases the ink, which adheres to the substrate and cools rapidly, resulting in permanent print.

The key advantage of thermal transfer technology is its ability to deliver high-quality, variable coding and printing, company logos, real time and bar codes (including RSS) on all flex-ible films, Tyvek, labels, cartons and foils. Its programmability also offers the advantage of auto codes for time and expiry dates. Other attractions include:

• high print quality giving first-class printing of text, barcodes and graphics
• choice of font styles and sizes at the touch of a button
• large print area, allowing pack coding and marking in the same operation
• prints on a wide variety of packaging materials
• clean technology that can be used in all production environments
   

Hot foil Technology

Hot foil printing, (sometimes called ‘hot foil coding’ or ‘hot stamp printing’) is an established technology for coding, marking and overprinting on a wide range of packaging materials. It is based on a heated metal die (engraved printing die) pressing a pigmented hot foil tape against the packaging material.

It is reliable, versatile, economical, low maintenance and an ideal technology for the printing of lot numbers, use by and expiry dates where these do not change frequently - these are just some of its attractions. Others include:

• high print quality with unparalleled abrasion resistance for a permanent print
• high-speed printing so matching the fastest production line speeds
• clean and instantly dry printing in all operational environments
• ability to apply a shiny metallic foil print onto a variety of substrate
• low initial and long-term costs

Offline feeding and printing systems

Coding and labeling technologies are supplemented by a range of feeding and transport systems to feed, print and collate a wide range of media. These systems allow folded and glued cartons, sleeves, blister cards, seed envelopes, medical device pouches and single cut sheets of paper in addition to paper or film bags and sacks to be fed, marked and collated with ease.

Fitted with the right type of printer/labeler these systems can address a range of coding and marking applications, such as; carton coding (carton printing), sleeve coding (sleeve printing), blister card coding (blister card printing), coding Tyvek pouches, even printing seed packs with all the information relating to the product inside. These systems save stock of preprinted products and provide only the packs that are needed, when they are needed.

Offline overprinting machines use established feeding system technology. They can be fitted with any of the range of coding and marking technologies, including thermal inkjet, thermal transfer, hot foil, laser and label applicators for printing or marking anything from a simple date code to bar code printing.
Our range does not use costly vacuum for the conveyor transportation or any side clamping systems that usually restricts where you can print on the product. It has an integrated conveyor (400mm x 900mm) where you can print or apply a label anywhere you need to on the product.

Not only can one system serve several production lines, it can also handle a range of packaging, from blister cards, plastic bags and cartons to single sheets of paper.

Other features are:

• one system has the flexibility to feed a wide range of packaging
• easily moved between production lines
• a choice of high-speed feeding system matching production line requirements
• fast changeover between batches
• ability to easily add OCR, OCV and bar code inspection facilities

Offline feeding systems

We can offer you two categories of offline overprinting systems, automatic stack-to stack feeding and semi automatic machines:

Rotech RF1 automatic range

The RF1 range uses 3 forms of established feeding system technology where the products are fed stack-to stack. All of the automatic feeders have an integral conveyor system that can transport the product, stack-to-stack, in either continuous or intermittent operation.

They can be fitted with any of the range of coding and marking technologies, including thermal inkjet, thermal transfer, hot foil, laser and label applicators for printing or marking anything from a simple date code to bar code printing.

Rotech Feeder RF1-F (friction feeder)

The Rotech RF1-F uses friction feeder technology with an integral conveyor and is designed to handle a wide range of products, most notably thin items such as blister cards, medical pouches and Tyvek® lidding material.
As with all the RF1 range these products are fed stack-to-stack and can be fitted with a wide range of coding, marking and labeling technologies.

Rotech Feeder RF1-V (vacuum feeder)

The Rotech RF1-V uses vacuum (pick and place) and can handle a wide range of historically difficult to feed products such as poly bags, crashlock cartons, resealable pouches and asymmetric products.

Rotech Feeder RF1-S (sleeve feeder)

The Rotech RF1-S uses feeder plate (shuttle plate) feeder technology and is ideal for feeding flat cartons, sleeves, carton board products and any type of thicker products.

Transport options

With an integral conveyor the above systems can transport the product, stack-to-stack, in either continuous or intermittent operation. The system of choice is generally continuous operation as it gives faster throughput at deceptively slow conveyor speeds. It also has the advantage, when fitted with a suitable printer technology of being able to print almost any length of format e.g. the typical print area for a thermal printer is 128 x 500 mm.
If the product, printer or marking technology should dictate that an intermittent transport should be used this is also available.
All machines in the range have a 900 x 400mm horizontal bed as standard and can be fitted with a range of coding and labeling technologies as well as post-print inspection and reject systems

If you need to print off line, be it cartons, sleeves, blister cards, medical pouches, Tyvek® lidding material or poly bags we can offer you the feeding system ready to take the printer/labeler of your choice.

Key features of the Rotech RF1 range are:

• PLC control to ensure perfect feeding and print registration for all machine speeds
• easy to change between products, minimising downtime
• integral catcher-tray, so that products are presented ready stacked to the operator
• exceptional feeding matched with a printing system allows products to be printed, marked or labeled anywhere
• unique belt drive conveyor system saves the need for costly to buy and run vacuum based systems.

Other options:

• Reject system
• Anti static
• Extended infeed/outfeed
• Vision/inspection system
• Validation packages

OEM Solutions

The RF1 range of feeding equipment can be supplied to end users as a complete offline overprinting package or, equally as well, as a feeding system to OEM’s and international distributors that supply complimentary products such as inkjet coders, thermal transfer printers, laser systems or label applicators.

 Looking for consumables or spares for your offline overprinting systems? We can supply them for a wide range of brands e.g., Rotech, Allen Coding, Metronic, Printsafe and Select Systems.

Thermal Transfer Ribbon (TTR)

• for online or desktop thermal printers
• wide range to suit both flat-head and near-edge printers
• a choice of wax, wax/resin, and resin ribbons in many colours
• reel width, length, core and leaders/trailers to suit any machine

Choosing the right thermal transfer ribbon is important. As experts in coding, marking, and labels, we are experienced at matching the right ribbon for your application and substrate

Inks, ink cartridges, cleaning solutions

• Continuous inkjet (CIJ) inks: plug- and play-inks, as well as special inks
• CIJ additives (make-up, solvent, top-up)
• CIJ cleaner (wash, cleaning solution)
• range of ink cartridges formulated for a variety of packaging materials
• range of thermal ink colours
• With more than 200 different inks to choose from, we are sure we can meet your requirements.

Engraved embossing type, typeholders, printing type, punches and stamps

We supply a wide range of embossing and debossing type, coining rings and engraved dies for all your coding and marking requirements.
We guarantee prompt despatch and competitive prices.

Embossing/debossing type

• vast range of styles to suit blister, carton and tube filling machines
• a wide range of styles, sizes and typefaces (including OCR-B)
• ability to match any variety or style exactly
• innovative type stocking system to ensure clients type is regularly inspected for wear or damage

Type can be manufactured for the following cartoners and blister machines: Bosch, CAM, Comardis, IWKA, Kalix, Klockner, Marchesini, Norden, Promatic, Romaco and Uhlman.
 

Coining rings and typeholders

• coining rings to suit cartoners and blister machines
• rotary typeholders parallel and traverse to axle

Engraved dies

• a wide range of dies to suit blister, carton and tube filling machines
• flat and curved metal dies to the highest standards of accuracy
• quality dies that enable printing machines to run at the fastest production speeds