A reduction in downtime that saved thousands.

Introduction
Arran Sense of Scotland, is based on the beautiful island of Arran, just off the west coast of Scotland. It is famous for its breath-taking scenery, with tranquil beaches and rolling hills. Mother Nature’s palette is the inspiration for Arran Aromatics’ range of high quality bath, body and home fragrance collections that distil the very essence of the island. A requirement for a printing machine was identified with very stringent criteria.  


Challenge 

Both manufacturing and retail operations are based on the island. Indeed, the company produces most of its products, as well as filling all its eau de toilettes at the Arran plant, rather than out-sourcing the process. The machine required had to meet difficult criteria. The machine that was needed had to be flexible and light enough to move between the production lines as well as offering a cost-effective solution. It also needed to be able to keep up with Arran’s production site at speeds of up to 25 units per minute; at peak production times, the unit has run at 40 units per minute.

Solution

The Hitachi RX CIJ print system from i-mark, was the correct solution for Arran’s complex issues.

It is light enough to move between the lines very easily whilst being capable of printing in multiple languages, barcodes, logos, batch numbers and graphics.

The Hitachi RX printer is easy to install, operate and clean and offers clarity of print. The printer system uses the continuous inkjet principle which produces electrostatically charged ink droplets. The CIJ printer systems offer such benefits as:

• Superior quality – can easily print barcodes, numbers and text
• An easy to use interface. It is very simple and quick to change marks, numbers and text
• Economical use of solvent and very cost effective
• Easy and quick to maintain
• High speed printing – Up to 3 lines
• Robust and reliable – performs very well in challenging environments (IP class)

The Outcome

The Hitachi RX has no problems keeping a-pace with the rest of the production line. Arran has benefitted from a reduction in down-time, thus saving on costs. Not only that, the self-cleaning printheads on the machine save time and maintenance.

The exceptionally user-friendly RX was very quick and simple to install – it was up and running in a day. The relevant operations staff were all trained onsite, covering how to operate and maintain the machinery properly.

Arran was particularly impressed with the versatility of the machine – 7-digit codes are easily and quickly applied to their glass candle holders and plastic bottles ranging from 30 ml to 300 ml in size.

They have now expanded their printing requirements and have another 4 machines which means they have a total of 6 RX printers on their site. This is the practical proof of a perfect working solution.