This was the case for a reseller in the southwest. After several months of sales assistance, the end user, one of America's largest snack foods manufacturers, decided to upgrade its packaging lines. One of the components in the proposal included transitioning from hot stamp to thermal transfer printing for new and replacements coder requirements. The consumable sales were included in the contractual agreement.

After the install was complete the trouble began. The OEM ribbon's plastic core seemed to be slipping off the printer spindle at higher speeds creating faulty printed images and slowing down production. Additionally, the end user was not completely satisfied with the print density of the thermal transfer ribbon. The printed image did not seem to 'pop' off the decorated packaging as did the printed images using hot stamp ribbons.

Historically, hot stamping foils were the best print process for creating date and lot codes directly onto flexible packaging materials. However, as thermal transfer printing technology increased in use and became more affordable, it offered JIT manufacturers attractive alternatives to hot stamp printing.

The reseller contacted DNP for assistance. We worked closely with the reseller and the end user to develop a ribbon that not only provided a print density equal to hot stamping, but also eliminated the problem with the ribbon core slipping on the printer's spindle. The end result was M295 Specialty Near Edge Wax/Resin.

The end user, pleased with M295's performance, requested DNP develop a color version of the ribbon. We created a silver ribbon called M295 Specialty Near Edge Wax/Resin. M295 Silver proved to be a huge success during test prints and became the recommended product for all the end user's manufacturing facilities. The end user was happy and the reseller gained over $250,000 in additional ribbon business.

A reseller in the southeast had an end user who needed to print compliance labels for the under-carriage of a lawnmower. As can be imagined, the bottom of a lawnmower is subject to a variety of conditions including gasoline, water, dirt, and grass clippings. In addition to the myriad of extreme environmental conditions, the compliance label, which would include warranty information about the lawnmower, needed to remain readable for a minimum of one year.

The reseller recommended using a Zebra 140 as the printer and an undisclosed 2 mil polyester label as the substrate. It was now time to identify a ribbon that could provide a crisply printed image, as well as withstand the various conditions under the lawnmower for at least one year.

It was easy for the reseller to identify the grade of ribbon needed. Based on the requirements of the application, a resin ribbon was the only grade that could print successfully onto polyester labels while at the same time withstanding the high durability requirements set forth by the end user.

Using the information provided by the reseller, DNP recommended R510 Ultra Durable Resin for testing at the end user's facility. The reseller tested R510 as well as two other competing resin ribbons from different manufacturers. Of all ribbons tested, DNP's R510 received the highest scores in durability and print quality.

A prospective end user, after reviewing DNP's award winning website, concluded that DNP had the capabilities to handle a new application they were developing. The end user contacted DNP directly. After qualifying the prospective end user, DNP's Territory Sales Manager explained DNP's policy of complete commitment to the reseller channel in not selling directly to the end user. At this point, DNP referred the end user lead to a reseller located in the Northeast to represent the end user's application.

The end user, a well-known watch manufacturer, required a two-color label to be printed on a clear polypropylene material. The label would contain sales information about the watch and must be visible in the watch's display case. It was extremely important to the end user the printed information be scratch-resistant. In addition, it was decided a 300 dpi printer would be used to create the black print and a second 600 dpi printer to create the colored print.

DNP quickly recommend R710 Specialty Resin ribbon for use in the 300 dpi printer. R710 is a special black ink resin ribbon used primarily in card printers. The second ribbon needed to be a specific PMS color per the end user. Unfortunately, no thermal transfer ribbon manufacturer had developed the requested color.

DNP's chemists quickly formulate a new version of R710 in the required color. The watch manufacturer liked the final combination, and this example of two-pass thermal transfer printing is now displayed on their products in retail stores across the country.

There was an added cost savings passed onto the end user; because of DNP's ability to slit ribbons across three continents, the watch manufacturer's far east manufacturing facility is being supplied directly from DNP's manufacturing facilities in Japan.

Finally, the reseller benefited from its strategic partnership with DNP in two ways. First, as it is DNP's policy not to sell direct to the end user, we are able to pass on critical leads to our customers. Secondly, the reseller was able to not only provide a custom thermal transfer resin ribbons in black and a specialty color, but provide the entire through process solution - all the printers, thermal printheads, labels and ribbons for this project.

R300 Perfect For Nutritional Company's Labeling Needs

A reseller located in the Northeast was working with a large nutritional company to replace flexo printing with a better print-on-demand system. The application required generating short-run labels for thousands of product skews, in 10 different languages. It had become increasingly necessary for the end user to find a new print method due to FDA regulations and restrictions for labeling products and packaging in the nutritional industry. The reseller, realizing the limitations of flexo printing and the need to print on demand to keep in accordance with these regulations, began researching the benefits of thermal transfer printing.

The application required a high level of abrasion resistance from a ribbon that could print on a multi-colored paper label over-laminated with polypropylene. The reseller immediately knew a resin ribbon would be required. The reseller contacted DNP's Northeast Territory Sales Manager and began testing a range of resin products from DNP and two other ribbon manufacturers.

DNP's R300 General Purpose Resin ribbon outperformed the competition. R300 printed at dramatically lower energy settings while producing a crisp, dense image across all three colors of the prime label. In addition, R300 printed at a higher speed than all other ribbons tested.

Throughout the entire process, DNP's sales manager was on hand to assist in the acquisition of the business. From offering a competitive price to building a strategic relationship with the reseller, DNP's sales manager was able to work with the reseller to secure the ribbon business. This partnership allowed the reseller to provide a more cost effective, efficient solution to the end user, ultimately resulting in greater profitability for both the end user and the reseller.

'The key to my success was the on site sales support and extreme commitment that I received from my account manager. He was such an integral part of the evaluation and selling process that I felt he was an extension of my company.'

A reseller on the west coast came to DNP with a major opportunity, which was at the same time a tall order. A large Japanese car manufacturer wanted to print thermal transfer labels to attach to SUV's at their US distribution center. These labels needed to contain many important pieces of information: the vehicle identification number (in both text and barcode form), additional features that the car was shipping with and the name of the dealership to which it was being delivered.

The label was a top-coated polypropylene and more suited for wax or wax/resin thermal transfer printing. However, the smudge and scratch resistance required by the end user was greater than most premium wax/resin thermal transfer ribbons available. Furthermore, portions of the label were flood-coated - a quick and easy visual check for differentiating various shipments, but often difficult to thermal transfer print. There was also a print speed requirement of 8 IPS -- a reasonable speed with all other things being equal, but much more demanding considering the entire scope of the requirements for the application. The end user had tried many other competitor's ribbons, but without success.

The labels were forwarded to DNP, tested, and we quickly discovered that our R300 General Purpose Resin ribbon was an excellent choice for this application. One of the many advantages of R300 is its great label adaptability. This means that it is equally at home on flood-coated face stocks as it is on labels specifically designed for imprinting resin thermal transfer ribbons. Also, the print speed requirement was no problem; R300 has been shown to print ANSI Grade 'A' ladder barcodes at print speeds of 12 IPS. In addition, it provided the necessary durability mandated by the application.

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