There can be few products that have more variations than plant seeds. At Unwin’s state-of-the-art distribution centre they pack seeds and bulbs for distribution direct to gardeners throughout the UK. To ensure the seeds arrive in perfect condition they are packed into envelopes, which also carry information on the type of seed, sowing instructions, and a "Sow By" date. Having these pre-printed would require holding a vast number of variants and having to ensure the right types were in stock to fulfill orders. For this reason, Unwins have always purchased plain envelopes for their mail order division which they would print on demand. However, the move to the new facility and the growth in the business demanded that a new off-line printing system be purchased to cope with the increased throughput and Rotech’s latest Feeder 250 was selected. By using a continuous motion Thermal Printer, the system is more than able to keep up with demand as envelopes are not halted when being printed, so maximising throughput. Furthermore, with a 128mm wide print head and a print length not limited by the stroke of the printer (as with intermittent versions), the entire envelope can be printed in one pass. This has proved especially useful where the "Sow By" date has to be added onto the flap, some distance away from the body text.

With a requirement to fit a large amount of information onto the pack, but a desire to keep the font size as large as possible for legibility, Rotech were able to supply a graphic design software package which permitted both character and line spacing to be adjusted and so precisely match the print area with the space available.

Finally, Rotech were able to supply a grade of Thermal Transfer Ribbon that gave the highest quality of print on the paper surface of the envelopes.

Further information can be obtained from:

Rotech Machines Ltd.
01707 393700
www.rotechmachines.co.uk
sales@rotechmachines.co.uk