Colour change marking with laser technology

Domino and Sherwood Technology has announced DataLase and DigiVU colour change technologies.

The company is demonstrating laser imaging technology's huge potential and commercial viability. Future developments will include imaging at the speed of light, full inkless colour digital printing, online holographics and a single technology platform for all inkless print media.

The solution is flexible and can be used for a wide range of marking, including product identification, primary packaging and labels, secondary packaging, fresh produce, pharmaceutical tablets and capsules and industrial parts.

The chemistry can be added to inks, coatings, processed plastics and an array of packaging and printing materials such as paper, board, foil and metals, in addition to edible substances such as confectionery.

Differing from the conventional use of lasers, which typically burn an image into the material, or remove a dark layer of ink to reveal the light-coloured substrate. Datalase combines chemistry, substrate conversion and laser energy for the high-speed printing of images using low-power laser light.

When expose to low-power CO2 laser emissions at high speed, it provides a customisable solution for image generation causing a reaction with the DataLase chemistry to create a permanent high contrast image.

Domino lasers provide a safe way of protecting brands against counterfeiting as well as introducing a new approach to brand recognition. It uses a combination of proprietary chemistry, a variable energy laser source and an individual control system to form a series of overt features on or within a product.