Packaging Solutions IndPrint
Sato has launched CL4NX Plus, a thermal industrial printer designed for durability and dependability in business critical track and trace operations across the globe.
In the five years since the original CL4NX was launched, business to consumer e-commerce has nearly tripled in size but is dwarfed by the massive demand for business to business e-commerce which is six-fold that of business to consumer globally. This growth equates to an increasing desire for fast, easy purchases and transparency of available inventory, delivery times and pricing. Online retailers are under constant pressure to deliver higher accuracy, speed and reliability.
The evolution of the CL4NX series is directly connected to changing needs of the market in line with the Sato vision to be the most trusted auto-ID solutions company worldwide. The CL4NX Plus is designed to be ideal for the demanding requirements of retail, supply chain, manufacturing, automotive, food industry and healthcare sectors, which are increasingly turning to e-commerce for growth.
The CL4NX Plus aims to further exceed expectations where it matters – precision, speed, continuous use, connectivity and usability – to cater to the common pain points of manufacturing and logistics worksites.
High precision is required for micro labels used on small components. CL4NX Plus is equipped with a micro label print mode with high print position precision to print high quality labels right in the factory.
In terms of speed, CL4NX Plus prints 16% faster than other industrial printers at high resolution for high speed, high quality labelling and a boost in productivity.
The CL4NX Plus holds 30% more media than others in its class for longer continuous usage. The cloud based IoT preventative maintenance service SOS (SATO Online Services) functions as a virtual engineer, right on site to minimise downtime. It also gives users the ability to centrally manage fleets of printers via a single dashboard to contribute to stable operations.
In terms of connectivity, SATO's Application Enabled Printing (AEP) ‘intelligence in the printer’ platform enables smart, PC-less label printing directly with connected devices like scanners, keypads and weigh scales. It also has network/cloud communication to access a database, which can drastically reduce the workload for operators or IT teams tasked with updating label formats with new variable data.
As for usability, the CL4NX Plus gives businesses the option to deploy a single printer model globally with 31 pre-installed languages and 47 character sets. It also features video guidance to provide troubleshooting help for resolving various issues. An original platen roller also gives the operator a visual indication of wear as a means of proactive maintenance.
‘Thanks to our many touchpoints with users worldwide we could listen to the market to improve upon the already iconic CL4NX series in the spirit of ceaseless creativity,’ said Hayato Shindo, president of SATO International. ‘The CL4NX Plus really raises the bar. It is hands down the best in the industrial printer class, and naturally so, since its world class functionality came directly from the voices of our customers.’
