Quantum leap for coin printing PUBLISHED AT 04.03.2021 Quantum leap for coin printing THIEME introduces a highly productive inkjet printing system for printing on coins and bars in multicolor. The market for colorizing coins and other precious metals is growing, making it all the more important to have an efficient, economical printing process. THIEME has taken a quantum leap in efficiency with an innovative digital coin printer. This unrivaled system is the first machine of its kind to print more than 600 coins per hour in a largely automated, highly productive printing process. Colored coins – coins with partly colored minted motifs – are spectacular showpieces that are becoming increasingly popular among collectors as well as other users. Applying color adds variety to the otherwise limited design options in minting, which is why almost all official mints now offer colored coins. To achieve perfect printing results on three-dimensional minted reliefs, the coin blanks have to be precisely aligned prior to printing. In addition, the applied ink has to be stable enough to allow the colored coins to survive the final roller burnishing process intact. Until now, most coins and other precious metals were printed using screen or pad printing methods. Thieme, working with a German mint, has now developed a new type of digital coin printer that significantly speeds up the printing process. Its one-of-a-kind inkjet printing system employs special tested inks that offer optimum adhesion and abrasion resistance when applied to metal substrates. The system offers a total of seven color channels (CMYK, white, primer and topcoat); a fluorescent clearcoat is also available for special luminous effects. Efficient loading, automatic alignment Extensive automation and easy loading are essential for an effi-cient printing process. The Thieme coin printer uses an entirely new approach with exchangeable adapter trays in which operators can load a large number of coins or bars at a time. The double table design allows parallel loading/unloading and printing with a cycle time of approx. 180 seconds per tray. That translates into 640 coins per hour when each tray is loaded with 32 coins. The innovative automatic alignment system provides yet another efficiency boost: Digital Image Alignment allows the blanks to be inserted into the press in any position – a scanning process auto-matically adjusts the stored print layout to the orientation of each individual coin. Digital alignment takes only one to two seconds per coin and is therefore much faster than mechanical holder position-ing in conventional printing processes. “We have increased throughput many times over what was previously possible,” ex-plained Oliver Beck, Head of Sales Printing Systems at Thieme. The innovative system also offers unbeatable printing costs, he added: “Ink costs less than one euro cent for each 32-millimeter coin.” High print quality and productivity Print quality has not been sacrificed for better productivity. On the contrary, the print resolution of 800 x 1500 dpi can colorize the most delicate minted motifs in high quality. Automatic alignment is also highly precise with a repetition accuracy within ± 0.1 mm. “Our new inkjet printing system revolutionizes the current coin coloriza-tion process,” promised Oliver Beck. “The printing process used to be rather laborious. In the future, coins and metal substrates can be colorized far more efficiently and flexibly while maintaining high quality standards.” This efficiency gain is crucial in a time of rising demand: “For mints, this is a real quantum leap.” Pictures for download Related articles 01.12.2020 Digital printing – automatically true to register Perfect printing requires a precisely positioned workpiece – or at least it did until now. With THIEME’s new Digital Image Alignment system, substrates can be loaded into printers in any position at all. Benefits: Faster processing, less waste and more efficiency in automated printing processes. read more About THIEME Thieme is a self-reliant, independent family enterprise and has been internationally successful for decades in both of its business areas polyurethane and printing systems. Printing Systems: Thieme is a manufacturer of high-quality screen printing and digital printing machines. Polyurethan - Custom RIM: In this business area, Thieme is one of the leading suppliers of custom RIM parts and functional parts made of polyurethane and other plastics. Business area Printing machines Screen printing machines Digital printing machines Development supplier Polyurethane - Custom RIM Plastic enclosures Housings Functional Components System Solutions Automotive Head Impact Protection Knee Impact Protection Side Impact Protection Bumper Inserts Pedestrian Protection Infos Company News & Press Teamviewer Online-Meeting Contact THIEME GmbH & Co. KG Robert-Bosch-Straße 1 79331 Teningen Germany Phone +49 (0) 76 41 5 83-0 info@thieme.eu Contact Imprint Data Protection Terms and Conditions of Delivery and Payment Change Cookie Settings © 2021 Thieme – All rights reserved.