AHistoryofLinxPrintingTechnologies

Cambridgethebirthplaceoftodaysinkjettechnology Itseemsthattheearliestexperimentsusingstatic electricitytomanipulateastreamofdropletswas conductedinFranceandpublishedin1749byAbb (1) Nollet. LordKelvin,intheUK,inventedwhatcouldbe termedthefirstinkjetrecordingdevicein1858:this usedacontinuousstreamofinkfromasiphon,anda drivingsignaltomovethesiphonacrossamovingweb ofpaper,andwasusedtoautomaticallyrecord telegraphmessages.Furtherresearchonthe relationshipofjetdiametertodropsizewasconducted byJosephPlateau(Belgium)in1865.(1) Thenin1878 LordRayleighpublishedaseriesofpapersregarding liquiddropformation,thetheorybehindwhichisstill (1) usedintodaysinkjetprinters. BothKelvinand RayleighstudiedatCambridgeUniversity.

CambridgeConsultantsandtheinkjetcompanynebula Inkjetremainedascientificcuriosityuntilthedevelopmentofthecomputerchipand although several scientists made advances the defining patents were registered in 1962 by Professor Sweet of Stanford University in the US. Sweets interest lay in using the technology to produce a high speed oscillograph, as used in a chart recorder.Fundamentally,Sweetshowedhowtheinkstreamcouldbebrokenupinto droplets of even size and spacing, and then a charge applied to each droplet to causeittobedeflectedwhenpassedthroughanelectricfield.Thisdeflectionwould allowtheinkdropletstoprintapattern,withunuseddropletsrecirculatedbackinto (1) thesystem.ThustheContinuousInkJet(CIJ)printingprocesswasborn. TheSweetpatentwaspickedupbyCambridgeConsultantsintheUKwhoembarked on the development of a continuous ink jet printer. Two of the key people in this activity were Mike Keeling and Hillar Weinberg. The CCL technology spawned the formationofmostofthekeyinkjetcompaniesweseetoday: Dominoin1978,then laterThomsonIndustries(France)whichwentontoformImaje.In1981Keelingand Weinberg were employed by Willett UK to develop a range of coding products including CIJ. The story goes that having seen how these various companies had implemented the exciting new CIJ technology, Keeling and Weinberg thought they coulddomuchbetterthemselves,andsoin1986theylefttoformLinx. Fromsmallbeginnings KeelingandWeinberg raisedfundingfor their new companyfrom a combinationof second mortgages on their houses, and venture capital companies although Mike KeelingrecallsthattheyhadgonethroughtheVentureCapitalYearBookstartingat A and been rejected by everyone until they reached M! The founders sheer determinationandbeliefprovedworthwhilewhenCodeControlLtdwasestablished in1986,changingtoLinxPrintingTechnologieson6thJuly1987.
(1)HermanWijshoff,Structureandfluiddynamicsinpiezoinkjetprintheads.TheNetherlands:Venlo2008

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Why Linx? Mike Keelingexplains: Weusedto say it wasa combinationof Links (linking machines together) and Inks then changing the k to an x. Adding the two dotsabovetheiwasatouchofbrilliance. Also,amajorrequirementwasthatthe newnameshouldnotberudeinanyknownlanguage! The companys original office was in Mike Keelings spare bedroom in Willingham, Cambs before they moved to offices in St Ives with a production team of just 4 people. RecallsTonyHill,anoriginalmemberofthisproductionteam,andstillwith Linxtoday: IremembertheSalesDirectorexcitablyrunningdownstairsandannouncingtoevery bodythathehadsoldsevenprintersfordeliveryinthenextmonth.Irecallsome concernthatweonlyhadonemonthtomakesuchalargenumberofprinters,a processthattakesunderanhourandaquartertoday. LinxleadsthewaywithCIJinnovation If Keeling and Weinberg set up Linx to prove that they could develop better CIJ printers, then this was proved with their inaugural products, which included some industryfirstsstillusedtodaybymostCIJmanufacturers: Totally sealed, adjustment freeprintheadthis solid stateprintheadhadno exposed wires and was robust and the design has been imitated globally since Flight Viscosity Control this affects how an ink jet breaks up and it is the velocity that determines print quality. Linx printers monitor and control viscosity using anefficient, nonmechanical method, which is more reliable thansomeothersystems Auto Modulation, jet droplet formation control a method of automatically monitoring and adjusting jet modulation amplitude to ensure perfect droplet formationundervaryingenvironmentalconditions One button start and stop ease of use was, and continues to be, at the heartofLinxproductengineering

LinxsfirstCIJprinterwasthe5000whichwaslaunchedin1987,shortlyfollowedby the 5100, 5150 and 5200 printers. These were the first CIJ printers to have the totallysealedprintheadonebuttonstartandstopandthefirsttoprintupto4lines. The4000followedin1988andthe6000in1991,thelattercontinuingLinxsrecordof firsts with a full printhead autoflush (keeping the printhead clean for first time startups),andaWYSIWYGdisplay. Updatestobothmodelswerebroughttomarketduringthe1990s,includingthe6200 modelwhichwasthefirstCIJprintertohaveautopowerdown,andthe4800which camewithIP55ratingasstandardanotherindustryfirst. Linxsfirstfoodgradeinks weredevelopedoriginallyfortheEuropeaneggcodingmarket,andfirstusedinthe 6200and 4800 printers in 1997. Linxsfirstdedicated printerfor pigmented inks theLinx6800Spectrumwaslaunchedin2002. 2003 saw the 4800 replaced with the 4900 a printer with a deep drawn stainless steel cover that shrugged off water. In 2009 the 6000 series of printers was replacedwiththe7300.Overthenextfewyearsboththe7300and4900range

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expandedtoincludeapplicationspecificmodels,forexamplethe7300Spectrumfor highcontrastpigmentedinks,andthe4900DCwhichincludedatraversingprinthead forcodingacrossmultiplelanesofproductssuchasyoghurtpots. Linxalsodevelopeditsownrangeofinksandsolvents,whichenableditsCIJprinters tocodeontoawidevarietyofsubstratesandapplications,rangingfrominksforwet bottlecoding,toUVreadableinkswhichareinvisibleuntilseenunderaUVlightand thereforeidealforanticounterfeitingordiscreetcoding. In2011anewCIJplatformwasaddedtotherangewiththelaunchoftheLinxCJ400 thelightestCIJprinteronthemarket.Alargecolourtouchscreenincludesclear, step by step instructions to make message creation very easy, and a self service module reduces the need for service engineer callouts. These developments position the Linx CJ400 as a very flexible printer, as it can be easily unplugged, carriedtoanotherline,andquicklyinstalled.Theselfservicemodulealsomakesthe CJ400 idealfor geographically remote businesses where servicecallouts could be costly. CommercialGrowth The late 80s and early 90s was a period of rapid product innovation. There then followed a period of intense commercialisation of the company in the late 90s, in order to develop business processes, and channels through which Linxs now expansiverangeofproductscouldbesold. Linxs Sales, Service and Marketing departments grew, and more distributors were appointed to sell Linx products overseas. Linxs manufacturing processes were refinedandimprovedtoBestPracticestandardsofthetime. As the Linx channel expanded and the company became a global business, a comprehensiverangeofBestPracticeprocessesandtoolsforSales,Marketingand Service was developed and shared with the Linx distributors. Underlying these activities was Linxs objective: to make it easy for distributors to do business with Linx. Linxs distributors now had the tools to successfully compete in a growing market. Andmoredistributorsfollowed,withtheperiod20002010seeingarapid increaseinthenumberofnewdistributorsappointed. Thinkingalongyourlines Afternearly10yearsofswiftgrowthitwastimeforLinxtohaveitsownpersonality: Linx was not just another CIJ company. Indepth research, conducted in 1996 amongst a variety of CIJ specifiers, revealed that Linx was perceived as a young, keen,approachablecompanythatwasstraightforwardandeasytoworkwith. Linx decided to build on these attributes, which were already associated with the company,andtopositionitselfasacompanywhichhasempathywithitscustomers, andwhichtalksanddealsinaverystraightforwardmanner. So the strapline Thinkingalong your lineswas developed to express thisposition, andremainscentraltoLinxscommunicationstoday.

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MorethanjustaCIJcompany Linx was to develop into much more than a CIJ company. In 1999 Xymark was acquiredwhichbroughttoLinxanestablishedrangeoflasercoders,thusopeningup more opportunities for market growth. Added to this were Linxs Large Character Printersforsecondarypackagingin2002. In 2005 the Danaher Corporation acquired Linx and over the next 7 years Linx continuedtodevelopitsrangeofCIJprintersbutalsoaddedtoitsportfoliowithnew technologies: Thermal Transfer Overprinters in 2005, Linxs own range of laser codersin2007,extensionstotheLargeCharacterPrinterrange,andmorerecently ThermalInkjetprintersin2010. Linx was floated as a public company in 1992 and became Linx Printing Technologies plc. On acquisition by Danaher it reverted to its Limited company status. Both Keeling and Weinberg remained with the company as nonexecutive directorsuntiltheendofthe90s. Andthewinneris Linxcollectedaplethoraofawardsinitsearlydays,whichrecognisedthecompanys hotbedofinnovation,anditsrapidgrowthintotheglobalexportmarket. Someof theseawardsweremarkedbyvisitstoLinxbynotablepoliticians,whichgavethe companytheexcellentexcusetosetupamarqueeinthecarparkandinviteallthe stafftoattendadinnerandpresentation: 1990MidAngliaBusinessAwardsBusinessoftheYear(highlycommended) 1990 PrinceofWalesAwardforInnovationandProductionfinalist.LocalMPthe Rt.Hon.JohnMajor,thenChancelloroftheExchequer,visitedLinxandwastreated toademonstrationofaLinxCIJprintercodingontoaplaqueandacricketball. 1991QueensAwardforExport 1992ExportAwardforSmallerBusinesses 1992PrinceofWalesAwardforInnovationKeelingandWeinbergwere presentedwiththisaward,fortheinkjetprinter,byHRHPrinceCharles,who enjoyedademonstrationofaLinxprintercodingontoapotofazaleas.The announcementoftheawardwasmadeonBBCTVsTomorrowsWorld 1998RobertKingMedalforExportAchievementbythisdateLinxwasalready sellinginto38countriesviaanetworkDistributorPartners,aswellasadirectsales officeintheUKandFrance.

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CodingOnwards Linxcontinuestogrow,bothbywayofexpandingitscodingandmarkingproduct portfolio,andthemarketsitserves:Linxcodingequipmentisnowsoldinto92 countries. Andafter23yearsatitsBurrelRoad,StIvessite,Linxnowplanstoinvestinanew purposebuiltheadquartersjustdowntheroadinStIves. Thecompanynowlooksforwardtothenext25years,ofsharingproductinnovations thatdemonstratethecorecharacteristicsofLinxproductsfromthelast25years: greaterlevelsofreliability,lowercostsofownershipandeaseofuse.

Acknowledgements ManythankstocurrentLinxstafffortheircontributions,andtoMikeKeelingandHill Weinbergfortheiradviceandrecollections,allofwhomhelpedtobringtogetherthis th shorthistoryofLinxPrintingTechnologies,writtentomarkthecompanys25 Anniversaryin2012.

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