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Manufacturers often require small variable information such as expiration dates and lot and batch codes to be printed on their products. Continuous inkjet printing (CIJ) continues to be the technology of choice for these applications. As there are several technologies capable of printing small characters, one may ask "why CIJ?”. Speed and throw distance are two essential reasons CIJ is the right technology for your application.
A coding system that does not keep up with your production line speeds will hinder your production output. Thermal Inkjet printing can print up to 250 fpm. Piezo high -esolution printing can print up to 200 fpm. Linx 8900 Series CIJ prints 3 lines of print at more than 450 fpm and can exceed 1400 fpm with a single line of print. Make sure your printer meets or exceeds your productivity demands.
A significant contributor to legible print quality is the distance between an inkjet printer and the product. Product shape, material handling and available real estate on a production line dictates the print head to product distance. Thermal inkjet requires a smooth surface with little vibration and print head placement within 8mm (0.3 inches) from the target product for best print. Piezo print heads have the same printing requirements with 10mm (0.4 inches) maximum distance. Since CIJ characters are formed in a dot matrix style, the overall print height expands the further away it is from the target allowing for 12mm (0.5 inches) to 50mm (2 inches) throw distance. Because CIJ has longer ink throw, it easily prints on smooth, curved and irregular surfaces from a greater distance.
Contact us to find out more about Linx 8900 Series continuous inkjet printers.
The Container You Choose for Your Brew Determines Which Coding Technology You Should Choose
An excerpt from 2016 Comprehensive Guide to Date and Batch Coding in the Craft Brewing Industry
Different types of technology are needed for printing on your primary (bottle or can) package and on your secondary (outer box) package. Continuous ink jet (CIJ) and laser are the most common options for printing date codes, batch codes, other text, graphics, barcodes, QR codes and other codes onto primary beverage packages. When selecting a coding system for your primary packaging, the first step is to consider what type of material you will be printing on. Keeping in mind that you can reasonably expect the printer to last five to seven years, what types of packages are you using now and do you plan to use in the years ahead? Bottles can be coded with either laser or CIJ systems. Cans are coded with CIJ technology. This means that a craft brewer who wants to be able to code on both cans and bottles will need a CIJ system.
The next consideration that should factor into your coding technology decision is production volume. Download our free guide to view cost comparisons based on the number of bottles and/or cans you fill per day.
2016 Comprehensive Guide to Date and Batch Coding in the Craft Brewing Industry
As a leading provider of marking and coding technology, Diagraph works with breweries of all sizes across the country to fulfill product traceability needs that can easily scale up for future capacity and complexity. Diagraph manufactures batch coding and date coding technologies that span the entire packaging line -- from primary product to secondary packaging all the way to pallet labeling.
When it comes to contract packaging, companies are increasingly looking to consolidate their code printing requirements. Using multiple devices to print onto different sized containers and different material types is costly and inefficient. Companies now need to offer a full-service solution to be relevant and competitive.
Coding requirements may differ between the primary and secondary packaging. These requirements include printing on different substrates such as plastic, cardboard and metal. Traceability requirements such as visible, permanent codes to manage product recalls may not differ, but code sizes will likely be different. You could be wasting time and money if you are using multiple printers to achieve these requirements.
Contract packagers also need to support packaging trends such as new substrates, packaging product shapes and sizes and environmental initiatives such as reducing materials. For example, packaging a product that offers single serving portions as well as the standard size portions requires a coder which can print the same information on different packaging shapes and sizes. The information must be accurate, legible and permanent to ensure traceability—it’s no use if a code can be smudged or wiped off a particular substrate.
Many contract packaging companies are introducing manufacturing techniques to cut costs and improve competitiveness. By implementing the right printing technology into your contract packaging business, you can significantly cut costs, remain competitive and offer more to your customers.
You can significantly cut costs in the following areas with a single printing solution:
Diagraph’s Linx continuous inkjet printers (CIJ), thermal inkjet, large character printers, laser coders and thermal transfer overprinters can print information such as text, dates, barcodes and logos on a wide range of porous and non-porous substrates. This enables both primary and secondary coding with easy-to-use, easy-to-maintain printers, making your contract packaging operation more efficient and cost effective.
Find out how Diagraph can help you expand your contract packing capabilities by contacting us.
Download the full whitepaper, “Pallet Labeling: The Final Step In Your Production Tracking Process”
The final step in your production process can often easily be overlooked. After rigorously completing all the upstream processing, packaging and coding processes, the final palletized product seems to be a small step before crossing the finish line. However, labeling at the pallet level is a crucial process for identifying palletized products being shipped to retailers.
Imagine this: You’re completing a custom job for products specific to one regional retail chain. To differentiate the pallets for the custom job from your standard products, you plan on printing the identifying batch information on the license plate label and applying it to the outside of the shrink-wrapped pallet. When the time comes, your shipment is sent to the retailer only to discover that the products sent are not the custom printed containers they ordered. Now not only is your relationship with this retailer tarnished, but you are on the hook for reprinting all of their products at your own cost.
This scenario might sound familiar if you’re still in the business of manually applying labels. Some level of human error is always a risk and it can be a costly one. Ensuring a consistent, accurate label on every pallet that leaves your facility doesn’t have to be a trying task. It is possible to guarantee proper label placement while also avoiding common safety issues often occurring from the entanglement of the labeler in the pallet shrink wrap.
Our pallet labeling experts at Diagraph have complied a helpful guide for assessing automated pallet labelers for your production line. This guide steps through the main questions you should ask when evaluating your pallet labeling automation process and reviews the top areas of consideration you should work through before you make any kind of investment.
Download the full whitepaper, “Pallet Labeling: The Final Step In Your Production Tracking Process”, here to learn more.
IJ/768 High-Resolution 4" Printhead 1/1/04 DIAGRAPH® INTRODUCES 4-INCH PRINTHEAD FOR IJ 3000™ IMPULSE JET HIGH-RESOLUTION INK JET PRINTER
St. Louis, MO. . .Diagraph introduces a new printhead for its new generation IJ/3000™ Impulse Jet large character ink jet printers. With the addition of the IJ/768 (4”) printhead, customers have four IJ/3000 Impulse Jet printhead choices to satisfy virtually any marking or coding application: IJ/96 (3/4”), IJ/192 (1”), IJ/352 (2”) and IJ/768 (4”).
The new IJ/768 printhead delivers sharp, clear, high-resolution printing of alphanumeric information, graphics, bar codes and logos at production line speeds up to 200 fpm. For true-type fonts and logos, it provides 192 vertical dpi. For bar codes, such as UPC/EAN and SCC-14, it provides 200 horizontal dpi.
Like other IJ/3000 Impulse Jet printheads, the new IJ/768 offers an automatic cleaning feature which allows operators to program the unit to self-clean at any selected times over
a 24-hour period. At the programmed times, the pump and vacuum device in the central ink delivery system (CIDS) are automatically activated to remove accumulated contaminants from the faceplate of the printhead and transport them to a reservoir for future disposal. The automatic cleaning system enhances preventive maintenance, improves print quality consistency, and prolongs printhead life.
The IJ/3000 allows users the flexibility of multi-technology performance. It is engineered to drive either high-resolution Impulse Jet printheads, such as the IJ/768, Diagraph’s patented Integrated Valve printheads, or the PA/5000LT Label Printer/Applicator.
The IJ/3000 Impulse Jet offers unsurpassed “smart” features: touch screen controls, worldwide networking connectivity, around-the-clock monitoring and diagnostic functions, high-resolution printing, and convenience features such as automatic cleaning.
The touch screen allows operators to control the system with the touch of a finger and enjoy previously unimagined levels of convenience and productivity. The graphical user interface visually displays menus and commands so operators can enter messages and codes in minutes. And batch codes can be changed during a run, without interrupting production.
The IJ/3000 Impulse Jet has a built-in high-speed Ethernet connection that permits networking with another printer on the other side of the factory, or on the other side of the world. For multi-location manufacturing customers with constantly changing batch codes, this smart feature is invaluable for making changes and checking status. The system is designed to work with Web browsers (including Netscape and Internet Explorer), existing local area networks (device net, arc net, etc.), or wireless (radio frequency) using off-the-shelf converters.
Another smart feature is 24/7 monitoring and diagnostics. Operating on PCs, PLCs, and LANs, it can be used to obtain up-to-the-minute system status. The IJ/3000 Impulse Jet can even be programmed to monitor ink levels and provide an alert when the supply needs to be replenished.
Like all Diagraph ink jet printing systems, the IJ/3000 Impulse Jet is built to last, with minimal maintenance, even in hostile industrial environments. It provides reliable performance in all kinds of conditions—hot, cold, wet and dry.
For more information, call Marketing Services for Diagraph Large Character Ink Jet Systems at 800-722-1125 or send e-mails to info@diagraph.com.
Diagraph, a division of Illinois Tool Works Inc., manufactures and distributes automated industrial marking systems and supplies. Primary product lines include: small character ink jet systems, large character ink jet systems, and automated labeling systems. With sales and service offices located across the United States and throughout the world, Diagraph is a leading international supplier of product identification marking systems.
Diagraph Inkjet Printer Links:
Industrial Labeling Products, Industrial Inkjet Printers & Applications Industrial Inkjet Printer Case Studies
If you haven’t had a top-to-bottom review of your coding and labeling operations within the past 5 to 10 years, you are probably overdue for a comprehensive product identification site audit. Technological advancements have allowed for manufacturers to achieve greater efficiencies and accuracy with their product coding efforts for all levels of packaging – from primary products all the way to pallet level labeling.
Diagraph can take the guess work out of coding and labeling operational best practices by offering free comprehensive site audits. We make a series of recommendations that span anywhere from making modifications to current equipment or practices for enhanced productivity to the complete retooling of your product identification operation to help you achieve your production and packaging compliance goals.
Our site audits include a close review of the following key areas:
After reviewing these key areas and other aspects of your packaging compliance requirements, we provide a site audit report with simple recommendations that you can implement immediately as well as bigger picture recommendations that can be implemented overtime with planning and support. At Diagraph, our goal is to make it easy for our customers to achieve the perfect mark on their products. Regular site audits and account reviews are just one of the ways we work in partnership with our customers.
Call us today at 800.722.1125 to learn more about how Diagraph partners with manufacturers to achieve product identification and packaging compliance success.
If you’re a manufacturer integrating traversing CIJ and thermal transfer overprinters in your form, fill and seal machines, consumables contribute to your total cost of ownership in a major way. You may identify with some of the following common pain points related to coding onto flow packs, plastic sleeves and sachets, and it is crucial to your profitability to find a solution for overcoming these issues:
There are alternatives available to you to avoid these common pitfalls in multi-lane coding operations. Look for these two features in your system to minimize parts, fluids and ribbon costs in the long run:
1) A single consumable – To avoid the mess and additional training, specifically evaluate options using a single roll of ribbon for all of the print heads.
2) Ribbon saving mechanisms – Once you have evaluated a multi-lane coder with ribbon instead of ink, ask about ribbon saving mechanisms. Industry-leading applications ensure minimum gaps between prints and can result in up to a 50% reduction in ribbon waste.
Are you in the process of evaluating multi-lane printing and coding technologies to meet your unique form fill and seal machine requirements? Download our free Hidden Costs of Multi-Lane Printing guide.
The Hidden Costs of Multi-Lane Printing Whitepaper