/ Technology Insight

Choosing the Right Coding and

Labelling Technology

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01159 640144 enquiries@uk.interactivecoding.com www.interactivecoding.co.uk
 / A Clearmark Solution

A brief summary Looking for more?

Why does it matter?

Factors to consider 4-5

The manufacturing industry is facing many modern
challenges. Constant changes in legislation, the Materials 4
uncertainty of Brexit, technology advancements and Speed / throughput 4
automation in the factory are all factors which need
to be considered when kitting out your production Print quality / readability 5
line. Printer requirements 5
Ongoing changes make it absolutely crucial to
Solution finder 6-7
know all of the available options before choosing Thermal Transfer Overprinting 8-9
the right coding and marking technology. Initial
analysis, demonstrations and expert advice can be
Thermal Inkjet Printing 10-11
the difference which ensures your factory runs more Continuous Inkjet Printing 12-13
efficiently at the right cost, ensuring you have both Laser Coding 14-15
happy customers and stakeholders.
Print and Apply Labelling 16-17
Case Coding 18-19
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BACK What factors do I need to consider?

Print quality and readability

Labelling legislation and distributor requirements
What you're coding on to

?
may determine this for you, it’s important to think
about the customer and the product. For example, in
The most important factor; materials and substrates.
the food industry, products with a short shelf life may
Not all coding and marking technologies are suitable
require more data on a barcode or legally require a
for all substrates. It’s important to get this right from
permanent use by date to be printed directly on to the
the start.
packaging.

Readability is also crucial if you’re printing ingredients

and allergens directly onto packaging, software may
be required to ensure you meet the standards defined
by the distributer.

Speed of your production line

Some solutions move faster than others, offering more
packs per minute where required, however this can be
a detriment to the print quality on some technology Coder features
solutions. Identify which is more of a priority for your
Variable data, embedded data, QR codes or graphics?
application- speed or quality.
All these will determine the size, type, speed and style
of coding and marking technology required.

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BACK Which technology is best for my application type?

Click a technology type below to explore

Continuous
Inkjet

Laser

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BACK What is Thermal Transfer Overprinting? (TTO)

How it works Considerations

The printer uses a fixed width thermal printhead to
apply ink on to flexible packaging. This is achieved by
contact between the printhead and a platen or roller.
Sandwiched between the printhead and the label is a
very thin thermal transfer ribbon made of a polyester
film which is coated on the label side with a wax, wax-
resin or pure resin ink.
The speed and precision of TTO means it is an ideal solution for
printing data embedded barcodes or QR codes, which require
more detail than some generic barcodes.
The process allows for printing directly onto packaging media,
and is therefore efficient in terms of process and material costs.
Print resolution is typically 300 dpi.

TTO is widely favoured but its application reach does have

Typical application limitations. Due to the contact print nature of the technology, it
is only suitable for flexible packaging and linear print speeds are
Thermal Transfer Overprinting is the established typically restricted to about 800mm\s if printing barcodes.
technology of choice for a wide range of primary
packaging coding applications such as vertical and
horizontal form fill and seal machines, thermoform
and tray sealing machines and a variety of flexible
How it looks
packaging applications. Compared to traditional
contact coders such as hot-stamp or roller coders,
thermal transfer overprinting traditionally offers
superior print quality and lower costs.

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BACK
What is Thermal Inkjet Printing? (TIJ)

Considerations
Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) is a relatively high speed process, provides
How it works good resolution and due to its non-contact nature, is suitable for
printing onto rigid media.
TIJ is a non-contact process in which liquid ink is
“fired” onto the packaging using thermal expansion.
The majority of inks are water based and use Cost per print is comparable to TTO, and due to much of the print
vaporisation of the water to create the thermal technology being contained within the disposable print cartridge,
expansion process. These inks must be applied to reliability levels are extremely high.
porous media to give reasonable drying times. Other
ink types are available which allow printing onto non-
TIJ is generally limited to use on primary packaging, or small
porous media, but these often have longer drying
scale secondary packages.
times and may also contain MEK type chemicals.

How it looks
Typical application
Thermal Inkjet technology is suitable for both primary
and secondary packaging on both porous and non-
porous materials.

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BACK What is Continuous Inkjet Printing? (CIJ)

How it works Considerations

CIJ is another non-contact inkjet process. It uses a
stream of charged droplets, which are “steered” to It is able to print onto a wide variety of substrates and
create the printed image. with a choice of different coloured inks, at very high
speeds.

The resolution of CIJ is not as high as other

technologies. In addition, the ink contains a solvent
which evaporates after contact with the media to
provide fast drying, but this increases the cost of the
process, and also the system’s complexity.

The print area is limited by the print height which can

be achieved, and whilst the technology provides very
high printing speeds, these will reduce as the number
of lines of print increases.

How it looks
Typical application
Ideal for marking on flat or curved surfaces, CIJ printing is a
non-contact printing method that can utilise a range of CIJ
inks to print on almost any substrate whilst it moves along the
production line.

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BACK
How it works
The technology uses light at a frequency which will
create heat at the point where printing is required.
This process is called ablation in which the heat
causes removal of a layer of material. This often
requires modification to the design and manufacture
of the packaging material, and the by-products of
the ablation process must be removed, which usually
involves fume extraction.
Typical application
Laser coding and marking machines are ideal for high
print volumes which require permanent traceability.
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What is Laser Coding?
Considerations
Laser is traditionally more expensive than other coding
methods but is able to deliver a permanent code at
high speeds; while no consumables means lower
running costs.
Laser is cost-effective on high-speed high-utilisation
lines, and is a non-contact process and therefore
suitable for most packaging types.
It is possible to apply light-responsive fluids to the
packaging media as part of the manufacturing and
printing process. This reduces the amount of energy
required to print; it does however add to the cost per
print.
The energy produced by the laser may be harmful to
humans and relevant safety systems and guarding will
be required. There is also a risk with very light films
that the ablation process may penetrate the material.
How it looks
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BACK What is Print and Apply Labelling?

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Considerations
How it works
Print and apply labelling lets users create and apply
labels directly onto a product and its packaging.
These labels can carry data such as alphanumeric
text, barcodes, serialisation, 2D codes, QR codes,
addressing, personalisation, graphics and more in an
accurate and cost-effective way.
Unlike LCM, this can deal with most secondary pack
types (e.g. shrink wrapped cases, cardboard cases etc.)
with high resolution and print quality, typically 300 dpi
using thermal transfer technology.
The equipment costs are comparable to LCM, although
print quality and barcode legibility are usually higher.
The technology is very clean and systems are available
which can apply labels to most pack types, on almost
all faces of a package.

Typical application How it looks

Print and Apply Labelling is typically used on
secondary packaging such as boxes and shrink wrap,
labelling products for shipping and storage. Some
applications offer direct apply onto both front of pack
and corner wrap applications, helping to automate the
production line and eliminate human error.

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BACK
How it works
Large Character Markers (LCM) or case coders print
variable information, including codes and graphics,
directly onto secondary packaging such as cardboard
boxes, using inkjet array printing, where a vertical
array of addressable jets is used to form an image on a
package as it passes.
Typical application
A case coder is an appropriate solution if the substrate
you wish to print on is porous, the substrate is white or
if the barcode required is an ITF-14.
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What is Case Coding?
Considerations
The technology allows for non-contact printing
directly onto porous packaging and is efficient and has
good cost per print figures.
Print area is typically up to 70mm high with good
resolution. Multiple heads may be used to increase
print areas, and allow application of information to
different sides of a package.
Since corrugated cases are usually brown, this limits
the contrast which can be achieved; meaning the
quality of barcodes is not as high as when using a
paper label.
How it looks
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Get in touch

About us

Established in 2001, Clearmark Solutions Ltd has become

one of the UK’s leading suppliers of digital coding solutions to
a wide variety of end markets including; food and beverage,
pharmaceutical, printing and DIY. Today, the company operates
from two purpose-built head office buildings in Nottinghamshire.

Clearmark has a strong reputation for innovation in a variety

of ICE coding and labelling technologies including; thermal
transfer, thermal inkjet, large character marking, print and apply
labelling.

Clearmark also custom design bespoke integration of all

technologies providing the best possible Overall Equipment
Effectiveness (OEE) to customers. This is all supported by
comprehensive after-sales service and support. The company
has a growing install base of over 2,000 customer sites.

Give us a call, we're here to help:

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01159 640144 enquiries@uk.interactivecoding.com www.interactivecoding.co.uk

Clearmark Solutions Ltd

Olympic House
1 Willow Drive
Sherwood Business Park
Nottingham
NG15 0DP

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