Category: Marking and Coding

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Matthews Marking Industry Highlight for Marking & Coding Applications: Consumer Packaged Goods

From food and beverage, personal and household goods, to pharmaceutical and medical, we understand the challenges of the consumer packaged goods industry. As an industrial packaging company, we have the high-speed laser and inkjet printing equipment, high-adhesion inks —including those meeting FDA regulations—needed to craft a reliable and accurate marking and coding solution as part of your overall track-and-trace system.

Beverage

Bottles and Cans

The only thing more important than easy to read and accurate “best by” expiry date, batch, and lot codes is making sure your line doesn’t stop. Colony Packaging & Machine can help you with both. Matthews’ laser coding machines maximize uptime by producing vector-quality codes at high speeds and help you meet the high production demands of the beverage industry without sacrificing quality.

Substrates and applications include:

  • Glass bottles
  • Plastic bottles
  • Aluminum cans
  • Barcoding
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • Branding

Food

Bag Marking

Bag marking technology for consumer packaged goods or industrial applications that require text, graphics, or codes with large or small characters. Our industrial printers have the capability to print on paper, plastics (polypropylene, mylar, PET) and other substrates…we can solve your toughest bag marking challenges.

Get high-contrast, high-resolution marks in a wide array of colored porous and non-porous inks, including MEK and inks with FDA-approved ingredients.

Substrates and applications include:

  • Paper bags
  • Plastic film bags
  • Rigid plastic bags
  • Serialization
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • Branding
Glass Bottling and Jars

Matthews offers highly reliable inkjet options to give you superior quality while keeping up with the demands of high-speed printing. Our industry expertise will help you find the right solution to keep your line up and running, with an in-house engineering team to design an integration solution that fits your line’s unique needs.

Substrates and applications include:

  • Glass containers
  • Glass jars
  • Windows for home and auto
  • Product identification
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • Branding
Plastic

Matthews Marking Systems offers highly reliable marking technologies for plastic packaging and product manufacturers, including drop-on-demand (DOD) printers, thermal inkjet printers, and automatic labeling machines. Matthews’ years of experience in the plastic industry allow them to understand the challenges you are facing, and present you with proven solutions, minimizing your risk.

Thanks to the wide variety of fast-drying non-porous inks in a rainbow of colors, you can get a quality mark, whether you’re printing simple date, time, and lot codes or higher resolution logos and graphics.

Substrates and applications include:

  • Pipe
  • Thin and rigid film
  • Shrink wrap
  • Plastic clamshells
  • Plastic pouches
  • Building products
  • 2D codes
  • Product identification
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • Branding

Personal and Household Goods

Matthews offers a wide range of options for everything in the personal and home goods realm including previously mentioned categories plastic and glass. Matthews also specializes in Corrugate Case Coding.

Drive Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE)

Take advantage of significant costs savings and superior flexibility by printing on corrugated cases and cartons.  Marking directly onto your corrugated boxes costs a fraction of labels and pre-printed boxes. You can print in native heights of 3/32″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 1/2”, 1”, 2”, 4”, 5″ and even larger when stitching printheads, which provides significant cost savings and superior flexibility on a myriad of box sizes and shapes.

Get Exactly What You Need for Your Production Line

High resolution barcodes, 2D codes, lot codes, expiry dates, and more are efficiently handled with our thermal inkjet printing solution.  Branding, large graphics and fonts, and multiple lines of crisp text are ideal applications for our piezo inkjet printing solution. Simple alphanumeric lot and batch codes, expiry dates, and low-resolution graphics or fonts are perfectly printed with our drop-on-demand printing solution.  Any of our marking solutions will positively impact your bottom line and seamlessly integrate into your production operation.

Applications:

  • Traceability initiatives/programs
  • Barcodes (GS1-128, GS1 DataBar, EAN-8/13, UPC-A, ITF/ITF-14, Code 39/128)
  • 2D codes (GS1-Data matrix, Data matrix, QR and Micro QR code)
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • Branding
  • Retail shelf graphics
  • Distribution logistics
  • Low-resolution alphanumeric codes

Additional Consumer Goods Marking and Coding Options

Matthews also offers options for the pharmaceutical and medical industries and corrugated packaging options for secondary packaging applications. We offer a full analysis of the substrates your company uses, the production speed and code requirements to offer a Matthews solution that exceeds your expectations.

Why choose us? Why choose Matthews?

As a leading distributor for Matthews Marking our team has the training, access and ability to work with your departments on a personalized level to guarantee success from the brainstorming stage to implementation and beyond. We use our broad industry knowledge to fill in blind spots and elevate your goals for ultimate success. We work with Matthews and their vast engineering team to keep projects on track and moving in the right direction. Their decades of specialized experience matched with our personalized, industry specific knowledge gives you a one-two punch.

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Matthews Marking Industry Highlight for Marking & Coding Applications: Automotive Parts

Matthews has been making their mark in the automotive industry since its inception.  From striping and product identification marking on tires to innovative parts marking,  their solutions continue to evolve along with the industry to meet the regulations and requirements you’re faced with. As an industrial packaging supplies company, we partner with Matthews Marking because they are the best in the industry when it comes to automotive marking and coding.

Unmatched Marking for Rubber and Tires

Our V-Series marking systems are engineered for the harsh, challenging environments typically found in rubber processing and tire manufacturing. They deliver proven reliability for small and large character marking on rubber and tires. Our VOC-free white ink, “disappearing” ink, and other specialized inks for rubber are engineered in house and deliver the best adhesion and mark quality in the industry today.

Applications include:

  • Striping
  • 2D codes
  • Product Identification
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • Branding
Direct Part Marking Solutions

With Matthews’ inkjet coding solutions, we have the superior technology to fit your marking application requirements.

Matthews’ inkjet portfolio includes valve and thermal inkjet systems. The valve jet product thrives in harsh, industrial environments while the thermal inkjet printers offer high resolution marks at fast speeds.

MPERIA®, Matthews’ marking and coding automation platform, simplifies integration between equipment, production lines and plants, while still keeping you in control.

Substrates and Applications Include:

  • 1D, 2D, and QR barcodes
  • Unique and vin codes
  • UID marking
  • Part identification
  • Rubber
  • Plastic
  • Steel
  • Aluminum
Why choose us? Why choose Matthews?

As a leading distributor for Matthews Marking our team has the training, access and ability to work with your departments on a personalized level to guarantee success from the brainstorming stage to implementation and beyond. We use our broad industry knowledge to fill in blind spots and elevate your goals for ultimate success. Colony Packaging & Machine works with Matthews and their vast engineering team to keep projects on track and moving in the right direction. Their decades of specialized experience matched with our personalized, industry specific knowledge gives you a one-two punch.

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Matthews Marking Industry Highlight for Marking & Coding Applications: Food and Beverage

We work with Matthews Marking to provide a broad selection of inkjet coding systems which are perfect for high-speed marking; producing vector-quality codes while maximizing uptime. With Matthews, you can be sure that your marking equipment is providing you with the best possible mark while meeting the high production demands of the food and beverage industry.

Food Labeling: Plastic

Matthews Marking Systems offers highly reliable marking technologies for plastic packaging and product manufacturers, including drop-on-demand (DOD) printers, thermal inkjet printers, and automatic labeling machines. Matthews’ years of experience in the plastic industry allow them to understand the challenges you are facing, and present you with proven solutions, minimizing your risk.

Thanks to the wide variety of fast-drying non-porous inks in a rainbow of colors, you can get a quality mark, whether you’re printing simple date, time, and lot codes or higher resolution logos and graphics.

Substrates and applications include:

  • Pipe
  • Thin and rigid film
  • Shrink wrap
  • Plastic clamshells
  • Plastic pouches
  • Building products
  • 2D codes
  • Product identification
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • Branding
Bag Marking

Bag marking technology for consumer packaged goods or industrial applications that require text, graphics, or codes with large or small characters. As an industrial packaging company, our printers have the capability to print on paper, plastics (polypropylene, mylar, PET) and other substrates…as an industrial packaging supplies company, we can solve your toughest bag marking challenges.

Get high-contrast, high-resolution marks in a wide array of colored porous and non-porous inks, including MEK and inks with FDA-approved ingredients.

Substrates and applications include:

  • Paper bags
  • Plastic film bags
  • Rigid plastic bags
  • Serialization
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • Branding
Glass Bottling and Jars

Matthews offers highly reliable inkjet options to give you superior quality while keeping up with the demands of high-speed printing. Our industry expertise will help you find the right solution to keep your line up and running, with an in-house engineering team to design an integration solution that fits your line’s unique needs.

Substrates and applications include:

  • Glass containers
  • Glass jars
  • Windows for home and auto
  • Product identification
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • Branding
Bottles and Cans

The only thing more important than easy to read and accurate “best by” expiry date, batch, and lot codes is making sure your line doesn’t stop. We can help you with both. Matthews’ laser coding machines maximize uptime by producing vector-quality codes at high speeds and help you meet the high production demands of the beverage industry without sacrificing quality.

Substrates and applications include:

  • Glass bottles
  • Plastic bottles
  • Aluminum cans
  • Barcoding
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • Branding
Canned Foods – Metal

With the industry’s most reliable inkjet printing technology and the broadest range of inks for the metal industry, Matthews is your go-to provider for metal marking. They provide turnkey and custom-engineered solutions for placing any kind of mark on nearly any type of metal at speed and with rock-solid reliability. 

Metal manufacturing facilities place incredible demands on marking systems. High temperatures, oily or dusty surfaces and variable material compositions make for a particularly challenging environment. That’s where Colony Packaging & Machine comes in. Our printers are designed specifically for operation in harsh environments with minimal maintenance so you can maximize uptime and ROI. 

Why choose us? Why choose Matthews?

As one of the top packaging suppliers and leading distributor for Matthews Marking, our team has the training, access and ability to work with your departments on a personalized level to guarantee success from the brainstorming stage to implementation and beyond. We use our broad industry knowledge to fill in blind spots and elevate your goals for ultimate success. We work with Matthews and their vast engineering team to keep projects on track and moving in the right direction. Their decades of specialized experience matched with our personalized, industry specific knowledge gives you a one-two punch.

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Matthews Marking Industry Highlight for Marking & Coding Applications: Building Materials

Building Materials

With the most reliable printing technology in even the harshest environments,  Matthews provides turn-key and engineered solutions for any kind of mark on any type of surface in the building products industry – from metal and wood, to concrete, brick and ceramic, 2D codes, barcodes, large or small character marks, and everything in between.

Wood

Clearly marking your wood products gives you a competitive edge in the marketplace, and we offer solutions representing the best way to help you do that. From identifying your product with large, bold images of your brand to accurately printing specifications, association trademarks, mill numbers and more, our comprehensive solutions help you every step of the way. The Matthews Marking workhorse DOD printer lineup is the industry leader and provides your production with reliable operation and the maximum possible uptime.

Substrates and applications include:

  • Panel
  • Plywood
  • Engineered Wood
  • Product Identification
  • Stack Wood Marking
  • Pallet Marking
  • Association Trademarks
  • Nail Pattern Marking
  • Barcoding
  • Branding
  • Structural Rating
Metal

Achieve high quality marks with unprecedented control and gain a competitive advantage with the most reliable, versatile marking and coding solutions available for the steel and metal industry. Easily integrate with existing or new production lines at scale.

With the industry’s most reliable inkjet printing technology and the broadest range of inks for the metal industry, Matthews is your go-to provider for metal marking. We provide turnkey and custom-engineered solutions for placing any kind of mark on nearly any type of metal at speed and with rock-solid reliability.

Metal manufacturing facilities place incredible demands on marking systems. High temperatures, oily or dusty surfaces and variable material compositions make for a particularly challenging environment. That’s where our partnership with Matthews comes in. Matthews’ printers are designed specifically for operation in harsh environments with minimal maintenance so you can maximize uptime and ROI.

Pipes & Plastics

Our coding and marking systems ensure your plastic and metal pipe is easily identifiable over its life cycle, with high-quality prints that last. Your customers need crisp, clear marks that include material type, manufacturer’s name, size, pressure rating/relevant manufacturing standard, and any other information that has significant meaning to them and we can make it happen.

You can rely on our extensive industry knowledge and proven results to help you make your mark. Matthews works closely with those in the pipe industry to create engineered solutions, decade-after-decade, continually developing new inks and technologies to meet your changing production demands.

Substrates and applications include:

  • Metal pipe
  • Plastic pipe
  • Corrugated pipe
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
  • 2D codes
  • Branding
  • Product identification
  • Regulatory marking
Stone and Brick

Matthews Marking Systems offers a wide range of reliable marking and coding technologies for porous and non-porous surfaces in the stone processing industry. With many years of industry experience and the expertise of their in-house engineering team, we have solutions for direct printing of your product as well as solutions for marking pallet goods, big bags, and corrugated boxes.

Substrates and Applications Include:

  • Bricks
  • Autoclaved aerated concrete
  • Clinker
  • Tiles
  • Concrete
  • Bigbags
  • Pallet goods
  • Bags
  • 2D-Codes
  • Product identification
  • Lot, batch and ID coding
Why choose us? Why choose Matthews?

As one of the top packaging suppliers and leading distributor for Matthews Marking, our team has the training, custom warehousing access, and ability to work with your departments on a personalized level to guarantee success from the brainstorming stage to implementation and beyond. We use our broad industry knowledge to fill in blind spots and elevate your goals for ultimate success. We work with Matthews and their vast engineering team to keep projects on track and moving in the right direction. Their decades of specialized experience matched with our personalized, industry specific knowledge gives you a one-two punch.

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Branded Packaging That Makes Cents

Whether you’re a B2B or B2C company your company’s reputation keeps them coming back. When it comes to that reputation the easiest leave behind is within the branding itself. How do you know if branded packaging is right for you? It’s a common phrase of manufacturers, retailers, and industrial packaging wholesalers: “If you have a competitor in the marketplace, it’s right for you.” But, you want packaging that makes sense (and cents). Here are our easiest packaging upgrades to take advantage of this year when working with your marketing and operations departments:

Printed Boxes
We love these bold examples of printed RSCs and tuck tab boxes. The creative use of negative space can give your brand a bolder look with less ink coverage!

One color logos and branding look memorable pre-printed on cartons and are an easy upgrade with reasonable quantities. Can’t do all of your boxes? Consider stocking your highest moving box with your logo for the best ROI. Or, do you have different ordering methods like indirect (through a retailer) or direct (through Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, etc)? Deciding to tackle the direct sales first can give you the highest level of ROI. Plus, we now offer full color printing for orders of 250 or more without printing die plate charges. Our partnership with a leading box manufacturer allows us access to an 80 ft printing press – the only one currently operational in the United States with short lead times.

 

Printed Tape
1-2 color tape print with bold fonts or large imprint logos direct the eyes of customers straight to your package!

Bold coloring, font, and logos make any kraft or white carton pop in shipping and on the doorstep. To gauge the popularity of printed tape ask yourself, “When was the last time you saw a box on your front step without it?” One way to do that is through one of the most popular options – Water Activated Tape (WAT). But, did you know “back in the day” water-activated tape had all but died off in the packaging industry during the 1970s? It was actually invented by Thomas Edison in 1912 and was a replacement for twin when holding boxes closed. It was revolutionary for a long time until acrylic and hot melt tape technology took over. But, because of Amazon, WAT tape made a huge comeback 10 years ago and is now one of the most popular ways to brand a box easily and effectively. We offer low 5-case minimums for both WAT and hot melt custom printed options!

 

Master Carton Messaging
Our partner Matthews Marking shows three of their top marking technologies clearly with this example of piezo, thermal and DOD inkjet. Line sharpness and custom warehousing scalability make Matthews a top fit for small to x-large companies.

This is a great option whether you work directly with your end-user or through a third party shipper. Craft your customer service experience to your audience with QR code surveys, additional product info, or current promotions/product releases with multiple inch print. Or, if you are a co-packer, increase your value by quickly changing customer messaging based off who you are packing for. Marking and coding on demand has been revolutionized in the last few years from the inks and equipment to the technology capabilities for usability. Pre-program messages based off the line you are running or work with our partnered engineers to scale your messaging based off database information. Master carton messaging has been a game changer for food manufacturers, building suppliers, agricultural, and more in particular.

 

Printed Stretch Film
How is your brand standing out in the racks? Printed stretch film can make your wrapped pallet a sitting billboard in an otherwise crowded space.

We’ve seen an increase in popularity for printed stretch film for top packaging suppliers to wholesale clubs, manufacturers that ship on flat beds, and for building and landscaping products that sit outside fully wrapped until use like mulch and bricks. That material is your free billboard space on the road and in the racks. Thinking of printed stretch film, we also work with companies that want to quickly identify products on their floor for returns, hazmat, or other specialty considerations through tinted films like red or green. Whether it be hand film or machine film we have the options to get the messaging you want across internally and externally.

Industrial branding looks different for everyone, and these are just a few examples we offer solutions on. We can help elevate your branding from the label to the pallet. Give your salesperson a call to start the discovery process – your competitor already has!

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8 Ways MPERIA Makes Marking and Coding Installation Headache Free

Removing integration headaches while reducing human error could feel impossible – especially if you have personally ever seen a project like this through from start to finish. Colony Packaging & Machine works with your purchasing, operations, project lead and engineering departments to present a solution to marking and coding which exceeds expectations without the mandatory prepaid service agreements. Here are 8 ways Matthews Marking has eliminated those obvious and sometimes less-obvious obstacles to success with the MPERIA controller.

  1. A single user interface and common API across all Matthews Marking Systems technologies with the ability to control 3rd party equipment.
  2. No middleware required for seamless database integration (ERP, MES, and other systems) with netFolder.
  3.  Reduced capital investment with print validation integration – measuring, sensing, motion control, camera setup.
  4. Error reduction with automated message control from a single location.
  5. Full scalability with ability to add additional marking equipment as well as open source scripting and plugins for 3rd party control
  6.  Pain-free networking with multiple APIs (XML, Ethernet IP, and more) tailored to your application needs
  7.  Effortless support with remote control troubleshooting via VNC or secure cloud connectivity.
  8. Benchmark security and data integrity with complete control of data access through netFolder.

Matthews has proven its ability to connect production lines across an entire warehouse with ease. As a key distributor across Central Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland Colony brings you expert packaging knowledge and certified Service Technicians to create the best experience possible from discovery to implementation and beyond. Contact our industrial packaging supplies company to learn more!

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THIS or THAT: Our Top Packaging Alternatives During Supply Chain Shortages and Beyond

The last couple of years the supply chain dilemma every industry has faced has had us thinking creatively and reminding our Sales Reps of that initial customer call where the drawing board is a little empty and ready for development. Our industry experience and longevity in the field have lent itself well as Colony Packaging & Machine navigates the future and recommends alternative packaging solutions. Fluctuations in pricing continue and lead times across industries shift at any given time, but these alternatives can help you think more creatively and broadly about your packaging applications to give you back power in the sourcing and decision-making process. Here are some of our top THIS or THAT options – packaging edition.

Strapping OR Bundling Stretch Film, Titanium Stretch Film

Titanium stretch film is a top-rated banded stretch film to help with ultra-heavy loads. This film can replace certain types of strapping for hard to manage loads.

When it comes to bundling products or strapping uniform skids modern stretch film can be a key alternative. Bundling stretch film comes in high gauges and is a compact, easy substitute to strapping. Similarly, we offer a high strength stretch film which is newer to the market. This titanium stretch film has heavier bands that create a strapping-like retention to the pallet which creates a stable load for shipping. Customers who have tested this film admit they haven’t seen anything like it on the marketplace.

Corrugated Cartons OR Mailers & Branded Mailers

Between our in-house carton stock, drop ship program, and custom box capabilities we offer a large range of solutions for customers seeking out shipping boxes. However, as e-commerce continues to boom many top packaging suppliers offer products in ready-to ship boxes that could be slipped into a mailer versus additional corrugated boxes. Mailers can be custom printed similarly to boxes while avoiding UPS and FedEx DIM weight hang-ups. Plus, many options come pre-padded with bubble or paper to add an extra level of protection during the shipping process.

Printed Cartons OR Printed Tape

The growth in e-commerce sales has exploded the custom printed tape industry.

Higher minimums for printed cartons can sometimes get in the way of budgets and space. Consider instead printed water activated or packaging tape to get your box brand-ready. Another consideration? Low-volume case sealer is available at affordable prices to guarantee appropriate tape placement and predictable, consistent tape usage giving you better forecasting for shipping costs.

Custom Labels OR Printing on Demand

Marking and coding equipment has come a long way and the MPERIA series from Matthews allows for custom printed messages up to multi-inch height on demand by production line all maintained by one controller. Yes, one controller for a full plant of production lines and multiple printing needs (we are offering free demos now, just contact us). Custom labels are a great resource for consistent messaging but for co-packers or companies looking to change out messaging quickly the downtime of changing out partial rolls can be cumbersome, wasteful, and overall a bad deal.  Similarly, this can be a great option for companies that need to change dating, nutritional components, or other legally-driven information on the fly without wasting pre-printed labels.

EPS OR Hexacomb

More customers have approached us in recent years seeking a recyclable, compostable alternative to foam cushioning. Our answer has consistently been hexacomb. Hexacomb can be manufactured or scored on the floor to custom fit products being shipped. Similar to EPS, hexacomb can come with right-sized wells within the framework to create the best fit possible for products. EPS is still a top option and one we recommend often, but we recognize some companies are looking for a more sustainable-option to get them in line with their customer expectations and this is it.

Wooden Crates OR Ecorrcrates

Versatile, safe, and strong – ecorrcrates are a perfect substitute for heavy, cumbersome wooden crates.

We’ve talked about them before, and we’ll continue talking about them because they are just that great. Ditching the wooden crates has saved our customers time, resources, and potential workers’ comp claims. Forget the nails, tools and heavy lifting – plus your end user will be thanking you when they don’t waste valuable time opening and discarding the crate. Ecorrcrates are giving customers the durability they need without sacrificing shippablity domestically or internationally. Ecorrcrates can be custom made by shipment or modular for small-piece combined shipping. The possibilities are endless. We take your product to the design lab for maximum benefit. Plus. Ecorrcrates deliver flat and compact to you with easy set-up to save space before use. There is no losing when it comes to Ecorrcrates.

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New Partnership: LEIBINGER Continuous Inkjet Systems

We are excited to announce our new partnership with LEIBINGER Coding and Marking Systems. LEIBINGER helps fill the gap in our marking and coding equipment with their state of the art CIJ printer and printhead. If you know anything about CIJ you may have rolled your eyes at the “state-of-the-art” bit in that last sentence. But, we’ve got to tell you, they are seriously changing the game when it comes to their patented printhead.

LEIBINGER is within its third generation of family management and manufacturers all of its equipment from their headquarters in Germany. They are a ISO 9000 : 2015 certified company.

LEIBINGER caught our Service Manager’s eye a few years ago at the PackExpo in Chicago specifically for the maintenance dream their system offers. If you aren’t your company’s maintenance manager grab them now to read about some of these features that are changing the industry standard when it comes to CIJ printing, maintenance, and uptime.

  • “Sealtronic“, the automated nozzle seal in all LEIBINGER industrial inkjet printers, closes the nozzle and gutter airtight. This keeps the ink in the print head from drying out – the industrial inkjet printer is always ready to use. No time-consuming cleaning is required, even after long downtimes. During breaks in production, the gutter and the nozzle form an airtight circuit: No ink can leak out of the circuit and no air can get in. This keeps the ink fluid at all times – just like a sealed paint can – and the industrial inkjet printer is always ready to go.
  • Auto-Cycling – One of the worst parts about printing systems is always the headache dried ink causes in the lines. LEIBINGER’S CIJ has an automatic cycle feature which keeps the ink cycling through the lines once every 24 hours when not in use.
  • The large variety of interfaces allows you to integrate their units at any desired integration level – from simple data connection to complete full integration. And the compact print head with stainless steel housing also adapts seamlessly to your system – in any installation position, even for overhead applications.

We also have an entry-level unit on our floor ready for demo. We are factory-trained and ready to show off LEIBINGER’S full potential within your building.

LEIBINGER rounds out our full marking and coding options. We continue to work with Digital Design for TIJ (thermal inkjet), Matthews Marking and Loveshaw for DOD (drop on demand) and hi res. We also offer integration services through a third party for database-driven set-ups.

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Thermal Transfer vs Direct Thermal Labels

A common question we are asked is, “what is the difference between thermal transfer and direct thermal transfer label printing?” Well, it’s all in the name to start, but there are a lot of considerations a company should review before making the decision on which system to go with.

What’s in a name?

Thermal transfer printing uses a heated ribbon to produce durable, long-lasting images on a wide variety of materials. But, when it comes to direct thermal printing no ribbon is used. Instead, the image is printed directly onto the material.

How do they work?

In thermal transfer printing, a thermal printhead applies heat to a ribbon, which melts ink onto the material to form the image. The ink is absorbed so that the image becomes part of the media. This technique provides image quality and durability that is unmatched by other on-demand printing technologies. Direct thermal printing uses chemically treated, heat-sensitive media that blackens when it passes under the thermal printhead. Direct thermal printers have no ink, toner, or ribbon.

Why choose one over the other?

Direct thermal printers are less expensive overall versus thermal transfer printers, but DT media is more sensitive to light, heat and abrasion, which reduces the life of the printed material.  If you are printing labels for products that will be outside for extended periods of time or will have a long shelf life it is best to use thermal transfer labels.  Thermal label printers are ideal for barcode printing because they produce accurate, high-quality images with excellent edge definition. Thermal printers are engineered to print within tight tolerances and to produce the exact bar widths that successful barcode printing and scanning require. Each technology can produce one- and two-dimensional barcode symbologies, graphics and text at the same print resolutions and speeds.

Their simple design makes direct thermal printers durable and easy to use. Because there is no ribbon, direct thermal printers cost less to operate than inkjet, laser, impact, and thermal transfer printers. Most mobile printers use direct thermal technology. For companies that move product quickly in and out of their warehouse, don’t require lifetime identification, or don’t store the products outside, direct thermal printing might be a great option.

Thermal transfer printers can accept a wider variety of media than direct thermal models, including paper, polyester, and polypropylene materials. Thermal transfer printers can create extremely durable wristbands, asset tags, and certification labels, in addition to common labels, tags, and tickets. The specific label material and ribbon must be carefully matched to ensure print performance and durability.

By selecting the right media-ribbon combination, as well as specialty adhesives, users can create archival-quality labels to withstand temperature extremes, ultraviolet exposure, chemicals, sterilization, and more. Typical thermal transfer applications include: product identification; circuit board tracking; permanent identification; sample and file tracking; asset tagging; inventory identification; certification labels such as UL/CSA; laboratory specimens; cold storage and freezers; and outdoor applications.

Other considerations:

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The Season of Oktoberfests: Marking and Coding More Than Beer Bottles

Event coordinators around the world have it made for the month of October.  Between Oktoberfest events (cheers to you, Reading Leiderkranz – the best in all the US lands), Fall Festivals, our own local Yorktoberfest and all the pumpkin spice someone can take it is a busy time of year for everyone, including breweries.

Central PA’s local micro-breweries have been popping up left and right to add to the already hoppy landscape with big-time brewers like Yuengling, Tröegs, and Victory.  It’s exciting to witness and gives us the opportunity to demonstrate our complete line of package conversion to marking and coding equipment and inks with local service and support.  Whether it is a small date code or printing-on-demand we have options that can fit in-line with operating packaging lines or hand-held devices for on-the-go shops.  Here are some of our favorite options available now for all customers utilizing marking and coding technologies:

Digital Design’s EV4

One of our most cost-effective and popular options is the Evolution 1 and Digital Design is now upping their game with the release of the EV4.  The EV2 and 3 both brought some great features for the right candidate but the EV4 is truly making waves.  The new printhead allows for up to 1” of fully formed print including barcodes and graphics – something that could only happen by stitching multiple printheads together in the past.  Control the 110 foot per minute print with the 4.3” color touchscreen controller for applications including date code, barcodes, logos, and more.  Ask us about demoing this unit!

Matthew’s Marking eSolarMark Fiber Laser Coding System

This system was designed to provide high quality, permanent marks onto aluminum cans for the craft brew industry (and beverage industry as a whole). Breweries, much like food manufacturers, are looking for ways to eliminate ink chemicals, reduce mess, improve mark appearance, and reduce the cost per mark. With vector-quality marking and the elimination of solvent and ink consumables into the waste stream the eSolarMark Fiber Laser Coding System etches the surface of the substrate to deliver your message.

Digital Design’s Evolution Handheld

We understand not everyone has an in-line conveyor system, that’s where Digital Design’s Evolution Handheld really comes in handy.  While working with Digital Design’s other leading printhead models, this hand-held is perfect for the company that needs flexibility in movement without compromising the quality of marking. The EVHH is perfect for the company not running conveyor systems but still needs reliable coding.  A few great example applications include customers using large gaylords, building supply manufacturers, oversized cumbersome skids, super sacks, security codes on wrapped pallets, and customers looking to replace hand stenciling.

Matthew’s Marking MPERIA Controller

This is the controller that every operation needs that has multiple packaging lines with multiple coding configurations set up.  The MPERIA manages multiple print technologies including high resolution piezo ink jet, high resolution thermal ink jet, laser and drop on demand valve ink jet – all from a single interface. One thing we see a lot of in the industry is companies that have added on different technologies throughout the years which can be really time consuming to maintain.  Matthews recognized that as well and made this controller to bridge the gap. Not only can you link Matthew’s software together into one controller but the MPERIA amps up your control by allowing you to hook into other competitor software systems as well.  That means you no longer have to go to each and every station to reset codes – now do it wirelessly and with much more ease and speed.

The above is a run-down of some of the most common and convenient options we see our customers needing.  Each pack line is different and we understand that, that’s why we know meeting with you and seeing your operation first hand can help us recommend the best product for your immediate needs and future goals.  Many of our systems are as easy as plug-and-play and we stock several options on our floor for immediate delivery. Give us a call or contact your Sales Representative today for more information!