The most popular way to print best before date on PET bottles are CIJ
(Continuous Inkjet Printers), but there are many downsides of using
inkjet printers.
So
far laser marking systems have been considered to be more expensive
marking solution than CIJ printers, but over time lasers have evolved
and nowadays there are many laser marking systems available for the
price of a good CIJ printer. More and more manufacturers are now choosing to switch from old CIJ
printers to lasers to mark best before dates on their products -
PET bottles. Disadvantages of CIJ - Continuous Inkjet Printers. |
| | | High running costs - Ink & Solvent Consumption. CIJ printers are consuming
ink and solvent which in long term results in much more expensive industrial marking
solution than lasers. | | | | | | | | Regular Maintenance and Servicing. (Cleaning) CIJ printers require regular maintenance and cleaning. | | | | | | | | Lack of Security - vulnerable for falsification. Marking made by CIJ printer can easily be cleaned by most solvents and best before date can be counterfeited.
| | | | | | | | Lack of Flexibility. CIJ printers can only print with one ink color at the time. So each
time when bottle color changes printer has to be cleaned and ink has to
be changed. | marking.lv for food processing and beverage industry offer innovative and economical solutions to mark best
before dates on PET bottles using laser marking systems.
Laser marking sample on different colour PET bottles. We offer three types of lasers for PET bottle marking: Each
of these three technologies can be used to mark various plastic
materials with different results depending on application, material and
technical parameters.
As another two alternative technologies Fibre (Q-Switched Ytterbium Fiber Laser, 1,060nm) and UV (335nm) lasers also be used to form marking on plastic materials. However Fibre and UV lasers would not be the most common technology used for PET bottle marking applications.
Main advantages of using laser marking systems instead of inkjet printers to mark PET bottles: |
| | | Reliability. Laser marking systems can offer much higher reliability in comparison to inkjet printers. No ink or solvent = no problems with cleaning.
| | | | | | | | Quality. Laser
marking offers consistent High Qality print as opposed to inkjet
printers where print quality can be affected by cleanliness of the
nozzle or placement and angle of the printhead.
| | | | | | | | Security. While best before date that has been printed with CIJ printer can be
wiped away by solvent, laser marking systems print is burned into
plastic and can not be removed. | | | | | | | | Lower operating costs. While CIJ printer consume ink and solvent, laser marking systems doesn't use any
consumables at all, so there are no long term costs. | | | | | | | | Versatility and ease of use. Use of laser marking system is very easy and simple - there is no ink or solvent so no cleaning is necessary. Laser marking system easily mark any colour bottle and there is no need to change inks. One laser can be used to mark best before dates on multiple colour bottles. |
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