What Is a Date Coding Machine?
A date coding machine is primarily a coding machine that prints dates to manufacturing products, many types of packaging (primary, secondary, tertiary, distribution packaging), and labels.
The coding of date in particular is required by local regulation around the world for beverages, food, and medicine or pharmaceutical products. This is to make sure that the products are safe for consumption.
The types of date coding you should know
There are a lot of date coding machines that you might have heard of. How many are there really? How old is the technology? Which coder is the most suitable with your manufactures?
Here are some date coders that you should know.
Handheld stampers
With a target surface that is not easily printed on, handheld stampers certainly can do its job. It pressed against the target to transfer ink directly; making sure the date code is printed on the target. The common problem, however, is that the ink can bleed. Bleeding ink wouldn’t dry properly.
Handheld labelers
Commonly used in supermarkets and retail stores, handheld labels are easy to use coders. The user holds the grip then glides on the target surface.
Roller stampers
This type of date coding machine is generally used for printing on cardboards. This machine works by pressing the head of the printer and transferring the ink through rotation movement.
Label printing machines
Label printing machines are used for batch printing for food and beverage products. Thus, the labels must be water resistant.
Hot printers
On older packaging machines, this type of printer can be installed. Ink from an ink ribbon is transferred at high temperature to the packaging.
Thermal printers
Unlike its predecessor, thermal printers do not use type for pressing the target surface. Instead, the printing head is heated electrically, and then the ribbon transfers the content onto the target. The content of the label for thermal printers is easy to change.
Inkjet printers
Inkjet printers offer a wider range of target surfaces to print on. With a non-contact printing method, an inkjet printer ensures that it can print on a lot of surfaces.
Inkjet printer works by spraying ink onto the target surface. With this, inkjet printers are capable of printing on moving targets at high speeds.
See Also: Is an Inkjet Printer The Best Choice for My Cosmetics Company’s Bottle Code Marking?
How Date Coding Machine from LINX Works
LINX products range from thermal printers to continuous inkjet, all are upgraded into semi-automatic and fully automatic machines. LINX products are robust with high IP ratings and it has a simple UI for its kind.
1. Continuous Inkjet Printer
Continuous inkjet printers are used to print diverse information from dates, batch or barcodes, and other labeling onto individual products. It doesn’t matter the sizes, shape or the texture of the surface.
CIJ works by spraying ink through a non-contact method. This will enable the printer to print even the curviest product you have. This means it can print on the bottle neck, the curvy edges of the under bottle, or on an uneven, bulging food product.
2. Thermal transfer over printer
Thermal transfer over printers from LINX helps you with printing onto plastics, film packaging, gloss cards, labels, and other flexible material for your product. Especially for products that need a consistent best before dates or barcodes.
3. Laser coders
Laser coders vary in terms of ink—or to put it more clearly, it has no ink. The laser, however, contains two main materials to print onto the surface: fiber or CO2. Based on the substrate of your product, this can be safe or harmful. It is advisable that you should accept run sample marking, just so you know you don’t do anything wrong.
4. Large character printer
Large characters are commonly used in large shipment packages of certain products. Being able to print text, logos, and graphics even to a porous surface, this is a good choice for your big products. Putting dates onto cardboard packages won’t be a problem with this.
5. Thermal inkjet printers
Thermal inkjet printers from Linx have quite a wide range of inks available. This made printing onto large choices of material. This particular printer can print onto boxes, trays, sleeves, and plastic packaging materials.
Depending on the kind of printer and material you choose for your manufacturing products, your printer may deliver different ways of printing. Of all Linx products, however, there is a similarity that is you can operate it away from the machine itself.
Linx also has a cloud server for which you can change the date data and other information for your printer. Linx printer is also water resistant and robust. It can survive from almost every manufacturing environment.
See Also: Linx Inkjet Batch Code Printer is Best Compared to China Brand, Here’s Why!
With such a wide range of printers, knowing how all of them work, you can now choose what date coding machine may suit your business best. Whether you choose based on speed, quality, or target surface choice, everything is ready for you and for your business.