Marking Coated Card

Coated card is widely used for premium packaging across food, pharmaceuticals and personal care due to its low cost, versatility and ability to be printed with brand and consumer information. However, its smooth or varnished surface can make it difficult to achieve consistent, high-quality codes.

Industrial printers can code directly onto coated card in any orientation. They can mark variable information as well as printing barcodes, Data Matrix and QR codes onto boxes, trays and sleeves to enable traceability, and convey quality and safety information to the consumer.

The most commonly used technologies for coding onto coated card are continuous ink jet (CIJ) and CO₂ laser coders. Each has unique benefits and the one that is right for you application will depend on your product and code requirements.

Our expertise in product and packaging marking & identification can help you to reduce costs and improve production rates.

Code Content: The code requirements (batch numbers, dates, 2D codes etc.), the size, colour and the desired marking area will affect the coder most suited to your application. Consider a coder that can mark in any orientation for flexible marking on any part of your product e.g on the base. Also think about how the code requirements may change in the future or on other products you produce.

Durability: For durable codes the printing solution you choose must be able to adhere reliably and still be legible through your production and supply chain.

Speed: Ensure the coder you choose can keep up with your production line speed without compromising on code quality.

Production environment: For food production environments that do washdown procedures the IP rating of your coder may be key. If the production space is limited, investigate coders that are compact or can be mounted in different ways to fit the available space.

Available budget: It is vital to consider not only the initial purchase price but also the total cost of ownership, including consumables and cost and frequency of servicing. Can the product be user maintained and repaired?

Reliability: The reliability of your coder is crucial to avoid product rework, scrappage, line downtime and loss of efficiency. Frequent breakdowns can negate any benefits of a lower purchase price coder; look for automatic cleaning or self-service features.