Coding & Marking Coated Metal

Printing onto steel or aluminium cans presents a number of unique challenges: non-porous surfaces, curved surfaces, wet or dusty environments, limited print areas, post-marking sterilisation processes and strict labelling compliance requirements.

Can coders are used in a wide range of industries including food, beverage and cosmetics, personal care products and chemicals.

A variety of product identification coding solutions suitable for coding and marking packaging, components and products made from coated metal are available. Industrial printers can code expiration dates or batch identification directly onto coated metal products in almost any orientation. They can mark variable information as well as printing barcodes, Data Matrix and QR codes onto cans to enable traceability, and convey quality and safety information to the consumer.

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

Linx products deliver reliable coding solutions for coated metals in the most demanding of production environments and 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 requirments may change in the future or on other products you produce.

Production processes: For durable codes the printing solution you choose must be able to adhere reliably and still be legible through your production and supply chain. Laser codes are permanent while for ink based printers you will need to consider retort, condensation, pasteurisation or cooking processes.

Speed: Ensure the coder you choose can keep up with your production line speed or volume goals without compromising on code quality. Drying time of ink based solutions can be an important consideration.

Production environment: Wet, hot, humid or non-temperature controlled production environments can affect the performance of your printing solution and the printed codes. In demanding conditions or washdown environments 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: On a high-volume line, 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.