Innovation keeps coding buoyant

Consumers barely notice the tiny band of code printed on their soft drink can or prescription bottle, but behind the scenes the coding and marking industry thrives on making those seemingly insignificant lines of print more readable, efficient and better integrated with high technology.

Quick response (QR) codes are among the most cutting-edge high-tech codes being developed for niche industries. These ultra-specialised codes, when captured with a smartphone, can link consumers into company websites, carry the product’s entire nutritional information package and offer instant updates. These codes allow manufacturers to update their website rather than their labels when product information changes, which is much more cost effective.

Already important in Japan, companies in the UK and North America are catching on to the idea. Britain’s Marks & Spencer is using a QR code on its own-label orange juice, linking consumers to a fun web page with promotional giveaways and daily jokes. A number of wineries across the European Union, notably in Portugal (for instance winemaker Quevedo), have also adopted these two-dimensional codes.

As the barcode industry evolves to include increasingly high-tech functions such as data matrix technology and quick response technology (both 2D code systems), code printers and readers are also constantly changing to remain ahead of the curve. Germany-based sensor manufacturer Balluff’s new e-vision sensor technology is revolutionary in the sense that it can read 1D codes as well as 2D codes, including QR. The company’s BVS-E Identification sensor can be configured and customised to any product, which eases inspections. This particularly helps manufacturers collecting product parts for assembly. The equipment reads the code data to find out which parts are being processed and where, and can recognise virtually any product part.

UK-based Cognex has also been redesigning its code readers, releasing in August 2010 its image-based 1DMax and 2DMax readers configured to read and recognise almost any type of code on the market, regardless of quality or obscurity. This kind of versatility is top priority for manufacturers, according to Carl Gerst, who manages the industrial ID unit at Cognex.

“If a barcode reader doesn’t have the right technology to keep up with the variety of different codes found in real world scenarios - everything from uneven lighting, poor print quality, noisy backgrounds, to scratched codes - it can mean time, cost and frustration for any manufacturer,” says Mr Gerst. “That is why higher technology image-based readers are rapidly replacing laser-based readers in a wide range of manufacturing and logistics applications.”

Another emerging trend is increasingly widespread use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) codes to help with inventory and track individual items. In August 2010, US-based international printing and coding solutions company Zebra Technologies unveiled its first high performance RFID printer-encoder, According to Zebra: “The R110Xi4 streamlines business improvement and supply-chain management applications such as item-level tracking, asset tracking, inventory management and more across retail, manufacturing, healthcare and distribution channels.” Since RFID demand is expected to grow 200% globally between 2010 and 2011, the new coding machine seems to be a good investment for high volume companies.

One of the key benefits of this printer-encoder is its ability to reduce the high media costs that traditionally come with RFID applications. Apparently, the R110Xi4 can reduce RFID media costs by up to 10% through its ‘adaptive encoding technology’ that senses the RFID inlay position and automatically configures the printer-encoder without the need for any manual calibration.

The R110Xi4 is already available in North America, and will be available across the globe in October.

According to Jim Orford, UK sales manager at Cambridge-based Domino Printing Sciences, recovery in the sector has been slow since the recession. “Across the board we haven’t seen a huge recovery, although specific sectors have been reasonably well maintained, particularly pharmaceuticals and food and beverages,” he says. “Customers are not investing hugely in new facilities, they’re trying to maintain what they’ve got.”

For those manufacturers who are risking an investment in new equipment, Linx Printing Technologies has released the LJ200 Thermal InkJet. The machine is designed for large character marking (LCM) and is being sold as a cost-effective alternative to label printing for small and medium businesses. Since it can print text, graphics, and 1D and 2D barcodes directly onto boxes and cartons, businesses can bypass the need for expensive labels on secondary packaging. The printer also uses cartridges that limit the need for maintenance, by including the printhead in the disposable cartridge. As users discard old cartridges, they get to start fresh with a clean printhead – a direct benefit for smaller companies, which do not have to purchase expensive ribbon or pay for regular maintenance, according to Paul Doody, Marketing Director for Linx. Furthermore, with a dual 50mm printhead system, companies can print one image or code as high as 100mm, or print in two different spots simultaneously.

Alongside this product development, Linx has also been revamping its own operations after a fire in June 2009 destroyed part of its main building in St Ives, Cornwall. This summer, Linx opened its new state of the art ink manufacturing plant, for which it invested £1 million into equipment updates, safety features and high-tech manufacturing systems.

Printing companies are also looking for new markets. Allen Coding, in the UK, has announced the appointment of a new Sales and Marketing Manager for its Asian sector, in an effort to increase sales in developing countries where the booming manufacturing industry is looking for quality coding and marking machines. Closer to home, Allen has also unveiled plans to expand its business in Scotland. It hopes to increase sales there 20% by July 2011, through targeting the food and drink, pharmaceutical and industrial processing industries north of the border. Allen is well placed to tap into this market, as it specialises in hotfoil thermal transfer coding, which is particularly useful for coding and marking in the food processing industry. The company’s integral 53LTi thermal coder was recently selected by UK-based popcorn manufacturer Cornpoppers to print best before dates and batch codes onto bags.

Speed is another quality in high demand from clients, Domino’s Mr Orford said.

“Over the years the limiting factor on a production line has often been the coding. More and more people are asking for higher speeds and higher quality codes,” he explains.

Domino’s newest high-speed printer, the A300SE+, is particularly suited for high speed canning lines, with the capability to code up to 2,000 cans/min 12. But operating in a beverage factory, for instance, can be incredibly hard on machines, as the air is laden with sugar which can ‘candy coat’ machines and stop them from working properly. Domino’s printer has solved this problem by sealing the machine inside a larger structure so it does not use ambient air for cooling – protecting the machine’s innards from taking on a build-up of sugary grime that can impair performance.

Telford Extrusions chooses Markem-Imaje

For printing traceability data Telford Extrusions chose the 9020 inkjet printer from Markem-Imaje, claimed to be among the most flexible small character inkjet coders on the market.

The design offers an intuitive user-interface and advanced printhead that requires minimal attention for up to four lines of variable alphanumeric text, logos and barcodes.

A patented automatic nozzle rinsing system ensures hassle free start-ups and replenishment of consumables is quick without interruption to production, says the company.

Telford Extrusions required inkjet coding to add traceability data to plastic extruded products including a British Standards number, time/date of manufacture and a line number. Exhaustive trials proved the 9020 machines to be the most cost efficient.

‘Delighted’ with the printers and the service from Markem-Imaje, Richard Emms, Engineering Manager at Telford Extrusions, says: “We now use less ink and our operators can easily change the ink and additive cartridges. The printers even run up to an hour after the printer indicates empty so we rarely suffer from downtime.