A Reliable Expiration Date Stamp for Glass Bottles—Outfit Your Line
Glass bottles are one of the most common product containers used today—packaging drinks, cosmetics, condiments, and everything in between. Glass has the ability to preserve goods without influencing alterations in taste or other chemical reactions. And glass bottles are a particularly popular choice in the beverage industry. Of course, for commercial goods, these bottles need to be properly labeled with expiration dates and lot codes according to industry standards and regulations. And, for that, you need specialized hardware that can print clearly and reliably and keep your production line running smoothly.
Given the wide range of goods that are packaged in glass, companies need to consider the unique properties of both the packaging material itself and the product that is going to be stored within it. For instance, you need to be aware of the container’s color, its shape, and if the contents and bottling process will cause condensation. Only by carefully examining these factors can you determine the right machine for your job.
Factors To Consider When Encoding Expiration Date Stamps for Glass Bottles
As a printing surface, glass bottles present a few unique challenges that need to be addressed, including:
Bottle Color
Glass bottles are often preferred by beverage manufacturers due to their ability to package liquids without affecting taste or causing reactions—two important considerations for companies that need to prioritize freshness in their products. This is especially important for breweries because beer can undergo profound taste changes over time—with some varieties having a “Best consumed by” range of only a number of months. To help preserve freshness, the vast majority of breweries use brown bottles rather than clear ones as the tinted glass helps to reduce the amount of UV light that enters the bottle.
For operations that use these darker glass containers—regardless of the contents—it’s critical to have a printer and ink that can clearly encode on the tinted material with high contrast. The specific ink chemistry must be taken into account with this task, so finding testing and validation services to confirm that the right color ink with the right properties will be used is a big help.
After all, legible freshness dates and packaging data are important not only for the consumer but also for efficient inventory tracking, quality management purposes, and compliance with food safety laws.
Production Line Speed
To determine the best machine for your production line, you need to consider the speed at which printing will need to occur. Continuous inkjet (CIJ) printers are great for high-speed, continuous-operation industrial production lines. However, thermal inkjet (TIJ) printers are best for the intermittent production lines of smaller operations. TIJ printers also have the flexibility of mobile or mounted operation.
Condensation
A concern for chilled bottles, condensation can extend ink dry time, cause ink bleeding, and negatively affect adhesion if left uncontrolled. The answer in these cases is a high-quality printer with ink that is specifically formulated to address these factors.
The Right Hardware for Printing Expiration Dates on Glass
To encode expiration date stamps for glass bottles on your production line, you’ll need either a continuous inkjet (CIJ) printer or a thermal inkjet (TIJ) printer. Depending on certain production qualities, we recommend these two machines:
DuraCode Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) Printer
With the ability to print on metals and plastics in addition to glass, the InkJet, Inc. DuraCode is a great choice for continuously moving production lines. Employing an automatic monitoring system that assures codes are consistently even and legible, the DuraCode series can print at speeds as high as 1,050 ft/min. CIJ printers are best for high-speed, demanding production lines, whereas TIJ printers are a better fit for smaller operations.
Anser U2 Pro-S Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) Printer
Created for lines that don’t employ continuous motion, the Anser U2 Pro-S is a TIJ printer that can print on a variety of non-porous materials, including plastic, metal, aluminum, and glass. Its versatile printhead allows for printing on a diversity of surfaces, including those that are curved. If you’re unsure of whether your goods can be successfully printed upon, the InkJet, Inc. team is happy to perform a product test to validate that the print job is possible.
While glass bottles have numerous benefits as containers, it can be difficult to properly print on them. However, when you can identify the particular challenges of your production line, you can find the right hardware to reliably complement your operation. And, you can rest assured that expiration date stamping is not one of the details that will tie up your line and your crew.
To learn more about expiration date stamps for glass bottles, the printers and inks that can reliably round out your production line, or for ink testing and validation services, contact InkJet, Inc. online today, or call (800) 280-3245.