Three Ways to Take Your Metal Marking to the Next Level
Get insights on how to make marking worries a thing of the past.
If you’re using older marking technologies like stamping and stenciling or need larger marks than possible with continuous ink jet (CIJ), you may be missing out on significant operational efficiencies and cost reductions that benefit your bottom line. In our recent Understanding Metal Marking post, we provided a basic overview of metal coding and marking and outlined key questions to ask yourself before you invest in a new or upgraded marking system.
In this post, we look at how to get the most from your metal marking and coding efforts by using reliable and cost-effective drop-on-demand (DOD) valvejet technology. We invite you to learn more about metal marking machines on our metal industry page.
1) Upgrade to DOD valvejet printers for faster, higher quality and more reliable metal marking
From high room temperatures and oily or dusty surfaces to variable material compositions, the conditions in metal manufacturing facilities place special demands on marking systems and create constant reliability and quality challenges.
Whether you’re marking for primary identification, traceability, compliance or operational uses, the marking technology you use can have a direct impact on the speed, effectiveness and reliability of your production line. The choices you make about your marking technology can directly affect the:
- Speed and efficiency of your marking
- Accuracy and durability of your marks
- How much ink you use (and waste)
- The length of your equipment maintenance intervals
- How quickly and easily your workers can operate the equipment and make changes to your codes and other marks.
Remember that your production efficiency and line uptime is only as good as your weakest link. It’s vital to ensure that you’re not being constrained by your marking solution.
What price are you paying for printing? If you’re using older contact printing technologies, like stamping or stenciling, for metal marking, your production stops every time you need to change or update the message. In addition to the labor involved, there’s a greater opportunity for user error to be introduced into the process each time a message is changed and equipment is re-positioned. You also use (and lose) more ink, and your equipment needs to be cleaned and replaced often due to wear. All these add to your overall printing costs by wasting resources and reducing the productivity of your workforce – both hits to your sustainability and your bottom line.
Get bigger, better, more durable marks: Newer DOD valvejet technology, like the versatile MPERIA V-Series marking system from Matthews Marking Systems, provides crisp, clear marks with virtually no waste. It works in the harsh environmental conditions typically found in metal manufacturing and processing, provides instant startup and the printheads can achieve 9 billion firings before tuning is required.
Compared to contact printing or continuous ink-jet (CIJ) printers, valvejet technology provides a bigger, bolder and more versatile mark. This makes it ideal for printing 2D barcodes for enhanced tracking and automation.
The standard for high-performance industrial marking applications globally, DOD valvejet printers are the most robust inkjet marking technology available and can withstand the harsh conditions in a metal manufacturing plant environment. They are compact and can be easily mounted for printing on oddly shaped or uneven surfaces – over, under, beside lines or on traversing systems – giving you ultimate flexibility and control while never missing a beat.
2) Drive efficiency, reduce errors and enhance automation with an industrial-strength integrated print controller
You’ll reap the benefits of greater efficiency in your metal production coding and marking with a high-quality print controller. Rather than going through the manual reset processes required by contact printing methods, DOD valvejet printers, when combined with an integrated controller like the MPERIA platform, allow you to network and control multiple printers from one interface and dramatically speed up your marking process.
Reduce risk of operator error: Your messaging control needs to be as error-proof as possible with automatic updates and integration to ERP systems. Easy-to-use software and touch-screen interfaces reduce user errors and enables workers to change or adjust messages quickly for different product requirements on the line. This is particularly important given the increasing loss of experienced workers and the influx of less experienced new and temporary workers.
Ensure rock-solid reliability: Before you invest in printers or controllers, it’s essential that you make sure they’re going to be robust enough to withstand the harsh conditions in your metal manufacturing environment. This is where choosing a trusted vendor with a long track record in printing for industrial metal manufacturing is important.
3) Achieve better internal and external traceability with high quality marks and 2D barcodes
Smeared, lost detail and unreadable marks may cost you more than you think – within your manufacturing facility and at any point in the supply and distribution chain.
Marking for primary identification and tracing – whether it be your company name/brandmarks, part numbers, sizes, serial numbers, time & date, batch codes or bar codes – requires a high degree of accuracy for readability as well as durability. In some cases, it also requires larger, clearer marks to meet today’s coding standards.
Are you missing the mark? Once again, if you’re using contact printing for metal marking and coding,
- There’s a greater chance your marks will not be clear or as resilient
- Your marks can’t carry as much detail (essential for modern traceability with 2D barcodes)
- Smeared and unreadable codes impact computer vision readability – hampering your ability to upgrade your automation equipment
- Metal products with poor-quality or low-contrast marks may end up improperly tracked, stocked and priced
Over time, such errors add up, impacting your profitability and reputation.
Reduce costs and achieve more durable marks: When your metal products have high-quality, reliable, durable marks you improve your internal operations, enhance automation and quality assurance, improve internal and external traceability and drive greater efficiency – from your manufacturing operations through the entire supply chain.
Here’s where working with a supplier with deep industry expertise is vital to selecting just the right ink for your application. In many cases, special ink formulation are necessary to produce durable, high contrast marks despite the presence of mill scale, grease, oil, and other contaminants.
2D barcoding for the win: With a limitation of only 20 characters, the simple 1D barcodes and UPCs used for the past 50 years cannot provide enough information for adequate traceability. But newer 2D barcodes – like QR codes and data matrix codes – can hold up to 7,000 characters. That means they can provide much deeper information about each product, improving your internal and external traceability.
Contact printing does not provide clear enough marks for reliable 2D barcodes. And if you’re using CIJ technology, it is very limited in terms of character size and resolution and is not capable of printing 2D barcodes at all. Further, as Sierra Aluminum discovered, CIJ printers lack the reliability necessary for industrial marking applications.
Modern efficiency, traceability and automation require the kind of high-quality marks you can only get from durable industrial-grade valvejet printers, inks and integrated print controllers. Matthews Marking Systems offers the most versatile printers, controllers and ink formations available today – including a wide variety of ink types and custom ink formulations – to meet your metal marking needs.
Knowing your current processes – and potential future needs – is essential. To that end, we’ve compiled a handy metal marking checklist. If you aren’t sure how to answer all the questions on the checklist, it may be time to seek advice from experts in the field of product coding and marking.
Matthews has been in the metal marking business since 1850, when John D. Matthews engraved his first iron die. Since then, we’ve continued a rich tradition of offering metal marking products of unmatched versatility and quality. We’re here to answer any questions you might have and help you find solutions that meet your specific metal marking and coding needs. Learn more about marking systems on our metal marking page.
Just fill out the easy form below and we’ll get you set up for a free consultation, including sample marks on your metals.