Boost your production and business results

Choosing the right print technology and inks can make a positive (or negative) impact on your bottom line. The type of technology you use for marking and coding on tire and rubber products affects the:

• Speed and efficiency of your marking
• Reliable identification, tracking and internal traceability
• Quality, accuracy and reliability of your marks
• How much ink you use (or waste)
• Labor required for changeovers
• Amount and interval of maintenance required
• Business and supply chain velocity

You need a marking solution with specialized inks for rubber that help you keep your VOC output low while delivering proven performance and reliability in the toughest of environments. And you need printing technology that can easily adapt to new requirements as your operation grows and evolves.

No other printing technology offers the clarity, convenience and cost savings of modern DOD valvejet printers for product marking – from numeric and 2D matrix codes for internal and external tracking to large format print for branding and other identification through the supply chain.

And with our MPERIA controllers you can easily manage and control marking at every stage of production with fewer people, easier changeovers and the ability to easily integrate with other printers and back-end ERP and business systems.

Marking technology that meets your unique needs

Matthews has a long tradition of offering industrial marking and coding products that are rugged, efficient, and reliable, producing marks of unmatched quality on a wide variety of substrates.

We also offer a range of inks that are specially designed for the rubber and tire industry, including:

• Low-VOC and HAPS-free pigmented inks to preserve air quality
• Water-based and fast-dry inks
• Disappearing inks for use on rubber blanks
• Curable inks that can withstand the rubber curing process
• A large variety of UV inks
• Fluorescent inks for dark backgrounds
• Custom-designed inks from our in-house ink formulation team

With Matthews inks and printers, you’ll get consistently clean, legible marks and codes on your tire and rubber products, and you’ll reap the business benefits of greater flexibility, reduced costs, and proven reliability – without the maintenance headaches.

Durability

Our MPERIA V-Series drop-on-demand (DOD) valvejet printers represent the most robust and versatile inkjet marking technology available on the market today. They have been well proven worldwide to withstand the harsh conditions found in rubber and tire production environments.

Quality

Valvejet technology offers clear advantages for rubber marking applications. Because valvejet printheads never make contact with the rubber surface, they eliminate damage to the rubber and create clear, crisp alphanumeric and 2D code marks with high print quality – even at high speeds. Valves flush automatically, preventing build-up of residue that can cause bad marks. Our reliable, fast-dry inks never transfer in the mold.

Efficiency

DOD valvejet printers with our Flow-Jet ink recirculation system use (and waste) less ink than contact printing methods. The printers are impervious to dust and debris in the manufacturing environment, producing quality marks that support your production goals.

Reliability

Matthews V-Series printers are the most reliable rubber marking equipment on the market, with features like fast start-up, bulk ink delivery systems, and the ability to achieve over 9 billion firings before tuning is required.

Flexibility

 V-Series printheads can be mounted over, under and beside lines or on traversing systems to give you ultimate control, even on oddly shaped products. Mark as you require with fine/medium/coarse characters and the ability to rotate printheads to achieve 1/4” to 5” native print height.

Velocity

Electronic control with MPERIA make message changeovers and updates a breeze. Your lines move faster and more efficiently because you don’t have to regularly stop production to manually reset messages, clean messy equipment or conduct maintenance.

With a Matthews solution in place, you’ll never need to slow down because your marking system can’t keep up.

Future-proof your marking technology

High quality marks ensure accurate identification and proper handling of your product – from manufacturing through final use. Applications in tire and rubber include:

• Striping
• 2D codes
• Product identification
• Lot, batch, and ID coding
• Branding
• Recipe, line and production codes

All of these depend on having clear, accurate, and durable marks.

Custom solution designed for your needs

The number of rubber and tire products available today is vast. More often than not, marking needs to be adapted to fit your requirements and to ensure the long-term reliability you expect.

We’ve seen it all and our engineering experts can customize our products to fit your specifications – not the other way around. From custom kick brackets that can snap out of the way, to traversing systems that move printheads around oddly shaped surfaces to flexible print mounts that can raise and lower print heads to suit varying thicknesses.

Take control of your marking and coding operations

Coding and marking requires a print controller that puts you in control. Our MPERIA controllers seamlessly integrate with virtually any coding equipment, data file or enterprise system. You can easily manage and control marking at every stage of production. And your production staff only needs to be trained on a single system to start jobs, manage message changeovers, and resolve issues.

With its flexible architecture, MPERIA keeps integration costs down and makes equipment upgrades easy. Unparalleled system performance allows you to expand your marking capability without significant capital expenditures as your production grows. And like our valvejet and inkjet printer technology, it’s built to withstand the harsh manufacturing environments of the rubber and tire industry.