Food & Beverage Packaging
Batch Coding Solutions for Food & Beverage Packaging
In high-speed food and beverage packaging environments where either secondary or primary packaging coding and marking is required, it is essential for you to have a batch coding solution that enables you to print virtually anywhere on your package, in any orientation, and onto a wide range of substrates.
Our range of food-grade printers offer easy integration onto your existing lines, the setup of codes is intuitive, and our team of expert engineers are on hand to have you ready to go in no time at all. Support for a full range of code formats including text, variable dates, and quality graphics and logos, maximises the coding options for contract packers who need to meet their customers’ stringent packaging printing requirements.
Not only do we provide the machines which enable you to print, but we also have decades of experience designing and manufacturing high-quality inks and consumables to keep you going indefinitely, with a wide range of inks suitable for any application.
Bakeries and other baked goods manufacturing facilities utilise our coding technology to mark their products with essential information such as expiration dates, batch numbers, and ingredients. This ensures that products remain fresh and safe for consumption, while also facilitating efficient recalls if necessary.
Needham coding technology assists in optimising inventory management by enabling better traceability and reducing waste through accurate stock rotation. Moreover, it aids in meeting regulatory requirements for labelling, allergen information, and nutrition facts, allowing consumers to make informed choices.
To stay ahead in this dynamic industry, consider implementing the latest Needham coding technology solutions to streamline your operations and ensure your baked goods meet the highest standards of quality and safety.
High-quality printing solutions are always needed, whether marking on cartons in a dry, dusty environment or bagging in a damp, chilly packaging line. At Needham Coding, we understand that all food packaging is different, hence why we have a range of solutions.
Our products can mark on various food packaging materials including:
- Liquid containers
- Flexible plastics
- Metal cans
- Rigid plastic containers
- Shrink and stretch wrap
- Paperboard cartons, trays and tubs
Dairy producers face challenges in their packaging processes due to limited shelf life of their products and the need for cleanliness. Complexity is further raised by adding product flavours, altering the packaging design and increasing production change overs.
For egg producers the main focus is on food safety. At Needham Ink, we not only provide reliable and high print quality printers but we also provide food grade ink, which is safe to consume and the perfect option to print expiry and traceability data.
Needham coding is a great solution for coding, labelling, marking and packaging in the dairy industry by maximising the planned production time. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help your business increase productivity and reduce maintenance costs.
Facilities that package fruits and vegetables face some of the most difficult and diverse manufacturing environments, with extremes in temperature and humidity as well as moisture and dust.
At Needham Coding, we offer a range of solutions to mark and batch code on fruit and vegetable packaging, even in the most difficult environments.
New safety and traceability legislations are now required on all meat and poultry packaging. Coding and marking for meat packaging is important since it delivers valuable traceability information, such as the source of the meat and processing locations.
At Needham Coding we offer the best mix of knowledge, technology and service options for businesses. Contact us today to upgrade your coding systems and improve productivity.
Examples of food and beverage coding applications
Drinks bottles and cans
Dairy bottles and cartons
Retail Ready Packaging (RPP)
Meat Packaging
Ready Meals
Health Marks printed directly onto food such as egg, meat and cheese
Which Technology Do You Need?
Continuous Ink Jet (CIJ) works well for a range of materials – from paper and card to plastic and packaging films. The use of a microscopic nozzle and an adjustable ultrasonic vibration mechanism makes the inkjet droplets in a CIJ system very small. This makes CIJ technology an excellent choice for printing high-resolution designs. Small droplets also mean that they dry practically as soon as they hit the printing surface, offering speed as well as quality.
With all the benefits of CIJ printing, it has mostly been used in industrial applications where time is money and quality are a priority. The expiration dates found in most food products are some of the most common examples of CIJ printing. Whether the food packaging is made of paper, plastic, or glass, CIJ printing can be relied on to print these codes and marks clearly and accurately.
Thermal Ink Jet (TIJ) is a great option when coding for primary and secondary packaging and offers high quality and clean alternative to roller coders and valvejet systems. TIJ offers high speed and high resolution, and the technology works with a wide variety of substrates. The hundreds of nozzles within each print head mean that TIJ can apply alphanumeric text (true-type fonts), graphics, logos, QR codes, 2D data matrix codes and more.
While CIJ printers typically print in a dot pattern, TIJ is able to offer high resolution up to 600 x 600 dpi, able to offer results similar to those of a desktop inkjet printer. TIJ systems are modular so all components can be swapped out individually if necessary. There is no expensive umbilical – just a printhead cable that quickly disconnects. For smaller industrial outputs, TIJ is a great low-cost, low-maintenance option.
Our Solutions
Our own N-SERIES Continuous Inkjet printer range is available in a variety of configurations. The N32FG is our Food Grade CIJ Printer, with similar specs as the standard N32 model, but specifically designed for printing with food-grade inks.
N-SERIES Food Grade industrial inkjet printers are compatible with FDA, EU and other compliant inks and are capable of printing directly onto food products, ideal for egg coding, fruit & vegetables or permeable food packaging. Complimented by a diverse range of Food Grade Inks, including self disinfecting ink formulations to enable food products to be printed directly with fast drying, edible red or blue ink.
Please get in touch with us today to find out more about our Food Grade printers.