The production, processing, and packaging of food and drink is one of the most important industries in the world. Without it supermarket shelves would be empty, or the food we purchase would be poorer quality and would not last as long.
There are many stages to these production lines, from the cleaning of fruit and vegetables to the shipping and logistics that gets them to our local shops.
At multiple points during production, printers are used. Today we’re going to talk about when this is, why it’s important, and which type of printer is best for your production line.
Expiry Date Printing
Every food or drink product has an expiry date, so we know when they will no longer be fresh or taste the way we expect. Printing these dates is required by law, if you don’t your products will never make it to store shelves.
These dates can be printed directly onto the product’s container, usually the necks of bottles or base of cartons where they can be seen clearly and read at a glance. If you’re choosing to do this, it’s important that the date isn’t a similar colour to the background and is in stark contrast. This isn’t always possible, which is why many products have their dates printed onto the exterior packaging.
Bottles, for example, have plastic or paper labels wrapped around them that can be easily removed for recycling purposes. These labels have a small section for printing the use by dates onto, with a white background so the black ink will always show up. As long as the label has a good adhesive, so it doesn’t fall off on its own, this is the perfect way to display the important information consumers need to see.
This isn’t the only date you need to print either. Many products also have ‘display by’ dates. These are so perishable products are removed from store shelves after a certain time and wouldn’t be at risk of expiring a day or two after purchase. In supermarkets products are being swapped and replaced all the time, and these dates make the process much easier to manage.
Handheld label printers can be used in warehouses and storage facilities to mark boxes so that staff know when to unpack them and move them to the shop floor. To find out more about these machines, check out our label printers for warehouses blog from a couple of weeks ago!
How Date Printing Works
So now we know what these dates are for, but how are expiry dates printed?
Date printing uses inkjet printers. A rubber stamp coated in ink prints the dates onto each label or product, at a rapid pace on a production line. The dates themselves are programmed beforehand and adjusted for each batch when necessary. Like most factory machinery, this makes the job much faster than doing it by hand and guarantees accuracy as long as the machine is monitored by a professional.
One issue with industrial inkjet printers is that, if there is an error, large batches of products can be printed with the incorrect information. When you’re used to a large output each day, pausing production to fix the issue has a noticeable impact. But modern factory printers are more reliable than ever, so they shouldn’t let you down if you know how to use them to their full potential.
This is one of the few cases where thermal printers aren’t a suitable alternative to inkjet counterparts. Thermal date printers aren’t able to keep up with the high demand of a production line, and although their lower running costs may look tempting, the overall quality won’t be the standard you need.
However, that doesn’t mean that thermal printers don’t have an important role to play for the food and beverage industry.
Thermal Label Printers for Food and Beverage Suppliers
Not all printing a food and beverage company does happens on the factory floor. With logistics, storage, and a lot of administrative tasks to do, thermal printers become essential.
The offices either on-site or in a different location are hives of activity, and there is a lot of printing involved. First there are the standard office printers, creating copies, scanning documents, and printing new ones. These can be either thermal or inkjet, but the latter is preferred because of their added versatility.
You might also use a receipt printer for your records or to give to clients. Thermal receipt printers are compact, meaning they can be kept on a desk or tucked away until they’re needed.
You’ll also use thermal printers for shipping too. These machines can print shipping labels onto adhesive materials, so they can be attached to boxes and other packaging ready for transport. One of the downsides of thermal stickers is that they fade faster than inkjet, but if they’re only being used for a few days on the road, they’re perfect for the job.
Using inkjet printers for shipping labels isn’t ideal as the ink can smudge, potentially preventing items from reaching their destination. A few drops of rain can ruin an inkjet’s work but not labels from a thermal printer.
There’s also the cost to consider. Inkjet printers have a lower upfront cost but are very expensive to run if you need them a lot. This is because the ink cartridges need to be purchased and replaced regularly, a cost that adds up, and the task of replacing them can take up a lot of time as well. Thermal printers, apart from the occasional service, don’t need any peripherals, so will work for as well as you need them, provided they’re maintained properly.
The Best Printers for the Food and Beverage Industry
There are a number of applications for printers in the food and beverages industry. They range from essential parts of the production line to machines that help to streamline your admin tasks.
Whatever machines you need, it’s important that they’re well maintained. If any suddenly let you down, or you see a drop in performance, you need to organise servicing and maintenance from Label Line.
We work with all types of printers, from leading brands to the more obscure or specialist models. We’ll inspect your machine, identify any faults or wear, fetch replacement parts from our warehouse and get you back up and running as soon as possible. We’ll even give your machine a thorough clean, so it continues to work at its best.