In 2020, many food industries are affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, and production lines are forced to stagnate for a period of time. After the resumption of work, a large amount of production demand makes workshop equipment must operate for a long time. Even if the equipment is meticulously maintained on weekdays, there are still many machines that are overwhelmed and “forced to strike”.
The most troublesome thing is that the inkjet printer malfunctions, the product is already packaged and ready, but the production date is not marked, and the product can only stay in the workshop honestly. A malfunction of the inkjet printer will greatly reduce the efficiency of the production line. If the equipment problem cannot be solved immediately, there will be a risk of backlog of goods and overdue delivery.
So how can we effectively prevent frequent failures of the coding system? The answer is to use more stable coding equipment, such as laser coding equipment.
What is so good about laser coding equipment? Why is it stable? Does it have any advantages besides good stability? Which one is better, inkjet printer or laser coding printer?
Here is an introduction to the advantages and disadvantages of laser code printers and inkjet printers, and see which equipment is more suitable for food industry production.
What is a laser code printer?
Since the late 1980s, with the development of laser marking technology, a “CO2 RF laser” with light volume, simple control, stable operation (with trouble-free working time up to 20,000 hours) and excellent beam quality, has successfully entered the commercialization stage, and is soon applied to the field of marking and engraving of high-speed flow products on the production line.
By the late 1990s, in some developed countries, high-speed online laser marking system has been widely used in the production lines of electronic components, automobiles, food, daily chemicals, communication equipment and other products. And with its incomparable advantages such as pollution-free, no consumables, low failure, and anti-counterfeiting, it replaces ink printers (inkjet printers) on a large scale. Laser code printer is also called laser coding machine or laser marking machine in some areas.
Are laser code printer and laser marking machine the same? What is the difference?
Laser code printers and laser marking machines have different meanings due to their different titles. In most cases, laser code printers and laser marking machines refer to the same marking equipment. Generally speaking, Laser marking machine is a laser machine that can only mark statically, while laser code printers often refer to online laser marking machines. What are the specific differences between them?
1. Software
When the laser code printer is flying coding, faster speed is required, then professional laser coding software is necessary. The general marking software on the market is very good for static printing, but the speed is not good for online flying marking. Because at the beginning of the software design, it was developed in accordance with static marking.
The analysis of static marking software is based on one segment, while the laser coding software analyzes the coding based on each word. If the customer requires the coding content to be two lines of characters:
the first line – the production date: 20200615;
the second line – the expiration date: 20210320;
When the speed is 60 meters per minute, it cannot be achieved with ordinary marking boards on the market. It is easy to achieve with special laser coding software with the features of fast speed.
2. Galvanometer
Laser coding has very high requirements on the galvanometer. The galvanometer speed is generally more than 5000 times per second or more. Static marking does not have high requirements on the galvanometer. The marking speed is generally hundreds of times per second. When the engraving depth is required, the speed can be lower.
3. Appearance design
The customer’s application of laser code printers is generally on high-speed assembly lines. The laser printers require small footprint and easy integration. Laser marking machines are designed according to traditional mechanical equipment, and they are generally relatively large in size.
In summary, the laser code printer should have: software analysis response speed, fast galvanometer speed, small size, easy to integrate. When you are hesitant to know which equipment to choose, you may as well consult Linxuan Laser.
What are the advantages of laser code machine? Laser code printer VS Inkjet printer
1. Performance
The anti-counterfeiting effect of laser printers is 20% higher than inkjet printers
The information printed by the laser code machine is directly marked on the surface of the product. The marking can be either a scribe or a dot matrix. The marking has a unique visual effect, the marking is clear and permanent, and cannot be erased or changed. The anti-counterfeiting effect is obvious.
The marking effect of the ink jet printer is clear, easy to erase and change. Traditional inkjet equipment has limited anti-counterfeiting effect, and the new invisible ink has better anti-counterfeiting effect and good concealment.
The working condition of the laser printer is better
Laser code machine adopts online high-speed non-stop laser marking, high production efficiency, and can work in both static and high-speed flow conditions of the production line.
Inkjet printer can only mark when the product is in motion, and the production efficiency is high. There may be ink clogging of the nozzles, which affects production.
Laser printers are more flexible
Laser code printer can mark serial codes, batch numbers, barcodes, QR codes, logos and patterns. The number of information printing lines and font size are not limited, but they will be affected by the material.
Inkjet printer can print bar codes, batch numbers and simple patterns, etc. The number of printing lines and font size are limited, and the application and adaptability are good.
The stability of the laser printer is much higher
The laser code printer has stable and reliable performance and can work continuously all day long without maintenance. Minimal maintenance provides the longest stable operation time and is less affected by the environment.
The performance of the inkjet printer is basically stable, and the failure rate is relatively high. The nozzle will be blocked due to changes in ambient temperature and dust. The maintenance and cleaning workload is large, and it is greatly affected by the environment.
2. Operation and installation
Laser code printer software system is more intelligent and comprehensive
Intuitive Windows software (Windows) for laser code machine has high display interface resolution and clear images, making the creation and editing of printed information convenient and quick.
The inkjet printer has a simple display interface and low resolution, and can only perform simple editing processing on the printed information.
The laser code machine is smaller and more applicable
The laser code printer has a simple and lightweight chassis, and the smallest and lightest laser print head can be directly installed on the production line, suitable for any production space.
Inkjet printers have large and small volumes, and some models need to be connected to external equipment such as air compressors.
3. Cost
The initial cost of laser printers is slightly higher than inkjet printers
The laser code printer machine has a higher price for one-time purchase.
The one-time purchase price of inkjet printers is relatively low.
The operating cost of laser printers is much lower than inkjet printers
The operating cost of the laser code printer equipment is extremely low, and no unplanned shutdown of production is avoided. The equipment can be operated without maintenance for a long time.
The inkjet printer consumes a large amount of special inks and solvents. The cost of replacing sprinklers, pumps and other accessories is high.
4. The data processing capacity of laser printers is 40% higher than inkjet printers
The laser printer control host directly uses an industrial control computer, which has powerful data transmission and processing capabilities, and can be connected to all anti-counterfeiting data systems to meet multi-level anti-counterfeiting needs.
The ink jet printer is controlled by a single-chip microcomputer, with limited data processing capabilities and few anti-counterfeiting functions.
5. laser code printers are more environmentally friendly and safer
The laser marking machine does not produce any substances harmful to the environment and the human body, and produces surface scratches on the objects to be printed. It is an environmentally friendly high-tech product. It has been widely used in food and medicine production. Comply with GB7247-87; GB10320-88 standards. However, laser engraving will produce smoke, which can generally be handled by a smoke purifier.
The inks and solvents of inkjet printers are highly volatile substances, which will produce more chemical toxic residues and pollute the environment. The chemical composition and odor of ink and solvent may penetrate into the marked object.
It can be seen that, compared with inkjet printers, laser code printer equipment have lower maintenance rates, faster printing speeds, simpler and faster operations, more mature encoding technologies, and more suitable for diverse production lines. Laser code printers will become a major trend in the future. In this situation, manufacturers using inkjet printers must accelerate technological reforms and keep up with laser marking technological development.
