The code is required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and allows for tracking of the container throughout its life cycle.
“Laser coding requires no ink and has far lower running costs compared to ink-jet printers,” says Jeremy Biltz, efficiency consultant at Excelda. Since switching from ink-jet coders to laser coding, he adds, “we save up to 50 percent on overall coding costs.”
In use for about a year now at Excelda’s Brighton, MI, plant are two SmartLase™ laser coders from Markem Corp. (Keene, NH). These machines produce a code by removing a thin layer of ink from the screen-printed plastic bottles. Each SmartLase unit weighs just 22 lb and easily adjusts to accommodate line speeds of 15 to 90’/min.
“They’re very compact,” says Biltz, “and easy to wheel up to any of our lines.” He also appreciates the quality and legibility of the code he now gets. (PR)
