Industrial printing solutions that are highly popular are continuous inkjet (CIJ) printers. Barcodes, lot numbers, expiration dates, and other necessary marks may be directly printed onto items using CIJ printers. They do this by using a contactless printing technique that enables continuous printing on substrates with and without pores, regardless of how flat or curved the surfaces are.
Read More: continuous inkjet printer suppliers
Let’s examine each in more detail to see how well a CIJ printer may work for your company.
The benefits of CIJ Printing
The continuous circulation method used by CIJ printers has several advantages for industrial applications. Above all, CIJ printers provide:
Quick Printing
The primary function of the continuous inkjet system is to produce a pressured, never-ending stream of ink. Compared to many other printers, CIJ machines are able to print on substrates more quickly. For instance, thermal inkjet (TIJ) printers are often limited to applying codes at a speed of around 300 feet per minute, but the typical CIJ printer can apply codes on objects moving at a speed of 1,000 feet per minute. Even though some TIJ printers are just as quick as CIJ printers, they are not meant to print continuously, 24/7, as CIJ printers are.
Reliable Round-the-Clock Operation
The most common uses for CIJ printers are to print lot codes, batch numbers, and expiration dates on products. These guarantee tracking, guard against forgeries, and are frequently needed by supply chains. Retailers may punish manufacturers for failing to apply codes that are easily readable, and manufacturers may even be in breach of federal and/or state laws. Companies need to make sure that appropriate labeling complies with government laws and merchant specifications in order to prevent these problems. CIJ printers are able to produce readable codes with consistency, even while operating at high speeds and continuously.
Easy Upkeep
Because CIJ printers have few moving components, basic maintenance may easily prevent the majority of typical issues. Repair and maintenance are also made easier.
Sincerity
Continuous inkjet printers are immune to environmental conditions that might create problems for other printers because of the way they are built and operate. Unlike many other printers, CIJ printers do not heat the ink, which increases their resistance to greater production temperatures. Operating temperatures for many CIJ printers vary from 40 to 100+° F. CIJ products, such as the DuraCode, are constructed from IP55-rated modular stainless steel, which shields them from additional environmental elements including humidity and dust.
A Variety of Ink Options
Because CIJ printers work with a broad range of inks, they may be used on a variety of surfaces, both porous and non-porous. CIJ printers are capable of printing on both flat and curved surfaces thanks to their contact-free printing technology. CIJ printers can thus print on a range of substrates.
Problems with CIJ Printing
Despite the many advantages that CIJ printers provide, there are several disadvantages to using and maintaining them. The features of a CIJ that offer advantages also carry the greatest drawbacks, as with most other industrial equipment. These negatives include:
Sizeable Physical Area
Because CIJ printers are bigger than TIJ printers, it is more difficult to accommodate them in smaller industrial locations.
Decreased Clarity
CIJ printers work best in marking applications where the codes can be read by the human eye; they are less suitable for machine-scannable codes.
Moderate Initial Expense
Initially, CIJ printers might be more challenging to invest in than TIJ printers due to their higher cost. Nevertheless, their initial cost is still lower than that of laser marking systems.
Typical Uses for CIJ Printing Systems
These benefits and drawbacks are presented to help determine which applications are the greatest fits for CIJ systems, not to judge them as good or bad. Applications that require printing legible, tiny alphanumeric codes in high quantities are generally printed using CIJ printing devices. Additionally, they can print a limited range of machine-scannable codes, such as barcodes and QR codes, but in order to enhance the resolution, they must print at slower speeds.
Lower Line
Numerous industrial marking applications benefit from the precise, dependable, and consistent output of CIJ printers. They have an advantage over other printing options in this situation due to their ability to operate around the clock, which makes them an ideal choice for big volume operations.
They lack the print height necessary to print huge pictures, and they do not print at a high enough resolution to produce tiny machine-scannable codes like data matrix codes. Markings produced by most CIJ printers are limited to ¾ of an inch in height.