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Laser marking

Supply-chain Sleuths Laser-sharp advantages

Laser marking is already a growth industry in the world of packaging. It has the capability to mark items as diverse as automotive and aerospace parts as well as the common carton. That’s enough to make laser-marking a major contender in the future when it comes to marking packaging..

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Sustainability and traceability are two of the most important considerations in supply chain logistics today. Whilst both are typically looked at as big-picture subjects, their implementation and success are all about the smallest of details, especially in packaging. For example, if you want to permanently mark an individual item without consuming a consumable. Then that’s the purest form of traceability and sustainability.

Bar-coded labels utilise two consumables, namely label stock and ink. However, these can be removed from packaging if someone’s got the time and a reason to do it. There’s also the matter of common label abrasion during shipment. So, you’ve then got two strikes against optimum traceability and sustainability. Ink jet coding data directly on an item ranging from a carton to a bottle of water, somewhat changes the consumable equation. The label may be gone, but the ink is still a consumable, and it too can be removed with a simple alcohol wipe.

By contrast, there are no consumables in laser marking. No inks. No labels. In fact, even the carbon dioxide consumable originally needed for laser coding is now history. What’s more, the carbon dioxide lasers used today are completely sealed and have a life of at least five to seven years. That’s about as small a consumable footprint as you can have, which is quite impressive. Better yet, laser markings are entirely permanent. They are engraved in the surface of the item. And that is a huge bonus for laser marking, especially for automotive and aerospace parts. Additionally, DataMatrix bar codes are commonly laser-engraved into those parts ensuring permanent identifiers on elements in industries with increasingly stringent traceability requirements.

When it comes to the common carton, it at an earlier stage of development. Whilst it’s easy to laser mark a carton, it is not very legible unless it appears in a high-contrast box or field.

While the trajectory of laser is not as clear as the markings it makes, the technology is certainly making advances. Consumer and legislative demands for increased traceability and sustainability are sure to give laser-marking a major boost going forward.

“ the carbon dioxide lasers used today are completely sealed and have a life of at least five to seven years ”

Extracts from an article by courtesy of David Holliday, director of product marketing at ID Technology.

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