Cardboard boxes are the ideal means for many manufacturers and mail order companies to transport products safely. Cardboard is often used as primary packaging, while corrugated cardboard is mostly used in shipping packaging due to its high stability. The question often arises: what is the best way to mark these materials? Whether for product traceability, shipping or general consumer information: you can print, label or even laser inscribe the packaging. Which process is the right one for your production depends on the respective application and what the labeling requirements are. Are you unsure how to label boxes or are you looking for better solutions for your current product labeling? Talk to the labeling experts at Weber Marking Systems!
Two methods are common for carton marking: labeling or direct marking. The printing of plain text, data matrix codes and barcodes as well as graphics - also in color - is possible with both variants. Likewise, the investment costs for a new system are similar. They differ primarily in terms of print definition, speed, flexibility during operation and the costs incurred for consumables.
Markings on cardboard packaging need to be readable for external partners or customers. The best way to achieve excellent print sharpness is with white labels that are printed in black. The labels also compensate for unevenness in the packaging (e.g. corrugated cardboard) so that the information is still very easy to read.
Labeling with a label printer and dispenser offers the following advantages compared to direct printing:
On the other hand, direct printing using piezo ink printers is significantly cheaper and faster. Although the high absorbency of cardboard slightly reduces the sharpness of the print and a brown background can impair the legibility of the marking, the print quality is absolutely sufficient for many applications. The direct labeling of boxes is used, for example, in internal logistics. The concrete advantages of inkjet printing on cardboard are:
Incidentally, cardboard boxes can also be labeled precisely, with high contrast and at lightning speed using a laser marking.
Laser marking only changes the top layer of the material without penetrating the packaging. Marking lasers are maintenance-free and do not require any consumables. They are also insensitive to dust that can form during cardboard processing.
When serialization became mandatory in 2019, the labeling of pharmaceutical packaging turned into a daily task for the pharmaceutical industry. The high-speed printing systems Markoprint iJet and Markoprint IP-Jet (protected against dust and water jets with IP protection class 65) are particularly suitable for printing machine-readable data matrix codes, graphics and plain text particularly quickly and precisely. Folding boxes can be securely sealed with the Tamper Evident labeling machine, which automatically applies sealing labels across the corner.