Certified inkjet printer for egg carton codes
Since 2004, there has been an EU-wide labeling requirement for eggs. The regulation stipulates that eggs sold in retail outlets within the European Union must bear specific information (with the exception of eggs sold directly at the farm). Weber Marking Systems and MOBA—the world’s leading manufacturer of machines for sorting, packing, and processing eggs—have jointly developed the perfect solution for industrial egg labeling.
Required information on eggs and eggs packaging
In the European Union, all Class A hen eggs sold at retail level must be individually marked with a mandatory producer code, which provides information about the farming method, country of origin, and the specific farm.
On the egg packaging (usually egg cartons or egg boxes), the following data are typically included to provide traceability and to inform consumers about the product:
- Egg grade (AA, A, B)
- Egg size (S-XL)
- Number of eggs
- Name and address of the producer, packager or merchant
- Production method
- Date of production
- Pack date
- Best-before date
- Sell-by date
- Plant number
- Explanation of the producer code
Egg carton label printing with Markoprint inkjet technology
Marking systems used in the egg industry have to meet high standards in terms of speed, precision, reliability, productivity and efficiency. All of this is fulfilled by our industrial inkjet printers. On top of that, MOBA B.V. certified our thermal inkjet printer Markoprint X1JET HP to be fully integrable into their egg packing machines. Even the included inkjet software is compatible with MOBA protocol.
In summary, our Markoprint X1JET HP inkjet printer offers the following advantages for egg carton labelling:
- Easy integration into egg packing machines
- Compatible with different software protocols
- High resolution print images (up to 600 dpi)
- Extreme high speed of up to 180 meters per minute
- Maximum printing height of 12,5 mm
- SmartCard technology for automatic ink fill monitoring and setting of print parameters according to used ink
- Several interfaces from USB, Ethernet and EIA232 to WiFi (for wireless and mobile access)
A special X1JET firmware was developed to transfer print data, print speed and print start from the MOBA interface software. Key benefits of this solution are the precise data packet transfer, the automatic layout switch and speed adjustment. All print job settings can be made directly via iDesign. The combination of Markoprint X1JET and MOBA systems is a practical all-in-one solution!
