Five qualities you need in a small character inkjet printer

Small character printers (also known as continuous inkjet or CIJ printers) are used around the world to print text, codes and logos onto products and packaging. But what should you look for in a small character inkjet printer? What are the qualities that will keep your costs down, your staff happy, and your production line efficient?

S1000 Series Continuous Inkjet Printer

Why a small character inkjet printer needs to be chosen carefully

So you need to buy a small character inkjet printer? One of the first things you will notice is a variety of models and technologies, but it is important to be aware of the key qualities that will make a big difference to batch coding performance.  

1. A machine you can rely on?

While technologies help to prevent the ‘routine’ downtime that is associated with some other printers, it is imperative to avoid unscheduled – and often more serious downtime – when things go wrong. 

At our factory, we oversee the production of every machine and check it diligently before it goes out to a customer. We also manufacture virtually all components in the same factory so we can ensure printers that perform reliably for years. 

2. The need for speed

Production lines are all about speed. Thousands of products need to be marked or coded every hour, so you need an inkjet printer that can keep pace with your production requirements – especially in industries such as cabling and wiring. For these scenarios, you will need a coding machine that is fast enough to keep pace with the rest of your production line. 

3. The ability to use lots of different inks

What kind of ink should be using? It all depends on the surfaces you are printing onto, as well as the intended use of the marks, barcodes and symbols you are applying. You need the characters to be visible, so if you are printing against a dark background, such as black plastics, you need your CIJ printer to work with pigmented inks. If you are printing onto glass bottles, high-adhesion inks may be advised, for example, since the surface is shiny and often carries a layer of moisture through which the ink must adhere. Bottlers may also need washable inks (so old expiry dates can be washed off) and it is even possible to apply invisible printouts with a specialist UV ink.

You should ensure that your machine can handle all necessary inks for different applications.

4. Keep downtime to a minimum

One traditional drawback with continuous inkjet printers is a tendency for the print head to become clogged with dried ink when the production line stops. This means valuable production time is lost because the nozzles have to be cleaned before restarting.

Every Docod character inkjet printer avoids this problem. When printing stops, the print nozzle retracts and forms a closed loop, keeping the ink flowing inside the system and not exposed to the air. The result is no clogging and an immediate restart without cleaning. If you want to get the best possible productivity, this is an important detail to consider. 

5. It should be easy to use and integrate

Small character inkjet printers need to be easy to use – and easy to put into your production line. Manufacturers such as Docod provide an easy-to-use control panel that makes it easy to change the coding that needs to go onto the products. Docod also provides software options that help with the management of multiple CIJ printers, and even allow you and your staff to control printing from a mobile device. 

Docod also offers a series of accessories that make installation easier. From brackets to extensions, they help you to install any industrial inkjet printer where you need it, and enables it to operate in the tightest of spaces.

Want to know more?

Get in touch and find out how Docod can bring you better quality, efficiency and productivity.