Construction products

The marking is part of the product declaration

Construction products covered by a harmonised standard carry CE marking under Regulation (EU) No 305/2011. In practice the identification on the product — type, batch, production date, plant reference — is what connects a physical item back to its declaration of performance.

That mark has to be there when the product is delivered, when it is installed, and often when it is inspected years later. It is applied in a factory that is dusty, and it lives outdoors.

The production reality

Concrete products are usually marked while green: damp, alkaline, and rough. Timber and board are porous and uneven. Plastic pipe is smooth and often warm from extrusion. These are three different ink problems in the same category.

The products are also big. Marking happens at slow line speed but over a wide area, and the code needs to be tall enough to read across a yard.

What usually fits

Large-character drop-on-demand systems handle the size and tolerate the uneven surface, with a working distance measured in centimetres rather than millimetres.

Where a single controller has to serve several marking points, or where the code needs to be taller than one printhead allows, a modular multi-head system is the more sensible structure than several independent printers.

For products already stacked or in place, a handheld printer removes the fixed station entirely.

Worth checking

Green concrete or cured? The ink is not the same.

How tall does the character need to be at your normal reading distance?

How many marking positions, and can one controller serve them all?

Related: wood and building materials covers the surfaces in more detail.