Carton and outer packaging

What makes outer packaging different

The code on a case is not read by a consumer. It is read by a forklift driver in a badly lit aisle, by a scanner on a sorter, or by a warehouse worker at three metres. That means large characters, and large characters mean a different technology than the one you use on the primary pack.

Cardboard is absorbent, which helps — ink soaks in and dries fast. But it is also dusty, and brown kraft gives poor contrast with anything except black.

The other constraint is position. Cases are marked on the side, sometimes on two sides, sometimes on the top as well. The number of print positions decides whether you need one printhead or several.

What fits

Drop-on-demand large-character systems are built for this. They fire from individually controlled nozzles and produce characters from a few millimetres up to well over a hundred, which is what a warehouse code needs.

For a single marking point on a slow to medium line, a compact DOD printer is enough. Where you need several positions on the line, or characters taller than a single printhead can produce, a modular system with one controller and multiple heads is the better structure — heads can be placed at different points and stacked to increase print height.

Where the case carries a barcode or a logo rather than plain text, high-resolution printing is the answer instead.

What to decide before you buy

How many positions on the case need marking, and are they on the same face?

How tall does the code need to be for the reading distance in your warehouse?

Is it text only, or does it include a barcode or logo? That single answer moves you between two different technologies.

Related: wood and building materials share the same large-character requirement.