You always want to make an educated decision, especially when it comes to your business. While there are numerous areas of your business you can better educate yourself on, looking into the industrial aspects of marking and coding might just be beneficial. If you already have printing in your manufacturing or production line and want to make sure you are going about it in the most efficient and successful way, or if you are looking to stop outsourcing and bring this aspect of the business back in-house, you have come to the right place. Here are some inkjet printing basics—specifically continuous inkjet (CIJ) vs. thermal inkjet (TIJ) — to better educate you on the topic.
To cut to the chase, CIJ printers print at a much greater speed than TIJ printers. This may be the case, but with recent upgrades, TIJ printers are able to compete in the vast majority of industrial inkjet coding applications. While many CIJ printers are ultimately faster, some TIJ printers can now print over 100m per minute or three prints per second.
TIJ always wins this category when comparing the two devices. They require no servicing at all and very minimal cleaning. You’ll likely be able to fix just about any problem that occurs by switching to a new ink cartridge. This is not the case for CIJ printers at all. CIJ printers are far more complicated and require frequent cleaning and regular maintenance by trained professionals - increasing your cost of ownership.
What it really boils down to is how easy the printer is for your employees to use. Due to the complexity of the CIJ printer, you must get your employees proper training for them to be able to operate and use this device, or sign up for an annual service contract (again increasing your cost of ownership). TIJ printers are the complete opposite—not only are they simpler machines altogether, but they also are extremely easy for individuals to use. You don’t need training, and truthfully, it is even easy to install and begin overall operation for this product.
When comparing the price of the two inkjet coding technologies, TIJ is the most affordable choice for most manufacturers after gathering all the costs involved with the purchase and ownership of the device. TIJ printers require a fraction of the up front investment, do not need any service contracts, and practically no maintenance. CIJ printers, however, require capital expenditures and deal with an array of hidden costs including service issues that may require a service contract and maintenance calls, which ultimately cost even more money over the life of the machine.
After taking a closer look at the inkjet printing basics: CIJ vs. TIJ, it allows you to see the comparison of the two, which hopefully directs you to make the most educated decision for you and your business. If you see at the end of this that TIJ is the way to go, you are just in luck! Here at Sneed Coding, we have numerous options available for you—from handheld inkjet printers to industrial inkjet printers—that will be the perfect addition to your production process! Call or visit our website today to learn how we #KeepCodingSimple!!