BEVERAGE on a production floor means speed, moisture, varied packaging formats, and zero tolerance for downtime. When a line is moving fast, manufacturers can’t afford smudged date codes, inconsistent batch codes, or labels that drift out of position.
Pyrotec PackMark’s coding & labelling technology has complete product identification solutions across coding, labelling, print-and-apply, software and consumables.
Beverage packaging’s unique challenge
Beverage packaging presents challenges that many other industries don’t face with the same intensity. Cold-fill coding and condensation-resistant printing matter when bottles emerge wet from the filling lines. PET bottle marking, glass bottle coding, and can coding each behave differently because substrates and surface conditions affect how inks adhere and how marks remain legible. Add lid coding and cap coding into the mix, along with shrink film and cartons, and it becomes clear that one-size-fits-all solutions don’t cut it.
High-speed production amplifies everything, and at thousands of units per hour, even minor inconsistencies become costly waste. The goal isn’t to “add a date coder.” It’s to build a product identification and traceability flow that remains readable from primary packaging through to cases and pallets.
Primary coding
Primary packaging is what the customer holds (bottles, cans, and containers), so the code must be clean, consistent, and repeatable. Pyrotec PackMark’s Primary Coders & Labellers range includes technologies suited to a variety of beverage formats, including continuous inkjet (CIJ), thermal inkjet (TIJ), thermal transfer overprinters (TTO) and laser options. The CIJ/TIJ printers are incredibly energy-efficient and effective at reducing consumable waste, such as ink and solvents.
For curved surfaces and fast-moving lines (for products such as craft beer and kombucha), CIJ is commonly used for beverage marking and labelling because it enables non-contact printing across a wide range of substrates.
Two examples from the PackMark range include the Markem-Imaje 9750 and 9029 CIJ coders, which are useful for production date coding, time stamp printing, and batch code printing where consistency matters.
For applications that require high-resolution printing without contacting the product, TIJ solutions like the Anser X1 can be a strong fit for date coding on wet bottles and for expiry date printing.
For flexible packaging or film (multipacks, sleeves, wraps), thermal transfer overprinters deliver high-quality printing on films and other flexible materials, ideal for sharper codes on non-rigid surfaces. When durability is non-negotiable, laser coding options are available for permanent marking, depending on substrate and line requirements.
Secondary packaging
Once individual units move into cases, trays, or multipacks, secondary coding becomes the connective tissue for traceability.
This is where lot code printing and batch information link individual products to larger shipment batches. They are perfect for supporting quality checks, warehouse scanning, and (when needed) faster, more targeted recalls.
