Timbermark’s inkjet system for 4-way pallet production lines has been approved by EPAL for printing Europallets.
The announcement, made at the recent Fachpack trade show in Nuremberg, marks the culmination of a nine-month development for Timbermark, in partnership with the inkjet manufacturer, Yeacode. The result is a system that is easily installed on a branding conveyor and delivers a consistently dark print that is light-fast, indelible, and waterproof. The quality is fine enough to print machine-readable QR codes, enabling serialisation, using data supplied from EPAL.
The Yeacode inkjet system is best-in-class. It features a 30 kHz print head and integral 500W UV-curing LED, activated from the printer controller. Additional features include heated print heads and ink system, meaning the system runs well in cold conditions.
The Timbermark system has been designed to solve the traditional problems associated with inkjet, such as inconsistent pallet feed rates, and the variable positioning of the pallet in its guide.
The system is controlled by a PC message switching app, so that printing each block is a separate cycle. Other inkjet systems treat the pallet as one product, meaning the print on the second or third blocks can be inconsistently positioned.”
The print heads and UV LEDs are positioned on a floating guide, so that the skid follows the contour of the pallet and gives a consistent “throw distance” and so eliminates the possibility of fuzzy printing.
These two features combined guarantee a flawless, high-quality print on each block, pallet after pallet.
Printing the machine-readable code is a new specification from EPAL in 2024.
Only high-resolution printers can deliver the definition to be able to reproduce these codes, and Timbermark’s system with UV-cured ink means a scannable QR code can be printed on a wooden pallet block, even if the block is not entirely dry.
The accreditation opens up a new option for EPAL licensees, who are looking to meet the new specification criteria. For the future, Timbermark is developing the software that can scan QR codes, validate the Europallet, and return the data to the EPAL server, and is actively seeking customers who wish to work together to prove this part of the system.
