Complete TIJ Printing Applications for Manufacturing, Logistics, E-Commerce and Specialty Industries

TIJ (Thermal Inkjet) is a non-contact printing technology that uses heat-generated bubbles to fire ink onto a surface. It prints batch codes, expiry dates, serial numbers, barcodes and 2D codes.

The same technology appears on a PCB line in an electronics plant, on a carton conveyor in a distribution centre, and on foil pouches at a cosmetic contract manufacturer.

Machine architecture is only part of what separates one application from another. Four variables determine suitability: substrate, line speed, environment and code specification.

This article organises real TIJ applications into three domains and fifteen production scenarios, covering the printing conditions each one presents and how ink selection follows from them. For the underlying technology, see our introduction to TIJ thermal inkjet printing.

Three Domains That Drive Industrial Coding Demand

From a procurement perspective, industrial coding demand falls into three domains, each with a different driver:

• Manufacturing: the driver is traceability. Parts must be traceable back to a batch, a line and a supplier. Codes are small and dense, and they have to stay readable after downstream processing, oil exposure and abrasion.
• Logistics and e-commerce: the driver is scanning performance. Codes on cartons and pallets are read by automated equipment on fast conveyor lines, so symbol dimensions are governed by barcode standards and the tolerance for error is small.
• Specialty industries: the drivers are difficult substrates, appearance and security requirements. Glass bottles, foil pouches, PE bottles and woven sacks each present their own adhesion problem. On top of that, some products cannot tolerate a code that disrupts the packaging visual, and some sectors require covert security features or supporting regulatory documentation.

All three share one thing: coding is rarely the main event on a production line, yet it is one of the most common points of failure. Smeared codes, failed scans, codes wiped off by oil, and downtime at every changeover all hit shipping directly.

What Materials Can TIJ Print On?

TIJ prints on both porous and non-porous materials. The ink formulation primarily determines substrate compatibility, though printhead conditions, throw distance (the gap between the printhead and the substrate surface) and equipment parameters also limit what is feasible. Choose the wrong ink and no amount of equipment quality will make the code hold.

• Porous materials (cartons, paper, wood): absorption dominates, and the ink anchors as it soaks into the fibre.
• Non-porous materials (plastics, metal, glass, foil): the surface does not absorb, so the ink film relies on wetting, evaporation of water or solvent, and resin components remaining on the surface.
  
  

The table lists characteristics that formulations in each class commonly target, not inherent properties of the class. Two things to keep in mind when reading it:

• Datasheet figures are a comparison baseline: drying time, water and scuff resistance and decap time all vary with model, substrate, temperature, humidity and equipment conditions. Verify with a trial print on your actual packaging material before committing.
• Printable does not mean compliant: printing on the outside of food packaging and printing directly onto an edible surface are two different cases. Both are governed by food-contact regulations that differ by market, and compliance has to be confirmed per ink model and per use condition.

In practice, the materials that cause trouble are the ones sitting between the two categories. Poly-coated cartons, varnished cartons and moisture-barrier woven sacks look like paper but have had their absorbency sealed off by the coating, so they need to be evaluated as non-porous.

When we help customers with selection, we usually ask them to send a small piece of the actual packaging material for a trial print. The surface treatment behind the same product name can differ more between suppliers than people expect.

Manufacturing: TIJ Printing for Product and Component Traceability

Manufacturing shares a common set of conditions: codes are small, information density is high, and downstream processing is demanding. After coding, parts still face handling, washing, assembly or high-temperature steps, and the code has to survive until shipment.

High-Resolution ID Code Printing on PCB Boards for Electronics Manufacturers

Component layout, solder mask zones and available board space all constrain the printable area on a PCB. Within that limited area you may need a board number, a batch code, an orientation mark and sometimes a 2D code. Three things to confirm first:

• Surface zoning: solder mask, silkscreen and exposed copper differ in surface energy, a surface property that governs how ink wets and adheres. A print position that crosses zones will give inconsistent adhesion.
• Downstream processing: if the code passes through a reflow oven or a wash line, check how the ink holds up at that temperature and with that cleaning agent. There is no general rule here, only small-batch validation with your actual boards and actual process parameters.
• Code verification: general 2D symbols are graded to ISO/IEC 15415:2024. Codes printed directly onto the board surface are direct part marks, which can be graded under ISO/IEC 29158:2025 for grading that correlates better with real scanning performance. Do not rely on visual inspection alone.
  
  

For the full treatment of this application, including how to handle surface zoning and the code verification workflow, see High-Resolution TIJ ID Code Printing on PCB Boards for Electronics Manufacturers.

High-Speed Batch Coding on Small-Pack Hardware and Fastener Packaging

Screws, nuts and fasteners come in small pack units, and on a high-speed packaging line the gaps between packs are short and the cycle is tight. Beyond ink compatibility, these lines tend to get stuck on trigger timing and changeover efficiency:

• Trigger timing: with short gaps between packs, any sensor detection error or print delay that is not properly tuned will shift the code or miss packs entirely.
• Mixed packaging materials: the same line may switch between card, blister and PE bags across batches, and the ink type has to follow.
• Changeover time: a cartridge-based TIJ system that swaps ink types by swapping the cartridge saves time compared with technologies that require line flushing.
  
  

ESD-Safe Serial Number Coding on Electronic Component Trays and Anti-Static Bags

Anti-static bags and component trays package ESD-sensitive items. TIJ is a non-contact process, so the printhead never touches the packaging surface. Non-contact does not mean the equipment meets the requirements of an ESD Protected Area (EPA). Evaluate on three levels:

• Equipment and floor: grounding, insulating components, cable routing and personnel procedures all belong in the overall ESD control programme, assessed under IEC 61340-5-1.
• The packaging itself: protective performance, classification and test methods fall under IEC 61340-5-3, and surface resistance and shielding data should come from the packaging supplier. TIJ inks used for identification and traceability should not be treated as ESD protective materials. The exception is a conductive or antistatic formulation specifically designed and verified for surface resistance or conductivity. If the printed packaging still has to qualify as protective packaging, re-confirm its performance against that standard.
• The printing side: confirm whether the ink film alters the original surface characteristics of the packaging, and whether ink odour and evaporation are acceptable in a cleanroom or semi-cleanroom environment.
  
  

Oil- and Abrasion-Resistant Traceability Code Printing on Automotive Metal Parts

Automotive supply chains generally carry long-term traceability requirements, and individual OEMs set their own identification specifications. The code is often printed directly on the metal part rather than on outer packaging. Three points:

• Ink selection: metal is a non-porous substrate, and solvent-based TIJ is usually the first option to evaluate. The final choice still depends on surface energy, any coating or pre-treatment, and the actual oil and abrasion resistance required.
• Pre-treatment: residual machining oil and rust preventive on the surface will stop the ink from anchoring, so position the print station after degreasing or washing.
• End-of-line verification: three grading standards apply — ISO/IEC 15416:2025 for linear barcodes; ISO/IEC 15415:2024 for 2D symbols; ISO/IEC 29158:2025 for codes marked directly on the part surface. Objective grade data carries far more weight in a customer audit than "looks clear".
  
  

Serial Traceability Coding on Solar Panel and Lithium Battery Packaging

Serial numbers on solar modules and lithium batteries support recall and product-history queries throughout the warranty period, so the marking generally needs to be durable and traceable.

• Metal, plastic and carton at once: the print position may be on an aluminium frame, a backsheet, a battery housing or an outer carton. One plant often needs more than one ink as a result.
• Different regulatory sources: traceability obligations for solar and for batteries come from different regulations, and the required durability period and content are not the same. Confirm them item by item against the regulations, product standards and customer specifications of the actual sales market rather than applying one set of rules to both.
• Coding versus labelling: transport marks and dangerous goods labels on battery cartons belong to regulated labelling and are normally handled with printed labels. Coding covers serial numbers, batch codes and line data. Settle that division first and the equipment specification will not be over-scoped.
  
  

Logistics and E-Commerce: TIJ Printing on Conveyor Lines and Shipping Environments

In logistics the code is read by machines, not by people. Symbol dimensions, quiet zones and print quality are all constrained by standards, leaving far less room to adjust than on the manufacturing side.

High-Speed Barcode Coding on Logistics Carton Lines

Uncoated corrugated cartons are usually well absorbent, and water-based TIJ is a common first choice; cartons with poly coating, varnish or a special coating need their ink compatibility re-confirmed. Beyond substrate and ink, logistics barcodes are also governed by GS1 requirements for dimensions, print quality and quiet zones, meaning the blank margins around a barcode. According to the GS1 General Specifications, bar height for ITF-14 and GS1-128 in general distribution scanning follows three tiers:

• 31.75 mm: the standard bar height for general distribution scanning.
• 12.70 mm: the reduced value permitted when the trade item is physically too small to accommodate the standard height.
• 5.08 mm: the absolute minimum where space is further constrained.

Two things are easy to get wrong here:

• The reason for reduction: bar height may be reduced because the trade item is physically too small, not because the printing equipment cannot reach the standard height. A half-inch printhead's 12.7 mm print height happens to equal the first reduction value, but equipment capability is never a justification for reduction.
• The ceiling of a single printhead: a half-inch head gives 12.7 mm and a one-inch head gives 25.4 mm, and neither reaches 31.75 mm. If the item itself can accommodate the standard bar height, you need an effective print height of at least 31.75 mm. The options are stacked multi-head configurations, a wider-swath printing system, or printed labels.

For a full comparison of barcode dimensions against print height, see our half-inch versus one-inch industrial cartridge comparison, and GS1 UK's guidance on ITF-14 sizing.

ISPM-15 Compliant Export Mark Coding on Wooden Pallets and Crates

Wooden pallets and crates used for export must comply with the IPPC ISPM 15 standard. Separate the question of authorisation from the question of printing technology:

• Who may apply the mark: treatment and mark application fall under the authority of the national plant protection organisation (NPPO). The party applying the mark must be approved by the NPPO or by an agency it authorises, and anyone without that approval must not apply the ISPM-15 mark.
• What the mark itself requires: it must be legible, permanent and non-transferable, and is recommended on at least two opposite sides. Size and font are not fixed.
• Procedures differ by country: authorisation schemes and application methods vary, so confirm the actual marking method with the local NPPO or an authorised treatment provider.
• What TIJ actually does here: for exporters without treatment authorisation, TIJ adds supplementary shipping information such as batch codes, order numbers, destination codes and stacking orientation marks.
• Assessing the wood: untreated wood is normally absorbent, with the degree of absorption depending on species, moisture content, surface roughness and any processing. Painted or moisture-barrier treated wood should be assessed as a low-absorption surface. Water-based pigment types are worth evaluating first, but water, abrasion and sun exposure resistance for outdoor staging need separate verification.
  
  

Stable Coding on Cold Chain Packaging in Temperature-Controlled Logistics

Cold chain adds temperature, humidity and condensation control on top of the line-speed conditions already present.

• Condensation depends on dew point, not on which zone you are in: it forms when the packaging surface temperature drops below the dew point of the surrounding air. The classic case is a chilled item leaving cold storage and entering warm humid air, though it can also happen inside cold storage when humidity is high or temperature fluctuates. Once a water film forms, both ink adhesion and code legibility suffer.
• Move the print station upstream: completing printing and drying before the packaging enters the cold chain environment usually makes adhesion and drying conditions easier to control.
• Decap time matters when downtime is frequent: decap time relates to printhead exposure and idle time, not to low temperature as such. If the cold zone also involves long or frequent stoppages, decap time belongs in the selection criteria. Confirm the real behaviour with trials at your site temperature, humidity and stoppage frequency.
  
  

Variable Order Number Coding on E-Commerce Shipping Cartons

E-commerce shipping is defined by the fact that no two cartons carry the same content: order number, pick location and shipping batch all change carton by carton.

• Data integration is the crux: the print controller has to receive content pushed in real time from a warehouse management system (WMS) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. It also has to guarantee a one-to-one match between the data and the physical carton.
• Size consumables to the peak: daily shipping volume during promotional periods can be significantly higher than on ordinary days, and cartridge replacement frequency rises with it. Estimate spare stock against peak demand rather than the average.
  
  

Specialty Industries: TIJ Printing on Difficult Substrates and Security Codes

What these applications share is a difficult substrate, a low tolerance for visible marking, or the need for an extra security layer. The code has to be clearly legible without disrupting the packaging design.

Weather-Resistant Coding on Seed and Pesticide Bags for Agricultural Packaging

Seed and pesticide bags are mostly PE woven sacks, foil laminate pouches or plastic bottles, and they sit exposed in open storage or field environments for months.

• Weather resistance comes first: sunlight, rain and temperature swings all erode the code. On untreated low-absorption plastics and foil, solvent-based TIJ is usually the first option to evaluate, subject to confirmation by trial printing against the actual surface treatment and ink formulation.
• Uneven surfaces: woven sacks are textured, which makes throw distance control more critical than on flat packaging.
• Bag movement: if the bag slackens or sways in transit, a guide device is needed to stabilise the print surface.
• Separate from regulated labelling: composition and hazard statements on pesticide products belong to regulated labelling; coding handles batch codes and expiry dates.
  
  

Coding on Glass, Acrylic and Metal Tube Packaging for Cosmetic Brands

Glass, acrylic and aluminium tubes are all non-porous, and most of them are curved.

• Curvature changes throw distance: distance varies within a single line of characters, so the code tends to be sharp at one end and blurred at the other. Printhead angle and fixture positioning matter more here than the ink itself.
• Near-zero tolerance on appearance: covert inks can be used for traceability where the packaging visual must not be affected. They are difficult to detect under normal lighting and readable under a matching light source when needed.
• Set up the detection side first: ask the supplier for the excitation wavelength of the specific ink model, meaning the wavelength of light that makes the covert code visible. The inspection light source on the floor has to match it.
  
  

Wide-Format Coding on Plastic Film Packaging for Tissue and Paper Towel Manufacturers

Tissue and paper towel outer packaging is large-area plastic film, and the printed content usually calls for larger characters.

• Character height may exceed a single printhead: where taller characters are needed, the options are a 25.4 mm (one-inch) configuration or stacked printheads to widen the print area. See our note on maximum TIJ print height for the specification limits.
• Unstable film tension: plastic film slackens, wrinkles and vibrates in transit. The distance between the print surface and the printhead shifts with it, and the code comes out uneven in density.
• Mechanical design before ink: in most cases the print position and the way the film is held decide the outcome more than the ink choice does.
  
  

Small-Batch Multi-SKU Coding on Sheet Mask Foil Pouches for Beauty OEM Manufacturers

Contract manufacturers run several brands and several formats on the same line in a single day. In our experience of customer enquiries, changeover downtime sits alongside cartridge cost as a common evaluation criterion.

• Low-absorption surface: the outer layer of a sheet mask foil laminate pouch generally does not absorb, and industrial TIJ applications usually evaluate solvent-based inks first. Actual suitability still depends on the outer film, coating and surface treatment, so confirm with a trial print on production packaging.
• Cost pressure comes from changeovers: every new customer means new print content, and sometimes a colour change too.
• The changeover advantage of cartridge-based TIJ: printhead and ink sit in a single cartridge. Swapping it switches the ink outright, with no line flushing and no wait for the system to stabilise. This does not apply to bulk systems with external ink supply. For a full comparison of the technologies, see our TIJ versus CIJ analysis.
  
  

High-Adhesion Coding on PE and PP Bottles for Personal Care Manufacturers

PE and PP have low surface energy and are among the hardest plastic substrates to print on. Shampoo, body wash and lotion bottles also meet water and surfactants in use, so the risk of the code being rubbed off is higher than with ordinary packaging. Adhesion testing is mandatory before implementation:

• Test method: print, leave to dry completely, then check with both tape peel and solvent rub, and simulate the real use scenario, such as wet-hand rubbing in a shower.
• Screening is not verification: results vary with tape type, solvent, rubbing force and environment. If the customer requires formal data, agree the test method and pass criteria in writing beforehand.
• Test on production bottles: corona treatment is a surface process that raises the surface energy of plastic to improve adhesion. It or a surface coating changes the result significantly, so do not test on prototype samples.
  
  

Invisible Ink Anti-Counterfeit Coding for Lottery Ticket Manufacturers

Beyond the visible serial number or barcode, lottery tickets, vouchers and gift certificates can also carry an authentication feature that is difficult to detect under normal lighting. Invisible ink can serve as one layer of that authentication, developing under a specified light source or inspection condition.

• A covert feature is not copy protection: a single fluorescent ink is only a covert feature. Resistance to copying depends on the overall security design and normally requires several authentication mechanisms working together.
• Define the detection conditions alongside the ink: the excitation wavelength of the specific ink model, the viewing distance and the ambient lighting all affect how the code develops.
• The substrate affects brightness: when printing on coated or varnished board, confirm how the coating affects development brightness first.
  
  

Four Selection Variables Common to Every Industry

Fifteen scenarios look very different from one another, yet they all come back to the same four variables. Pin these down and the conversation shifts from "which machine is better" to "which specification combination fits these site conditions".

• Substrate: porous or non-porous is one of the primary criteria for ink type. Whether the surface carries a coating, oil or corona treatment then determines whether a pre-treatment step is needed.
• Line speed and throw distance: line speed affects trigger timing and the available drying window, meaning the time between printing and the next contact, stacking or processing step. Throw distance affects character edge sharpness, and distance variation on curved or flexible packaging has to be assessed alongside it.
• Environmental conditions: temperature, humidity, dust and the frequency of intermittent stoppages drive decap time requirements and printhead maintenance intervals. Indoor lines also need to consider ink odour.
• Code specification: text, linear barcode or 2D code determines the print height and resolution required. Barcodes are additionally governed by GS1 dimensional rules and by the ISO/IEC print-quality grades noted above.

Environmental conditions are the most frequently overlooked of the four. Equipment evaluation usually happens in a room-temperature office, and only after installation does high humidity, dust or frequent stoppage reveal completely different behaviour. For the full selection logic, see our TIJ specification selection guide, and for a breakdown by sector, our overview of TIJ application scenarios.

Site Evaluation Checklist Before Implementation

Gathering the following before approaching a supplier noticeably reduces the number of quotation and sample rounds.

• Actual packaging samples, with product name, supplier and surface treatment (poly coating, varnish, corona treatment).
• Print content and dimensions: character count, required character height, whether a barcode or 2D code is included, symbology and required bar height.
• Line conditions: line speed, gap between packs, flat or curved print surface, adjustable throw distance range.
• Environmental conditions: operating temperature and humidity, presence of dust or oil mist, cleanroom or ESD-controlled area status, number and duration of daily stoppages.
• Downstream processing: whether the code passes through heat, washing, over-wrapping, stack abrasion or long-term outdoor exposure after printing.
• Equipment details: existing printer brand and model, whether an encrypted chip is used, acceptable cartridge specifications.
• Volume estimates: average and peak daily print volume, for consumable and spare stock planning.

In our experience, packaging samples, print content and line conditions are enough for an initial ink and specification recommendation. Getting the trial print right on the first attempt needs the environment, downstream processing, equipment details and volume figures as well.

What Uniplus Supplies in TIJ Cartridges

Once those four variables are confirmed, the next step is matching them to the available ink types and cartridge specifications.

• Ink types: solvent based, water-based dye and water-based pigment.
• Print height specifications: 12.7 mm (half-inch) and 25.4 mm (one-inch).
• OEM options: ink and empty cartridges available separately for machine builders and contract filling.
• Equipment compatibility: compatibility verification service available. If your equipment uses an encrypted chip, share the model details during discussion and we will help assess the options.

Full model numbers, colour options and specifications are on the industrial ink cartridge product page.

Evaluating whether TIJ cartridges fit your production line? Get in touch and send us a sample of your actual packaging material, along with the basics: what you need to print, your line speed and your operating environment. The Uniplus team will recommend an ink and specification based on your substrate and line conditions.