Tag Archives: Marking

Redefining Laser Marking

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Phoenix Contact would like to introduce a facelift version of our laser printing machine, TOPMARK NEO.

It is back, more compact, more economical and with more effective software!

Phoenix Contact provides both the printer as well as the material that you need. In a one stop solution, it saves you the trouble of searching for different vendors for your process. Within the footprint of 180 by 180mm, it is able to engrave on materials such as aluminium, stainless steel, Transply-ABS, UCT terminal cards, and polyacrylate! We have more than 620 materials for you to choose from.

Topmark NEO has a footprint of 580mm X 615mm, weighing no more than 50 kg and qualified as a Class 1 Laser machine. At the side, it has a HMI device for direct printing or connecting it through a laptop where you can create your templates or printings too.

The story doesn’t end here, even if you are not interested to get the printer itself. If you need just the marking, no problem! Phoenix Contact provides the printing services for all of them. Contact us now at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg if you would like to know more about it!

Safety

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Don’t be surprised that safety precautions are the most important activity that is emphasized! In fact, there are an abundance of companies that invest heavily in health and safety.

As an established industrial business, you would not want to be known to operate in a place with high risks of work hazards. And how do the simplest warning labels help in doing so?

1 – Awareness

The key reason of having safety warnings all over a danger zone is to remind people never to let your guard down. This avoids the situation where people are not fully aware of the risk, keeps people alert and reduces the chance of someone injuring themselves. For new people, new employees who are not familiar with the environment, these warning labels serve to help them understand the risks involved.

2 – Compliance

There are a lot of standards and regulations that are laid down by the government and organizations to be in compliance with safety standards. To prevent people from scrimping on small costs for these warning labels, these safety standards are in place to ensure all the right labels and warnings are placed!

Ultimately, it is always beneficial to your business to keep it a safe environment. So there is no need to pay for any worker’s compensation payments, or incur additional costs to cover the injured employee’s scope of work. Of course, keep your business reputation at its tip top condition, being a safe environment for your employees!

Phoenix Contact has a range of plant markings that can be easily customized and printed. Check us out here!

Hey! We are also launching a Snap-Our-Label contest, with WARNING labels as the theme of the quarter. Stand a chance to win a Thermofox Set as well as many other prizes!

To get a free sample of the warning label, click the link below!

https://snapourlabel.phoenixcontactsea.com/

Want to find out more? Feel free to contact us at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg!

Barcodes

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Barcodes are machine-readable patterns that we see in most packaging for certain items. Especially today, when mass production is everywhere, barcodes are a big help to ease the production process.  The data contained within barcodes allow users to identify, inform, or can even be used for marketing purposes.

We see such images on the streets nowadays. QR-codes are used to market the company’s products, barcodes on all products we purchase; every one contains a lot of information. Have you ever wondered why there are so many different types, and why they are used in that instance?

Don’t be afraid to say that you do not really know much about barcodes or data capture technology. Most of us know barcodes from their experience in retail shopping where the linear barcodes stated on the item purchased will capture the correct pricing when it goes through the scanner.

Barcodes are more than just that. It is an impressive solution to workflow headaches and process slowdowns, and provides big data answers enterprise-wide. Each barcode provides real-time information, and it plays an important role in businesses. With over 40 different barcode types out there, each with a specific purpose, it can be a little confusing how to differentiate and understand each purpose.

Before we look at the different barcodes, you need to know that there are 2 main categories for barcodes, One-Dimensional (1D) and Two-Dimensional (2D) barcodes.

An example of a 1D barcode

An example of a 1D barcode

1D barcodes are called linear because the information placed is in a linear line, holding a dozen numeric or alphanumeric characters, represented by this spacing of parallel vertical lines.  The entire barcode needs to fit within the reader’s range to decode. They are found commonly on consumer goods.

An example of a 2D barcode

An example of a 2D barcode

2D barcodes are omnidirectional, and are able to contain large amounts of data both vertically and horizontally. Information is in matrix style and is highly secured. This type of barcode requires more sophisticated decoding software.

Here is a list of the common barcode types and where they are commonly used:

Code 128: This type of barcode is typically used in logistics, transportation and shipping industries. Code 128 is a versatile, high-density, variable-length barcode that can store diversified information as they can support letters, numbers and a variety of other ASCII characters. It complies with International Standard ISO/IEC 15417.

CODE 39: They are used to label goods across the automotive industry, defence department, and identification cards. Code39 barcodes are alphanumeric codes, that could only encode 39 characters (as the name suggests), which makes it less compact than Code 128. It complies with international standard ISO/IEC 16388

Codabar: Codabar is able to contain limited characters/numbers/symbols. It is an out-dated type of barcode used mainly in libraries, blood banks and overnight packaging industries. The main benefit is that it is easy to print and highly tolerant of minor printing imperfections.

EAN13: Worldwide usage in retail goods marking, and comply to International Standard ISO/IEC 15420. It encodes 13 characters, with the first 2 or 3 being country codes where the manufacturer is registered.

EAN-8: It is a shortened version of the EAN-13 code. It includes a 2 or 3 digit country code. The data digits in an EAN-8 symbol specifically identify a particular product and manufacturer. Since a limited number of EAN-8 codes are available in each country, they are issued only for products with insufficient space for a normal EAN-13 symbol. For example, a 2-digit country code permits a total of only 100,000 item numbers.

UPC-A: UPC stands for Universal Product Code. It is used for worldwide retail, and complies with International Standard ISO/IEC 15420. It identifies the manufacturer, and specific products, so that the register systems can automatically find the prices.

QR-Code: A matrix code that allows encoding of different characters, URL, music and images. This is frequently used to be scanned with smartphones.

After knowing the different types of barcodes, it is important to have a solution that can read and decode the information. Have you met cases where the barcode readers cannot capture the data, when barcodes are damaged, tiny, rubbed off or torn?

Phoenix Contact printing software allows you to print all the different barcodes, and the best part is… It is free!

At the same time, you do not have to worry about the printing process as Phoenix Contact printers ensure you have a seamless, clear printing process. Additionally, we assure you that as with all our prints, they are scratch proof, water proof, oil and chemical resistant! You will always have readable barcodes!

Want to find out more? Feel free to contact us at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg!

5 Reasons Why Thermofox is a Must-have

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Phoenix Contact is proud to have our handy printer where you can label your panels/wires anywhere, any time. And here are 5 good reasons why you should own one today.

  1. Convenience

It is more than just a labeller; it brings you the convenience that you need such that you can carry it everywhere you go. Weighing as light as 650 grams, compact in size, this handy and portable printer gives you all your printing needs with ease. Additionally, it comes with accessories for you to carry it everywhere you go!

  1. Variety of prints

Printing of sticker labels is nothing interesting… It is the most basic material that a printer can print our sticker labels on. We have catered for different textures such as rough or curved surfaces. On top of sticker labels, our handheld printer can print self-laminating wire markers as well as shrink sleeves wire markers! This is really a small printer with a big capacity of printing varieties.

  1. Power efficient

This is the only handheld labeller in the world that you will find “ECO-MODE” inside! Once the printer detects that it is running low on battery, it will automatically enable this eco mode, which allows printing at a slower speed but of equally good quality.

It comes with a rechargeable battery in the full Thermofox set, or can be fitted with 6 normal AA batteries.

  1. Smart keyboard

This printer has a smart keyboard with an alphanumeric number pad. It has easily understandable buttons such as “symbols”, “templates”, “print” and “preview” that can be selected from the printer. The buttons are made such that they are self-intuitive and anyone will know how to use it without prior training needed.

  1. Resistance of the markings after printing

The last thing you would want is that all your labels start fading away and you being left with an unclear label. You can try scratching the prints or pouring some water or oil on it, but trust me, the ink will still be in a good condition!

Our prints are qualified with certain test industry standards to assure the quality of each and every single print. In fact, we have test laboratories!

If you would like to know more about Thermofox, feel free to contact us at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg!

Product identification – Can you survive without any?

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The need for product identification is not new. Since the early days of civilization, due to a lack of technological advancements, products traded and sold were identified in different ways. Clay jars, crates and sacks were distinguished through the shape of the vessels or unique markings made on them for identification purposes.

Dating back to 6000 BC, barter trading was the main system for the exchange of goods and services; this was before the invention of money.

By F.S. Church, published in Harper’s Weekly, January 17, 1874, p. 61. [Public domain]

The Need for Product Identification

Over time, the situation then transitioned into exchanging money for goods. With the evolution of business into mass production, previous methods of identification were not sustainable as  products now needed to be identified through category, name and description.

Similar to the evolution of street names, housing numbers, or even zip/postal codes, the invention of such identification allowed people to easily identify where they were going. Consequently, with ever-increasing inventories of parts and products, manufacturers and stores required new control mechanisms to track their status. Product identification became important in business in terms of logistics and data analysis.

After knowing the brief history for production identifications, we have seen these requirements for marking and identification evolve tremendously and can be found in almost every aspect of our modern day life or business.

What is tagging and marking like these days?

Today, our tagging & marking typically need to serve 5 key purposes

  • Product Identity
    The most basic and important purpose of labels is that it has to convey information on its identity mainly for tracking and tracing purposes. This can be in the form of descriptions, revisions, serial numbers or lot numbers. Another key identification purpose, especially in the Food & Beverage Industry, is to state the Manufacturing Start/Expiry date. Some labels would also need to include specific types of information as required by government legislation.
  • Security Risks
    Labels play a crucial role to reduce security risks due to the proper identification written on it. When there is a need to prevent any unauthorized opening of the packaging, there can also be tamper resistance labels to avoid such happenings.Labels could also have authentication seals such as serial number, barcodes, RFID, to reduce the risk of forgery or tampering.
    Product Identification - Tamperproof EMLS Label
  • Marketing
    The use of labels can also be for persuasion to encourage potential buyers to purchase a product. This is usually done with the use of graphic designs, attractive words and titles to entice the buyers. Most commonly, designed to reflect the brand’s message and speciality.
    Product identification - Stainless Steel self-adhesive label
  • User-Convenience
    Labels can contain information that could help the user/buyer by conveying instructions on handling, usage, display or sale.
  • Quantity Information
    Quantity is another important piece of information that would typically be required on labels. It tells the buyer or user the number of item in a covered packaging without the need to open up the package.

An ideal label concept would allow a product to be able traceable from the hands of an end user all the way backwards through delivery, manufacturing, raw material processes and to the point where supplies of raw material are identified.

With these said, if you require such a labeling system, Phoenix Contact has the perfect solution to provide you such printing mechanics. Our range of printers can provide the optimal labels that you require. “Clip Project Marking”, our labeling software, allows you to create your own product identifications by adding letters, numbers, barcodes, symbols, logos and pictures!

From there, you can print with the range of printers and over 3000 different materials catered for different uses and surfaces! Leave us your contact details at marketing@phoenixcontact.com.sg to learn more about Phoenix Contact Printing system.