RPC Llantrisant coding bottles with Linx covert printing

RPC Llantrisant is working with Linx Printing Technologies to authenticate and trace bottles it manufactures.

A Linx inkjet printer simultaneously codes bottles and caps with ink visible under ultraviolet light. The covert code contains the batch number, date and time, and the production line to allow the Welsh company to trace a pack through the supply chain in the event of a problem.

"The ink produces a completely invisible code which is nevertheless very clear and easy to read under the appropriate conditions," said Jon Bedgood, manufacturing manager at RPC Llantrisant, whcih supplies containers to the personal care, pharmaceutical, car care, veterinary, household chemicals and lifestyle drinks markets.

RPC Llantrisant has installed two Linx 4900 printers each of which can handle 3,200 bottles per hour. The printers are portable, allowing RPC Llantrisant to move them or add a third depending on production requirements.

Flexibility is helped by the ease of setting up the printers. "We literally only have to start them up and away they go," Bedgood said, adding that the printers "have been extremely reliable" so far.