When you are in the business of packaging food, it’s your responsibility to ensure that the product you sell is not spoiled or unsafe by the time it reaches distributors and customers. For that reason, printing a use-by or sell-by date on food products is common, standard practice to ensure safety. Code date printers are one commonly used machine for printing these dates, but that doesn’t mean you’re stuck paying top dollar if you need them for your products. Instead, consider purchasing used equipment.
Top Brands and Reliable Machines
Many people think that buying used packaging machinery and accessories is a sort of “get what you pay for” situation, by which saving money means you’re getting an inferior, unreliable or damaged machine. That’s not the case when you purchase from High Performance Packaging, however. Our stock of inkjet and thermal transfer code date printers includes top brands that you can trust, such as Videojet, Markem, Norwood and more. These printers can be easily integrated into your packaging line, and work to promote safety. Having clearly printed dates alerts consumers when the products they are purchasing will expire and when it will no longer be considered safe or advisable to consume. Dates are printed on myriad products, from pharmaceuticals to foods and more, so it’s important to have a reliable machine for printing the dates legibly.
Printing directly on the product or product’s packaging has its own set of challenges, and these machines meet those requirements—for instance, some products like eggs need to be code-date printed with food-grade inks. Some other products and packages that code-date printers are compatible with include:
- Packaged, prepared food
- Pet food
- Canned fruits and vegetables
- Dairy products
- Cosmetics and personal care items
Aside from consumable products, code date printers are also used on industrial packaging, for instance on cables and pipes, chemicals and electrical/electronic components. Regardless of your specific application, when you need a reliable code date printer, purchasing used is a great way to get that quality without overspending.
Why Purchase Used?
Used machinery, when purchased from a reputable seller, can give you the option to get a machine that was previously out of your reach due to budget concerns. Used machinery that’s being resold is often in great condition, lightly used with a lot of years left in it. A common misconception is that purchasing used machines just means inheriting someone else’s problems, but a lot of the time, used machinery is just from a user who needed something else to suit their needs a bit better. Purchasing used machines such as code date printers from High Performance Packaging is a great way to get the machines you’ve been looking at and considering purchasing at a lower cost than you’d spend if you were buying new. An additional benefit is that HP Packaging offers training and technical support, perfect for getting your new machine up and running efficiently. We also offer troubleshooting services, preventative maintenance and performance improvement programs to help enhance your packaging line’s overall efficiency.
When your company takes pride in efficiency and consistency in production, one machine being nonfunctional for even a few days can really jam up the workflow. And when you have multiple machines, there’s the chance that multiple machines can fail at the same time. Planning regular maintenance, regardless of whether your machinery is new or used/refurbished, is highly important when it comes to prolonging the life of the machine. When machines and moving parts are not tended to regularly, issues can pile up resulting in major repairs being necessary. When you purchase used packaging equipment from a supplier, that supplier should be able to help you learn how to properly maintain it, and at High Performance packaging, we do just that.
Used and refurbished machines are going to cost less than their new counterparts. That not only means that you’ll save money, but also that you have the potential to purchase better machinery—higher end brand names at more manageable prices, due to their refurbished status. You’ll still be getting the same great product, however, and since you’re spending less per machine, you may even be able to expand your production line. This could lead to additional possible production, which could mean more sales, more success. Being able to purchase more machinery for a lower overall cost puts expanding your business well within reach.
If you’re purchasing used machinery to replace your current packaging line or to add more efficiency, using the same film as you did on the previous machinery for packaging may no longer be the best option for the specific machine you are buying. A slightly different width, length, or film type may mean a more efficient packing line, depending on the type or brand of machine you’re using. That doesn’t necessarily mean that your original product will have to be gotten rid of or thrown out, just that there may be a more efficient option that you can switch to when it’s most convenient for your business. It pays to discuss the options with different manufacturers if you can, or a company that sells multiple brands. This way, you can get a good idea of what will work best on your machinery.
