Printing Traceability Codes on Taupe Plant Pots

Black plant pots, traditionally used by plant growers, are problematic when it comes to kerbside recycling. However, the introduction of taupe pots has improved recyclability and opened other possibilities for growers.

PIR sensors used by recycling facilities are unable to recognise plastic containing carbon-black pigment. The horticultural industry has developed its own solution to this problem with the introduction of taupe pots – made from 100% recyclable and already recycled polypropylene.

This introduction of taupe pots has also created an opportunity for growers to use continuous inkjet to print traceability information on the pots themselves. While it has always been possible to print on black pots, the need to do this in coloured ink adds cost – both in terms of the inkjet printer and the ink.

Now, plant growers can use a printer with standard black ink to print alphanumeric texts and bar codes, replacing adhesive labels with printing directly on the pots. This makes them easier to process for recycling. It can also reduce label costs and speed up what can be a slow, manual process.

Here’s an example of one of our alphaJET 5 continuous inkjets printing three lines of text on pots as they are coming from the potting machine.

You can also print Datamatrix codes and linear barcodes. We have even supplied inkjets in the past for printing EU plant passport information.

If you would like to find out more about the possibilities of traceability printing on plant pots, please contact us on 01962 761761. Or via our contact form.

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