The Leader in Industrial Metal Marking

Achieve high quality marks with unprecedented control and gain a competitive advantage with the most reliable, versatile marking and coding solutions available for the steel and metal industry. Easily integrate with existing or new production lines at scale.

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Reliable and Versatile Metal Marking Machines

With the industry’s most reliable inkjet printing technology and the broadest range of inks for the metal industry, Matthews is your go-to provider for metal marking. We provide turnkey and custom-engineered solutions for placing any kind of mark on nearly any type of metal at speed and with rock-solid reliability. 

Metal manufacturing facilities place incredible demands on marking systems. High temperatures, oily or dusty surfaces and variable material compositions make for a particularly challenging environment. That’s where we come in. Our printers are designed specifically for operation in harsh environments with minimal maintenance so you can maximize uptime and ROI. 

1
High-speed quality.

With Matthews’ portfolio of reliable marking products you get clean, quality marks at high speed without the vibration and ink issues often associated with CIJ.

2
Engineered for longevity.

Over 9 billion firings before tuning keeps your line running. Our drop-on-demand inkjet marking solutions deliver the longest life printheads so you can focus on your production, not marking.

3
Unlimited control.

Our MPERIA® platform gives you ease-of-use and reliable operation along with seamless integration with backend business systems, and hassle-free connection to third-party printers and vision systems. 

Your Metal Marking. Perfected.

Push your production to the max

Whether you’re marking metal parts for primary identification, traceability, compliance or operational uses, the marking technology you use has a direct impact on your production line. The choices you make directly affects the: 

  • Speed and efficiency of your marking 
  • Accuracy and durability of your marks
  • How much ink you use (or waste)
  • The length of your printing equipment maintenance intervals 
  • Production output and quality 

As your operation grows and evolves, you need a marking solution that delivers proven performance and reliability and can easily adapt to new requirements, helping you achieve your goals year after year without missing a beat. 

The global leader for metal marking technology

Matthews has been in the metal marking business since 1850 when John D. Matthews engraved his first iron die. Since then, we’ve continued a rich tradition of offering metal marking products of unmatched quality to ensure our customers’ success. 

Our MPERIA V-Series drop-on-demand (DOD) valvejet printers represent the most robust and versatile inkjet marking technology available on the market today. They have been well proven worldwide to withstand the harsh conditions found in metal manufacturing plants. Featuring compact printheads, they can be mounted over, under and beside lines or on traversing systems to give you ultimate control.  

When it comes to reliability, V-Series printers deliver with features like fast start-up, bulk ink delivery systems, and the ability to achieve over 9 billion firings before tuning is required. 

Valvejet technology has clear advantages for industrial and other metal marking applications over alternatives such as continuous inkjet (CIJ), which is limited in terms of character size and resolution. Further, as Sierra Aluminum discovered when upgrading to the V-Series, CIJ technology lacks the reliability necessary for industrial marking applications. 

With a Matthews solution in place, you’ll never need to slow down because your marking system can’t keep up.  

Inks that work as hard as you do

Selecting the right ink is vital to ensuring marks end up in the correct place and stay there for as long as needed. We offer a wide variety of ink types for marking metals and can create custom ink formulations to meet virtually any requirement. 

Customized metal inks

Our in-house ink engineering team are experts in developing specific inks for metal surface marking. MEK and acetone-based inks are very adhesive and fast-drying. They can penetrate lubricants, coatings and mill scale. Their high temperature resistance (up to 200°C/392°F or more) makes them ideal for surfaces that are finished by heating. For optimal legibility, we also offer extra high-contrast inks, such as white pigmented ink for marking on dark metals. 

Custom solutions that adapt to your requirements

Metals come in many form factors, from pipes to sheet metal and complex parts. One size fits all rarely works in metal manufacturing. Custom kick brackets that can snap out of the way if there is a danger of the head being hit? Traversing systems that can move printheads into large pipes for marking the interior surface? The ability to raise and lower print heads to suit varying thicknesses of steel? We’ve seen it all and our engineering experts can customize our products to fit your specifications – not the other way around. 

Take control of your marking and coding operations

Industrial metal coding and marking requires a print controller that puts you in control. Our MPERIA controllers seamlessly integrates with virtually any coding equipment, data file or enterprise system. You can easily manage and control marking at every stage of production. And your production staff only needs to be trained on a single system to start jobs, manage message changeovers, and resolve issues.  

With its flexible architecture, MPERIA keeps integration costs down and makes equipment upgrades easy. Unparalleled system performance allows you to expand your marking capability without significant capital expenditures as your production grows. And like our inkjet printer technology, it’s built to withstand harsh manufacturing environments.

OEM marking solutions for equipment providers

OEM marking solutions for equipment providers

If you supply metal processing tools and equipment to metal fabricators and manufacturers, it’s easy to add value by integrating the industry’s most reliable marking solution. Our MPERIA OEM software controller is simple to integrate yet sophisticated enough to delight your most demanding customers. We’re your partner for customized solutions that can grow with your product line. Likewise, we have turn-key solutions for many applications.

 

Recommended Products

MPERIA Standard Controller - marking and coding automation platform software
Automation Platform

Marking and coding automation platform centralizing control of your marking and coding, regardless of equipment technology or vendor.

DOD Drop-on-demand valve jet printer system marking and coding large characters. DOD Inkjet Printer.
Drop-on-Demand Valve Inkjet

Robust and reliable large character marking.

Ink color splash with red, yellow, blue and black colors. Industrial printer ink, industrial inkjet ink, and industrial printing ink.
Drop-on-Demand Ink Supply Systems

Our ink supply systems are designed to reliably deliver our ink formulations and cleaners to ensure optimal performance.

Resources

Metal Marking Brochure
Stenciling and coding solutions for metals.
Read the Brochure.
Case Study
50% ROI by Upgrading from CIJ to DOD Marking on Aluminum
50% ROI from DOD upgrade case study
Success Story
Aluminum Processor Upgrades to MPERIA® to Meet Customer Requirements
Metal processor upgrades to MPERIA success story
Application Brief
Steel Tube and Pipe Manufacturer Adds MPERIA-Controlled DOD Marking With Pigmented White Ink for Product Identification
DOD product ID application brief
Application Brief
Aluminum Strip Manufacturer Gains 2D Barcode Traceability While Maintaining Production Line Speed
2d barcode traceability application brief

Ready to solve your metal marking challenges? Give us a shout!