With plastics outpacing most other U.S. manufacturing industries in its creation of economic growth, Matthews has kept up by creating marking systems and inks for the identification of plastic pipe, profiles and parts.
Since 1960, we have been helping customers comply with marking guidelines set by ANSI, ASTM and PPI for extruded pipe. Whether you are marking pipe, profiles or small parts, name your plastic and Matthews will come up with a solution to identify it. Here's a brief look at the different technologies for marking plastics. For a more in-depth look, simply click on the article heading below.

Indenting Branding for Permanent Codes
Hot Print Model 4015
Industrial Offset Printers for Extruded Products
Economical Contact Printing
Simple Striping on Extruded Products
Ink-Jet Printing of Variable Information,
High-Resolution Print and Bar Codes

Indenting Branding for Permanent Codes
If you need permanent codes on plastics and vinyls, consider our indent branding units. Specifically designed for plastics, both units heat steel type to indent a melted code into plastics. The Heat-A-Mark can be used in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and packaging applications where a mark is required on round bottles. The Heat-Set is designed for marking flat parts.

For in-line extrusions, such as gas pipe, the Model 4115 In-Line Brander can permanently mark products with an indented code. Optional foil can be used for a high contrast mark.

Hot Print Model 4015
Uses heated steel type to form a crisp indented mark that is permanently imbedded in plastic pipe and other in-line extrusions.

Industrial Offset Printers for Extruded Products
Print-A-Mark™ Offset Printers can be found on many extrusion lines marking plastic pipe, films and other plastic products. A rugged workhorse, yet a precision printer, it produces high quality, multi-line print in a variety of character sizes at speeds up to 800 fpm.

Matthews has developed many industrial offset printing inks specifically for plastics. Our newest inks have been designed to mark untreated polyethylene without the expense of heat and corona treatments.

Economical Contact Printing
For intermittent coding operations, the Contact Coder prints logos, product codes, expiration dates and more on plastic bags, bottles and parts. Pneumatically operated, the Contact Coder is a reciprocating printer that marks at rates up to 160 items per minute. It can be integrated into automated manufacturing lines or can be used for stand-alone part marking.

Simple Striping on Extruded Plastics
For instant brand recognition, lay down a colorful stripe on extruded plastics with the Stripe-It™. This economical unit can be combined with our ink-jet printing systems to form a unique, very recognizable brand identification.

Ink-Jet Printing of Variable Information,
High-Resolution Print and Bar Codes
When you need to print up-to-the-minute date codes or other variable information take a look at ink-jet printing systems to get the job done. We have a variety of systems to select from including small character, large character drop-on-demand and high-resolution printing systems.

Small character printing (1/16" - 1/8") of one line of information is best accomplished with the IP9100 Small Character Printer. This economical and reliable system uses special plastic migration ink that adheres permanently to plastics. Even when exposed to solvents, the mark does not disappear entirely.

For small character printing for variable information on plastic pipes and extrusions, we recommend the S.C. I. F.I.™ 3200 Ink-Jet system.

With special inks for PVC, pigmented inks for dark surfaces and fast-drying inks, our Continuous Ink-Jet Printers can be used in many plastic marking applications. Several models are available for small character coding of high-density text, logos and bar codes.

With a rugged industrial printhead and wide selection of inks, Jet-A-Mark® Drop-on-Demand Printers can be used to mark a variety of plastics. Depending on the model selected, you can print variable information, text and logos in character heights ranging from 3/16" to 5" at speeds up to 788 fpm.

Enhance your product image with the IP9000 High-Resolution Printing System. The result is high-density text, bar codes and sharp graphics. You'll appreciate the flexibility of the system that features multi-line printing, character sizes from 5/64" to 1-7/8" and speeds up to 980 fpm.