Leibinger highlights coding role in dairy traceability and compliance

Traceability is “critical” in dairy production because companies must comply with strict food safety requirements, says Maren Klose, marketing communications at LEIBINGER, adding that integrated printing capabilities play a “key role” in ensuring reliable coding processes. 

Such food safety requirements include the EU General Food Law, hygiene rules for products of animal origin, and market-specific recall and recordkeeping requirements, including traceability rules under the US Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act. 

Packaging Insights sits down with Klose to discuss the role efficient printing plays in dairy product traceability, as well as how to minimize downtime and recent company innovations. 

What recent innovations has Leibinger developed for dairy packaging?

Klose: Leibinger is involved in GS1 forums worldwide and actively contributes to the implementation of 2D migration. We have optimized print job settings and software configurations to ensure especially reliable, precise, and high-quality printing of 2D codes. 

Leibinger CIJ printers have the fastest drop generators on the market (up to 96,000 drops/second). Meanwhile, the latest Leibinger IQJET reliably prints 2D codes and offers the market’s maximum printhead height — 15 mm. It prints GS1 QR versions up to 33×33 modules in line.

In addition, all Leibinger printers feature a fully automatic nozzle sealing system. While this technology is not new, its consistent and comprehensive implementation across all printers is unique in the market. The nozzle closes airtight whenever the printer stops, preventing ink from drying inside the printhead. As a result, daily cleaning routines are eliminated, and the printer is ready to start instantly, ensuring maximum reliability in shift dairy operations.

How do your printing solutions support traceability and regulatory compliance in dairy packaging?

Klose: Traceability is critical in dairy production due to strict regulatory requirements and the perishable nature of products. The CIJ printers deliver consistently sharp best-before dates, batch codes, and production identifiers — even at very high line speeds. Clear prints ensure reliable readability for human operators and machine vision systems, supporting inspection, verification, and compliance requirements.

Integration capabilities play a key role in ensuring reliable and error-free coding processes. The Systems, Applications, and Products (SAP) Shop Floor Connect add-on has been expanded to include a dedicated Leibinger printer library. This enables plug-and-play integration of Leibinger printers into SAP environments, allowing automated data transfer for batch coding and significantly reducing the risk of human error.

Advanced Leibinger printers offer flexible, freely programmable interfaces such as Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture and Application Programming Interface connectivity. 

In addition, we have a worldwide team of experienced application engineers who work closely with customers to make print job management as simple as possible and to ensure seamless integration into the entire production line.

Looking ahead, 2D code migration is becoming increasingly important for traceability and regulatory compliance. Leibinger is actively involved in GS1 initiatives worldwide and supports customers in implementing GS1-compliant 2D coding standards.

How do your systems minimize downtime and ink consumption on high-speed dairy filling lines?

Klose: Clogged nozzles are one of the most common problems in conventional continuous inkjet systems. When ink dries in the nozzle during production stops, it leads to cleaning cycles, purging procedures, manual intervention, and unplanned downtime. Leibinger solves this problem before it even occurs.

All Leibinger printers are equipped with the automatic nozzle sealing technology. Whenever the printer stops, the nozzle is mechanically sealed airtight. This prevents ink from coming into contact with air — eliminating the risk of drying and clogging altogether.

Since no ink dries in the nozzle, there is no need for start-up cleaning or purging cycles. Production can restart immediately, even after extended shutdowns. This significantly increases line availability and reduces operator workload.

At the same time, ink and solvent consumption are minimized, as no ink is wasted through flushing procedures. The solvent recovery system enables savings of up to 50% consumables compared to conventional CIJ printers. In high-speed dairy environments, this translates directly into measurable cost savings and a significantly reduced total cost of ownership. 

Moreover, lower maintenance requirements, fewer unplanned interventions, and optimized consumables usage contribute to long-term economic efficiency and greater process reliability.