Qiagen, a leading provider of sample and assay technologies and products for the life science and diagnostic market, has replaced its old thermal transfer and laser printing systems with DataLase® Packmark™. The DataLase process was chosen as a viable solution for applying variable information such as lot codes, date of manufacture, expiry dates, and storage details directly onto the packaging of Qiagen's cleanroom-produced blister packs.

"Qiagen has been using DataLase Packmark with three lasers for over 6 months with no operational, production, or maintenance issues. All these benefits translate into a production output increase of over 25%," comments Rene Hess, director of Qiagen Assembly Plant. "The DataLase Packmark process is specifically adapted to our requirements to ensure optimal image quality at the lowest possible cost. The high efficiency of the chemistry enables fast production run times and ensures that our packaging can now feature high grade data. The resulting savings can be invested into research and development of new products and can be used to further increase our production capabilities."

Traditional systems such as thermal transfer and laser printing are very expensive to use and maintain, as they are extremely labor intensive, requiring frequent maintenance and using expensive consumables. In addition, they produce low quality, incomplete images, resulting in excessive waste of finished product.

The DataLase Packmark system applies on-demand variable information to primary packaging materials by coating packaging with the DataLase ink, which is then activated by a very low power CO2 laser, causing a positive image to be formed that is totally stable and tamperproof. In contrast to conventional printing systems, Packmark prints very high quality, reproducible images without use of costly consumables on the production line.

Users are reporting significant cost reductions and productivity increases compared to their old printing methods. The patent-pending coding and marking solution achieves a production output increase of over 25%, as well as reducing waste product by 90%, while requiring almost no maintenance. The end result enables faster products-to-market at the minimum cost possible when compared to conventional methods of printing.