TIJ vs CIJ Inkjet Printers

Choosing a small character ink jet printer for your production printing needs.

Continuous ink jet (CIJ) printers have been used for many years for consumer and industrial product coding applications. They print small character text, logos, and bar codes on a variety of products from food and beverage containers to lumber and pipe. But there are many inherent complexities and costs in using CIJ printers, many of which are explained below.

A newer way of accomplishing small character printing is with HR thermal ink jet (TIJ) printers. TIJ printers use replaceable ink jet cartridges similar to those used in desktop office printers, but they’ve been modified for use on a production line. Specialized inks are available for printing on metals, plastics, fabrics, and wood. The print resolution is better than CIJ and many of the maintenance issues associated with CIJ are eliminated.