Printing Food Labels with the Afinia L801 Memjet Label Printer

Afinia L801 food label printer
Afinia L801 food label printer

Did you know that about 64 percent of the entire printed label market is food and beverage labels? Smithers Pira estimates the global value of this market at more than $20 billion annually. As a food or beverage producer looking to print your own labels, you know how important label quality is, and you’re likely aware of the myriad food labeling regulations out there. So, which color label printers make the grade? Today, we’d like to show you how the Afinia L801 color label printer is a safe, fast, and effective choice for printing food and beverage labels.

Memjet Ink Safety and Compliance

First, the Memjet inks used in the Afinia L801 are water-based inks. According to Memjet, these water-based inks are both environmentally friendly and they meet global regulations and are compliant with many industry standards. They also tend to be less toxic than other inks and toners.

In the United States, Memjet inks comply with the following standards:

  • US – ASTM Standard Consumer Safety Specification on Toy Safety
  • US CONEG Model Toxics in Packaging Legislation, and EU Packaging Directive 92/62/EC

In addition, the inks used in the Afinia L801 and other Memjet-powered color label printers do not contain: mercury, lead, phthalate esters, bisphenol-A, cadmium or hexavalent chromium. Memjet reports that trace contaminants may exist but have been tested at a presence of less than ten parts per million. If you’re in California, you’ll be pleased to learn that there are no Proposition 65 chemicals in Memjet inks. Memjet inks are also fully compliant to comparable standards in the European Union and Asia.

Memjet Food Labeling Speed

In addition to its water-based ink formulation, Memjet color label printers, such as the Afinia L801 color label printer, are fast enough to keep pace with even the busiest production lines. The Afinia L801 prints beautiful, full color 1600 dpi food and beverage labels at a speed of 60 feet per minute. Perhaps best of all, the Afinia is one of the most economical choices you can make for high speed, high volume, full color food and beverage label printing.

What Else Do You Need to Know about Using the Afinia L801 to Print Food Labels?

While choosing a color label printer, like the L801, that’s fast, safe and effective at printing food labels is the first step, there are a few more considerations when printing labels that may come in contact with food.

For example:

  • Is the label adhesive compliant with FDA 21 CFR 175.105?
  • If the label will come into contact with fatty, aqueous, or acidic food, the paper must comply with FDA 21 CFR 176.170.
  • Though it should go without saying, you should never print directly on food.
  • Is there a chance that the ink could migrate from the label to the food? Our label printing consultants can recommend the best Afinia label stock for printing different types of food and beverage labels, including FDA-compliant labels and synthetic film labels with exceptional water resistance to protect against ink migration.

Where to Go from Here

Memjet’s water-based inks along with the speed, quality, and value of the Afinia L801 make it an excellent in-house label printing solution for the food and beverage industry. If you’d like to see the quality of the labels for yourself, send your label design file to us and we will happily mail you printed samples. Contact us today to learn more.