A TIJ printer is the lowest maintenance way to put a date, a lot or a barcode on a pack, as long as the pack, the ink and the mounting suit it. Choosing one is mostly a matter of asking six questions in the right order.
TIJ stands for thermal inkjet. A TIJ printer, sometimes called a TIJ coder, prints directly onto cases, cartons, bags and film from a sealed cartridge that holds both the ink and the printhead. This page is a buyer's guide to the industrial kind, mounted on a line and triggered by a product sensor. It is not about desktop printers or home inkjets, and it does not cover a printer you would buy to print on paper.
Marapack Services is the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems, and on the coding side we supply TIJ printers, with our Titan printers under our own label and our own part numbers on the ink, to plants across the United States. We do not sell continuous inkjet or laser marking, and we say so where it matters to your decision.
Want a second opinion on what your line needs? Book an equipment audit and we look at the pack, the substrate and the conveyor first.
What is a TIJ printer and how does it work?
A TIJ printer fires ink from a cartridge whose printhead is a row of tiny heated chambers. A heating element flashes, a bubble forms, and a droplet is pushed out onto the pack. Because the printhead is part of the cartridge, replacing the cartridge replaces the printhead, so there is nothing to clean or service.
That single design choice explains most of what a TIJ printer is good and bad at. There is no make up solvent, no filters, no pump and no service kit, so the running cost is one consumable. The trade off is distance: the droplet travels a short, straight path, so the printhead has to sit close to the pack and the pack has to pass it consistently.
It is a different machine from a thermal label printer, which prints on label stock with heat, and from a desktop inkjet, which prints on paper. Our continuous versus thermal inkjet comparison sets TIJ beside the technology it most often replaces.
What types of TIJ printer are there?
Industrial TIJ printers come as handheld units for marking away from a line, and as fixed mount units for coding on a line. They differ in printhead width, which sets print height, and in how many heads are stitched together. Wider or multi head configurations print taller images in one pass.
Fixed mount (automatic). The printer is bracketed to a conveyor and fires when a product sensor sees a pack. This is the case and carton coding job in most plants, and the configuration we standardize on is a single half inch printhead.
Handheld. A portable unit for marking cases, bags, boards, pipe and product away from a fixed line: low volume, mixed product, warehouse and field work.
Multi head. Two, four or more printheads aligned to print as one taller image, up to 4 inches of print height on the widest configuration.
Our printers are the Titan family on half inch printheads. The SJ Freedom family (one inch printheads) and SJ Infinity are available on request; confirm with us. The models are listed on our coding and marking equipment page.
How do you choose a TIJ printer?
Choose a TIJ printer by working through the pack, not the catalog: what the surface is, what has to be printed and how tall, how fast the line runs, how the pack is presented, where the trigger and the data come from, and how the supply of ink will be managed. The printer model follows from those answers.
1. What is the surface? Porous or non porous decides the ink, and the ink decides whether the code lasts.
2. What is being printed, and how tall? A date and lot is a different job from a barcode and a logo. Write down the worst case content, not the typical one. Print height sets how many printheads you need.
3. How fast does the line run? The speed the line actually runs at, with the image size you actually need, not the rated speed.
4. Can the pack be presented consistently? A guide rail is cheaper than a technology change.
5. Where do the trigger and the data come from? A date typed in at shift start is a different system from one pulled from an ERP or a line controller.
6. How will the ink be supplied? A TIJ printer is a machine you buy once and a cartridge account you keep.
Then print on your own pack, at your own speed, and look at it an hour later.
Which ink does a TIJ printer need?
The surface decides the ink. Porous surfaces such as uncoated corrugate, kraft and paper absorb ink, so water based ink is right and cheapest. Non porous surfaces such as coated cartons, plastic, film and foil need solvent based ink, because water based ink on them will smear indefinitely.
Our Titan printer inks carry Marapack part numbers beginning MPT. MPT-WB1-BK is water based black for uncoated corrugate and paper; MPT-SB1-BK and MPT-SB2-BK are solvent based blacks for coated and non porous surfaces; MPT-SB3-WH is white for dark surfaces; and MPT-SB4-RD, MPT-SB5-YL, MPT-SB6-BL and MPT-SB7-GR are red, yellow, blue and green solvent inks for color coding. MPT-SB8-IV is an invisible solvent ink for covert marking. The full table is on our coding and marking equipment page.
When is a TIJ printer the wrong choice?
A TIJ printer is the wrong choice when the printhead cannot get close to the product, when the line outruns close range coding, when the surface is hot, wet, oily or heavily curved, or when a customer needs a barcode graded to a stated quality. Continuous inkjet, laser or a printed label may then be right.
We would rather say this than sell the wrong machine.
- The head cannot get close. Guarding, geometry or product movement can rule out a close range printer.
- The line is very fast. High speed beverage and bottling lines are the classic case for a different technology.
- The surface is hostile. Dusty, wet, waxed, deeply textured or chilled faces can defeat a direct mark.
- A barcode has to be graded. If a customer's scanner must read the symbol to a stated grade, a print and apply labeling system is usually safer than any direct code.
Where a plant already runs a maintained fleet of another technology and it works, replacing it is a project, not an improvement.
How much does a TIJ printer cost?
A TIJ printer costs what its configuration costs: handheld or fixed mount, one printhead or several, plus the mounting, the trigger and the ink the surface requires. We do not publish prices on this page, because a number given before we know the pack, the substrate and the line speed is a number for a different machine.
What we can say is where the cost sits. The printer is bought once. The cartridge is the running cost, so volume drives spend over a season, and planning the ink supply is part of choosing the printer. Ask for a quote on your actual line and we will give you the printer, the mounting and the ink in one place. Request an equipment audit to start.
How do you keep a TIJ printer running?
A TIJ printer needs a clean, steadily presented pack, a reliable trigger and a supply of cartridges. There is no printhead to maintain, so the work is in presentation and ink supply. We supply the ink under our own part numbers and set up standing pre-season orders, because private-label ink is made to order rather than pulled off a shelf.
Running out of ink stops a line as surely as a failed printer, and produce plants run coding hardest in the weeks when nothing can wait. In June 2026 alone we shipped 144 ink cartridges and one printer to five customers. For the Altech, Label-Aire, PackLeader, CTM and Tach-It labeling equipment on the same line, our preventive maintenance programs cover the machines around the coder.
Frequently asked questions
What does TIJ stand for? Thermal inkjet. A TIJ printer fires ink drops from a heated cartridge printhead directly onto the pack. It differs from CIJ, continuous inkjet, which has a permanent printhead on a circulating solvent system.
What is the difference between a TIJ printer and a TIJ coder? None in practice. Both names describe an industrial thermal inkjet printer used to code dates, lots and barcodes on packs in line. We use TIJ printer on this page because it is the common search term.
Is a TIJ printer better than a continuous inkjet printer? For discrete cases, cartons and film at packhouse speeds, a TIJ printer usually wins on maintenance and cost visibility. Continuous inkjet has the longer throw distance and higher speed ceiling and is the right answer on some lines. We say which in our comparison page.
Can a TIJ printer print on plastic and film? Yes, with a solvent based ink. Water based ink on a non porous surface will not dry and will smear.
Can a TIJ printer print a barcode? Yes. Whether the symbol holds up depends on the surface, print height, speed and ink, and it should be tested on your pack. Where a customer requires a stated grade, a printed label is usually the safer answer.
Do TIJ printers need maintenance? Very little. The printhead is part of the cartridge, so there is no printhead to clean and no solvent system. What they need is a clean, steadily presented pack.
What is the downside of a TIJ printer? It prints at close range, so the pack must be presented consistently; it needs solvent ink on non porous surfaces; and the cartridge is the running cost, so volume drives spend.
How much does a TIJ printer cost? It depends on configuration, mounting and ink. We quote once we know the pack, the substrate and the line speed.
Do you service TIJ printers? We support the printers we supply. For other coding equipment, bring us what is on the line and we will tell you honestly whether to keep, retrofit or replace it. Our labeler repair and service work covers the labeling machines beside it.
Get the pack right before you buy the printer
The hour that settles a coding project is the one where a code is printed on your actual pack, at your actual line speed and room temperature, and somebody checks it an hour later. We walk the line, look at the pack and the surface, and tell you which printer, which ink and which mounting, including when the answer is a label. Call 253-709-5566 or book a line audit.