Printing best-before datesQuick. Simple. Reliable.
Printing best-before datesQuick. Simple. Reliable.
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Printing best-before dates
Printing best-before dates with the REINER® marking systems
Securely and quickly applying products with the best-before date stamps – along with barcode, graphics, text, and more!
The mobile handheld printers by REINER® will let you apply the best-before date imprint to foods and cosmetics particularly easily. Our best-before date markers print perfectly clearly on many different materials. Apply the best-before-date stamp to packaging materials or right to your products, saving time and money as compared to labelling.
REINER® printers for expiration and best-before dates: special features at a glance
Best-before date direct printing on the finished packaging as required with number, date, time, text
Ideal for labelling small parts
25 custom print images
included in the device
included in the device
- Best-before-date imprints can be created simply and quickly on the computer using the enclosed PCset graphic software and transferred by USB/Bluetooth.
- The jetStamp® 990 model can be easily integrated in the packaging section.
jetStamp® 990
• Ideal for small areas
• Also prints on curved surfaces
• User friendly
• Starting model
• Quick imprint
• Max. print size: 2 lines,
each 42 x 3,2 mm (W x H)
• Also prints on curved surfaces
• User friendly
• Starting model
• Quick imprint
• Max. print size: 2 lines,
each 42 x 3,2 mm (W x H)
Best-before date imprint: REINER® expiration date printers facilitate best-before date marking
Manufacturers of foods and cosmetics have been required to apply a best-before date imprint in Germany for more than four decades. Though the regulation was a milestone for consumer protection, small producers in particular are finding the best-before date marking of goods a challenge to this day. In contrast to large manufacturers, they usually lack automated labelling solutions, requiring them to mark every single product manually. This is traditionally done in a slow and tedious marking process using labels.
REINER®’s “handheld inkjets” are an option for making best-before date labelling faster and more economical. Our best-before date printers render labels unnecessary by putting best-before date and batch stamps right onto the product. The special REINER® ink is smear-resistant on virtually any imaginable surface and outstanding for the legally required markings such as the best-before date stamp. Our handheld printers also keep you mobile, rendering the marking process much more flexible.
REINER®’s “handheld inkjets” are an option for making best-before date labelling faster and more economical. Our best-before date printers render labels unnecessary by putting best-before date and batch stamps right onto the product. The special REINER® ink is smear-resistant on virtually any imaginable surface and outstanding for the legally required markings such as the best-before date stamp. Our handheld printers also keep you mobile, rendering the marking process much more flexible.
Our best-before date marking system is very simple to use
Buying a REINER® best-before date stamp will pay off: in particular smaller producers value our speedy and handy inkjet printers. Our printers are the all-round solution for product marking with best-before dates, batch numbers, texts, or logos. This is how it works:
- The enclosed PCset software will let you easily create the desired motive. Sequential dates or numbers can be set as well.
- Then connect your REINER® best-before printer to your PC by Bluetooth or USB and transfer your print data.
- Now you can start marking the product. Simply place the printer on your product and push the print button. Quick-drying ink and low ink consumption will enable you to mark many goods quickly.
REINER® product solutions
The right device for almost every requirement.
We offer different inject printers depending on your needs and area of application.
Select the right marking device for you from our product variety:
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Best-before date stamps: Why do manufacturers have to print the best-before date onto their goods?
Virtually every product is sold in prefabricated packaging today. Even fresh fruit often is no longer offered openly, but packed in cellophane, rendering purchasers unable to determine product “freshness” by looks, smell, or feel.
The legislator had to act since consumption of spoiled goods may pose considerable risks to health. The “foodstuffs marking ordinance” (Lebensmittel-Kennzeichnungsverordnung; LMKV) introduced binding provisions on marking with the best-before date in Germany back in 1981. The best-before date print contains the date until which the product “will retain its specific properties if stored appropriately”.
The legislator had to act since consumption of spoiled goods may pose considerable risks to health. The “foodstuffs marking ordinance” (Lebensmittel-Kennzeichnungsverordnung; LMKV) introduced binding provisions on marking with the best-before date in Germany back in 1981. The best-before date print contains the date until which the product “will retain its specific properties if stored appropriately”.
If any food changes its “composition” to the point where it no longer corresponds to the product proposal in terms of nutrition-physiological effect (e.g., vitamin content), enjoyment (taste, smell, colour, consistency), or usability (e.g., raising capacity of yeast) after a certain period, that “threshold date” is to be disclosed to the purchaser by the best-before date stamp.
Depending on product, this may also be about guaranteeing that no harmful germs have spread within the packaging before the best-before date. Therefore, companies will add a buffer to the date, which explains why foods can be consumed for long after the printed-on best-before date. There is no legal provision in Germany that forbids trading of goods after the best-before date. However, the dealer is obligated to verify that the goods are still impeccable in that case. Such goods also must be marked specifically. Those products then usually end up in the special offers with discounts of 50% and more.
Depending on product, this may also be about guaranteeing that no harmful germs have spread within the packaging before the best-before date. Therefore, companies will add a buffer to the date, which explains why foods can be consumed for long after the printed-on best-before date. There is no legal provision in Germany that forbids trading of goods after the best-before date. However, the dealer is obligated to verify that the goods are still impeccable in that case. Such goods also must be marked specifically. Those products then usually end up in the special offers with discounts of 50% and more.
Is there a difference between the best-before and expiration dates?
“MHD” is short for “Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum” (best-before date) and based on the foodstuffs marking ordinance. The consequences of this marking obligation have often been subject to heated discussion in the years since its introduction, and in particular also in 2022.
Many consumers mistake the best-before date stamp for the use-by date or expiration date. Plenty of food is needlessly thrown away due to this misunderstanding. The best-before date does not mean that the product automatically is reduced in value or no longer fit for consumption afterwards.
Many consumers mistake the best-before date stamp for the use-by date or expiration date. Plenty of food is needlessly thrown away due to this misunderstanding. The best-before date does not mean that the product automatically is reduced in value or no longer fit for consumption afterwards.
Many TV reports and articles in social media are taking on this subject by now to counter the waste trend, e.g., in the form of “self-experiments” that prove that yoghurt will still be perfectly enjoyable as long as four weeks after its best-before date. Information campaigns by the Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture are supporting this trend.
The use-by or expiration date is different from the best-before date in one important aspect. It is required to mark food that spoils very easily, and that may pose a danger to consumer health after a brief period. Known examples for this in particular include minced meat and raw poultry. The consequences when exceeding the expiration date are much stricter. Such products must not be sold or eaten anymore.
The use-by or expiration date is different from the best-before date in one important aspect. It is required to mark food that spoils very easily, and that may pose a danger to consumer health after a brief period. Known examples for this in particular include minced meat and raw poultry. The consequences when exceeding the expiration date are much stricter. Such products must not be sold or eaten anymore.
REINER® MarkingPartner in your area
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Printing on the best-before date: Why is direct printing a better option than labels?
Many companies continue to use labels to mark the best-before date. Labels are, however, tedious, expensive, and prone to errors as compared to a best-before date marker with direct printing function. The following makes clear why smaller manufacturers in particular will profit from buying a REINER® best-before printer:
REINER® has been headquartered in Furtwangen in the Black Forest since 1913. It is a market leader in handheld stamps in Europe and in mobile inkjet printers and scanner systems in Germany.
