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Timbermark – the Timber Stamp of Authority

Established in 2004, Timbermark is a marking systems company with a focus on the timber industry. The company pioneered high-resolution inkjet printers for the sector, allowing for sharper detailed images on end-stamps, planed timber and pallet blocks.

Focusing on the timber industry, Timbermark has developed products, applications and engineering solutions for the specific needs of sawmills and pallet factories. It offers dedicated printer installations for moulded timber, sawmill sorting lines, pallet blocks, 2-way bearer pallet lines and 4-way pallet lines.

Founder Colin Stewart, had already worked with distributors serving Swedish sawmills and set up the company to offer high-resolution inkjet printing to UK sawmills. “We have worked with our customers in the timber industry to understand their demands and developed applications which meet those needs,” says Colin. “We engineer our installations to be robust enough to withstand what can be a pretty rough operating environment, but also to allow the users to get the benefit of an electronics-based system with counting and date functions, or message switching capabilities.”

The latest developments in printing technology allow Timbermark to provide new options for customers. Thermal inkjet (TIJ) printers have found a place as a more efficient alternative to the continuous inkjet system. The printers offered by Timbermark use Hewlett Packard technology in the ink cartridges, which means improved speed, quality and reliability – and all at a lower cost. “What we like about TIJ,” adds Colin “Is that is provides a step-change in terms of inkjet reliability and performance. No more blocked jets, pumps, filters, damaged print heads – all the work is done in the HP cartridge itself. It’s just more efficient. If there’s a problem, just change the cartridge. No waiting for systems to start or engineers to turn up. The result is improved productivity.”

Timbermark’s thermal inkjet printers are supplied by Sojet in China. They are low-cost and the technology is easy to use. Colin says: “The Sojet system is very flexible. You can use up to six heads, so the printing setup can be configured in ways to suit the project. Any repairs are done by simply swapping the module. It is value-engineered in China so that it is the right price, and our customers are often surprised at how little the system costs. It is so simple to set up and install – most plant technicians have the skills required, especially with our guidance. And we can pre-configure the machine to their requirements before shipping. It is realistic to expect zero service costs for this type of printer.”

High-resolution inkjet printing can be used for a variety of applications such as printing barcodes. This option gives customers a cost-effective alternative to labels, and for sawmill customers, barcodes can be used to identify an individual piece of timber as it transfers between different processes. Using high-resolution print technology, a machine-readable code can be printed onto the top or end of timber on a transverse conveyor.

In its 15 years of trading, Timbermark has developed a customer base across the UK and Europe. It has exhibited at LIGNA in Germany and now has customers in five Eurozone countries. Exporting is still a key part of the company’s growth strategy, a plan that Colin hopes won’t be impacted by Brexit. “We have assured our customers that their costs from us won’t change,” says Colin. “We will pay the import tariffs on goods that we supply. We are committed to ensuring our customer across the UK and Europe continue to enjoy the best possible service from us, whether we’re inside the EU or not.”

For the complete feature read the Spring Issue of Timber Trader UK

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