Another process is hot stamp printing, which constitutes about 50 percent of the company's business and uses hot metal printing forms to stamp an image. Hot ink rollers are the third process and make up about 10 percent of the company's business. It uses ink-soaked rollers to do the printing. Hot stamp printing, used for intravenous bags, puts expiration dates on food and identifying markers on underground cable. Hot ink rollers are also used in some cases for expiration dates and some printing on videotape cartridges.
Ink is mixed in a room that is closed to visitors and the rest of the plant.
Workers in that section wear anti-static suits to avoid fires while working with the chemicals used to mix the inks. The company engineers its inks for different purposes, including highly durable ink developed here about 10 years ago to print on underground cable. Once mixed, the ink is piped into the coding head. It puts the ink onto the film, which is about a yard wide. The large rolls are then slit into several rolls of smaller width to be used in printers.