What can you print with a portable inkjet printer?

With a SHICAI handheld you can print text, dates, expiry and best-before marks, lot and batch codes, serial numbers, 1D barcodes and QR codes, plus simple logos and graphics. The 2-12.7 mm print height covers most carton and component marking, and the fast-dry ink bonds to non-porous plastic, metal, glass and coated board.

Because messages are stored onboard (up to about 30,000 of them), switching between a date code and a QR promotion is a menu tap, not a reprint.

Onboard storage holds 50 MB – roughly 30,000 saved messages – so operators switch between SKUs without a PC.

A 42 ml fast-dry cartridge prints on cartons, plastic, metal, pipe and curved surfaces, drying in 2-5 seconds.

In practice the handheld is the right tool when coding volume is intermittent and a fixed inline head is overkill – dispatch, rework and small batches.

Key points:

• SHICAI handheld inkjet printers cover a print height of 2-12.7 mm at 300×600 DPI and connect over USB 2.0.
• A full charge runs 16+ hours, enough for a full shift of intermittent coding in a warehouse or dispatch area.
• The interface ships in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Arabic and more), with handwriting input for one-off marks.

Operators like that there is no purge, no make-up fluid and no daily startup routine; you charge it, pick a stored message and print.

SHICAI (Shanghai Shicai Inkjet Technology Co., Ltd.) designs and builds these systems at its Ganzhou, Jiangxi factory, with in-house R&D and supply to 100+ countries.

Related: Can handheld printers print logos and graphics, not just text? · Can one handheld device print dates, batch codes, barcodes and QR codes?

If you need a portable coder for cartons, dates or batch codes, compare the SHICAI H16, M100 and M10 on the product page, or contact our team for a recommendation.

Reviewed by the SHICAI engineering team.