Printers
Handheld TIJ Printer · 12.7 mm Print Width
A battery-operated half-inch handheld coder for cartons, pallets and large parts that cannot be brought to a production line.
Key specifications
- Model
- XM-H12
- Type
- Handheld
- Print height
- 1.2 mm – 12.7 mm
- Print width
- 12.7 mm (half-inch)
- Resolution
- 600 dpi, print-mode dependent
- Throw distance
- 2–5 mm (1–2 mm gives the best placement accuracy)
Overview
The argument for a handheld coder is not speed — it is that the machine comes to the product. Cartons stacked in a warehouse, pallets on a truck, extruded profiles, pipes cut to length, castings and fabricated assemblies: anything that is awkward to move or has no fixed position belongs on a handheld unit rather than a conveyor.
This model takes the half-inch cartridge, which covers the majority of industrial coding: date codes, batch and lot numbers, serials, weights and short specification strings. If the content needs to include a QR or Data Matrix code alongside a date line, the one-inch model is the practical choice — the code gets too small to scan reliably at 12.7 mm.
Placement accuracy is the honest limitation. A sweep across a surface is hand-guided, so the print lands within a band rather than at a coordinate. For applications where the code must appear in exactly the same place on every unit, a fixed inline head is the correct tool, and we will say so rather than sell the handheld and let you find out at commissioning.
Unit photograph + printed sample
Awaiting real product photography and printed samples on the customer's substrate
Design points
Product comes to the printer, not the reverse
No conveyor, no fixture, no line modification. The unit is carried to the pallet, the profile or the assembly and the code is applied where the product already is.
Touchscreen with on-device editing
Text, dates, batch numbers and incrementing serials can be edited on the unit itself, so a content change does not need a laptop or a service call.
Six-language interface
Interface available in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic, matching the six languages this site is published in. This matters on multilingual shop floors where the operator and the maintenance technician do not read the same language.
Internal encoder wheel
Print timing is synchronised to the sweep rather than to a fixed clock, so character proportions stay closer to intended when the operator sweeps at an uneven speed.
One cartridge platform across the fleet
The same half-inch HP45-format cartridge used by the inline models. One consumable part number across handheld and inline units simplifies ordering and stock control.
Content templates and counters
Common content can be saved as templates and recalled at the press of a button, with automatic date, batch increment and print-count functions for shift-level accountability.
Full technical data
| Model | XM-H12 |
|---|---|
| Type | Handheld |
| Print height range | 1.2 mm – 12.7 mm |
| Print width | 12.7 mm (half-inch) |
| Resolution | 600 dpi, print-mode dependent |
| Print speed | Hand-speed dependent; the internal encoder wheel matches print timing to the sweep |
| Throw distance | 2–5 mm (1–2 mm gives the best placement accuracy) |
| Head configuration | Single cartridge seat; takes the half-inch (12.7 mm) HP45-format cartridge |
| Trigger | Manual trigger with an internal encoder wheel that synchronises firing to the sweep speed |
| Power | Rechargeable lithium-ion battery, designed for a full shift of intermittent use |
| Protection | Designed for dry indoor use; not a washdown-rated enclosure |
| Ink systems | Water-based (carton, paper, wood); Solvent fast-dry (plastic, coated metal, film); Covert UV (authentication marking); Food-contact formulation, where the application requires it |
| Interface languages | English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic |
| Print technology | Thermal inkjet (TIJ), one-piece HP45-format cartridge |
| Print height range | 1.2 mm – 12.7 mm, set by character height and line count |
| Print width | 12.7 mm (half-inch) |
| Resolution | 600 dpi, print-mode dependent |
| Coding content | Text, date and time, batch and lot number, incrementing serial, barcode, QR code, simple graphics |
| Interface | Colour touchscreen; six interface languages |
| Trigger | Manual trigger, internal encoder wheel for sweep synchronisation |
| Power | Rechargeable lithium-ion battery |
| Construction | Engineering polymer body with a metal frame; hand-held, single-handed operation |
| Substrates | Carton, paper, wood, plastic, coated metal, film, glass — ink system must be matched to the surface |
Ink base
- TIJ 2.5 Solvent CartridgeHDPE, PP, PET, coated metal and film
- Invisible UV Security InkCovert authentication and traceability marking
Confirm by sampling on your own substrate
Typical applications
- Warehouse re-labelling and out-of-spec rework coding
- Pallet and bulk-bag marking
- Extruded profiles, pipe, tube and cable
- Large castings, fabrications and machined parts
- Site and field marking where there is no power or conveyor
- Low-volume and job-shop production with frequent content changes
Engineering notes
- 01
Handheld coding is manual, so throughput is bounded by the operator, not the machine. If a single line needs a fixed code on high volumes, an inline head will outperform any handheld unit on consistency, and the cost comparison should be made on total cost per marked unit.
- 02
Placement repeatability is the variable to test. Print a run of 50 units and measure the spread of the code position before committing, if the code has to fall in a printed box or clear a specific area of the pack.
- 03
Confirm the cartridge body size against the model before ordering. This unit takes the half-inch body; a one-inch cartridge will not seat.
- 04
Battery life is quoted for intermittent use. Continuous heavy printing, low ambient temperature and a display left on at full brightness all reduce it, so plan a charging routine around your actual shift pattern rather than the headline figure.
What a handheld unit does well, and what it does not
A handheld coder is a trade of consistency for access. Where the product cannot come to a fixed head — a pallet on the floor, a welded fabrication, a length of pipe being fitted on site — the handheld is the only practical option. Where the product can be presented to a fixed head, the inline unit wins on repeatability, and no amount of operator skill closes that gap.
So the selection question is not “handheld or inline” in the abstract. It is: does this particular code have to land in the same place on every unit, and is the volume high enough that a manual sweep becomes a bottleneck? If the answer to either is yes, look at the inline range.
The cases where handheld genuinely wins:
- Mixed products on the same shift, changing content between them
- Large or heavy items that are not going to be moved to a line
- Maintenance and rework coding, where a unit arrives mid-shift needing a relabel
- Sites with no conveyor and no plan to install one
- Low total volume, where the payback on a fixed installation does not exist
Half-inch versus one-inch, in practical terms
12.7 mm of print height is more capacity than the number suggests. At a 3 mm character height it comfortably fits two lines; at 2 mm it fits four. The binding constraint is not line count but code density — a QR code needs enough modules across to be read by the scanner at the end of the line, and shrinking it to fit a half-inch band reduces the module size rather than the code’s data content.
The practical test is to print the intended content at the intended character height, then scan it with the actual end-of-line scanner, at the actual conveyor speed, with the actual lighting. That test settles the half-inch versus one-inch question in twenty minutes and removes the guesswork.
What to specify when you enquire
Send us these six things and we can give you a configuration rather than a brochure:
- Substrate — the material and its surface state, plus a photograph if the shape is unusual.
- Content — the exact text, how many lines, and the required character height.
- Volume — units per shift, and whether it is steady or bursty.
- Placement requirement — does the code have to sit in a specific position, or anywhere legible?
- Environment — indoor, outdoor, dust, humidity, washdown, ambient temperature.
- Post-print handling — what touches the code, and how soon after printing.
Items 1 and 6 decide the ink. Item 4 decides handheld versus inline. Items 2 and 3 decide the print width. None of them can be answered by a catalogue page, which is why we ask.
Questions engineers ask
How fast can it print?
Throughput is set by the operator, not the machine. A single-line code on a carton takes a few seconds including positioning, so a realistic figure is a few hundred units per shift rather than a fixed units-per-minute rating. If your volume is high and your content is fixed, an inline head will be faster and more consistent — we will tell you when that is the better answer.
How accurate is the print position?
It is a hand-guided sweep, so the code lands within a band rather than at an exact coordinate. How wide that band is depends on your operator and the surface. Print fifty units and measure the spread before you specify this unit for an application where the code must fall inside a printed box.
What is the battery life?
The battery is sized for a working shift of intermittent printing. Continuous heavy printing, low ambient temperature and a bright display all reduce it. We will quote the figure for the specific configuration rather than a headline number, and recommend a charging routine around your actual shift pattern.
Can it print on curved or uneven surfaces?
It can, with limits. The internal encoder wheel synchronises firing to the sweep, which reduces distortion on gently curved surfaces. Sharp curvature, deep recesses and large changes in height along the sweep will all affect placement. Send a photograph or a sample and we will say whether handheld is realistic for that geometry.
Which ink should I order with it?
It depends entirely on the substrate. Carton, paper and wood take a water-based ink; plastic, coated metal and film need fast-dry solvent; covert marking needs the UV ink. Most customers start with one cartridge matched to their dominant material and add a second for the awkward cases after sampling.
Can it be used in a washdown area?
No. This unit is built for dry indoor use and is not a washdown-rated enclosure. Where the environment has washdown, heavy dust or condensation, an inline station with an appropriate IP rating is the correct choice.
Send us your substrate — we will send back a printed code
Tell us the material, the line speed and the text you need to print. We will recommend an ink system and put printed samples in the post so you can test them yourself.