Custom compounder RTP (Winona, Minnesota / USA; www.rtpcompany.com) has developed laser-markable thermoplastic compounds formulated to allow high contrast marks and images to be added by laser processing. A variety of polymers, including clear substrates, can be compounded to optimise laser marks, eliminating the need for inks, paints and dyes.

The compounds can be formulated for the medical device market with biocompatible or FDA ingredients. They are available worldwide in a variety of resin and additive combinations that are custom formulated, colourable and optimised to several laser technologies.

The company said that laser-markable compounds are particularly important to medical device manufacturers in the US, who are required to comply with the FDA’s unique device identification (UDI) system. This system was introduced to reduce the chance of error in medical device distribution to patients, and for traceability reasons. It requires that each medical device is assigned a unique identifier, such as sequential numbering, as well as lot and/or serial numbers.

Josh Blackmore, RTP global healthcare manager, said: “Laser marking on a clear resin is very challenging because the light passes through the substrate. We are able to compound additives into the clear resin that absorb specific wavelengths of energy and create a high contrast mark, while allowing the resin to remain clear. This is incredibly useful for injection pens, drug pumps and medical packaging applications.”