Bucher Emhart Glass has developed ID Mark, a unique system for coding glass bottles, allowing traceability through the complete life cycle. 

A highly advanced hot end laser marking system, ID Mark will allow the creation of maximum value along the supply chain, for glass producers, fillers and end consumers. ID Mark makes each bottle uniquely identifiable, with information such as the manufacturing time and line code. 

The system works in a few simple steps:

1. Right after production, the hot glass bottles are passed through the laser beam.
2. The CO2 laser marks each bottle with a unique code. 
3. The codes are programmed from the user interface directly, or through an offline simulator.

The ID Mark system can print alphanumeric characters, data matrix codes and even a combination of these. The printed code makes the bottle uniquely identifiable throughout its life cycle.

This offers a number of benefits like process optimization, anti-counterfeiting, distribution management and the management of returnable bottles. This creates value for glass producers and fillers. The codes can also be scanned using a mobile phone application. This allows the ID Mark system to also be used for end-consumer benefits. The current marking will however need optimization to be easily readable.

Bucher Emhart Glass has also developed ID Read, which is an integrated software to read the data matrix codes printed on the bottles. The speed of this system is about 800 bottles per minute. ID Read verifies machine readability of the ID Mark and also stores inspection results to the unique bottle ID. 

ID Mark and ID Read are aimed at improving traceability in the glass industry by attaching all production and inspection information unique to each bottle.