While most barcodes you come across are printed on a label or paper-packaging of a product, in the manufacturing world and work-in-process applications many parts or components need to be marked with a barcode directly. Direct Part Marking is a process that  allows  users to mark a barcode directly on an item instead of printing the barcode on a label.

There are 3 main technologies available for DPM:  laser or chemical etching, dot peening  and ink jet printing. Each of these has specific  advantages  and disadvantages  in terms  of durability, cost and ease of reading.   The main advantages  of codes with  DPM technology are that  the code is permanently marked  on a surface and will  survive  for a long  time  (ideally  forever), regardless  of the  stress the part is passing  through during its’ life cycle. The main  reasons to choose codes with  DPM technology are:

• Items that need to pass through harsh testing processes  (chemicals  agents, thermal cycles, oil, moisture, etc.)
• Items that need to  be tracked  during  their  entire life cycle
• Very small items (difficult to label)

DPM technology was first  adopted  mainly  by the automotive and general mechanical industries. Currently, the popularity of codes using  DPM technology has spread into  different sectors  including electronics, chemicals  and healthcare  industries.

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