UDI Grading

UDI Grading Report Card

Understanding the key metrics that determine UDI mark success

Symbol contrast measures how clearly your laser mark stands out — without strong contrast, even perfect modules can’t be reliably scanned.

Axial non-uniformity reveals how consistently your laser maintains module width along the cylinder — small shifts can silently kill scan reliability.

Grid non-uniformity shows how precisely your laser holds module alignment — even tiny rotational errors snowball into decoding failures.

Unused error correction shows how much hidden protection your UDI mark has left — low margin today means scanning risk tomorrow.

Fixed pattern damage tests the structural anchors of your DataMatrix — if these are broken, no amount of correction can rescue the code.

Modulation measures how sharply the laser defines bright and dark modules — weak modulation is like blurring text on a book page.

Print growth shows how much your modules have swollen due to heat — oversized or blurry modules quietly sabotage scanning.

Consistent cell size is critical — fluctuating module dimensions confuse the scanner’s ability to lock onto and decode your code.

Reflectance margin tells how well your mark resists scanning errors caused by lighting changes — higher margins mean real-world robustness.

Rotary marking misalignments create axial/radial grid distortion that can completely prevent successful scanning of otherwise well-formed codes.

Laser overheating causes module swelling and shape distortion, shrinking scan margins and raising verification failure risk over time.