Can a Malta Enterprise Grant Pay for Your Coding and Labelling Line?

What is the one rule that disqualifies most applicants?

Do not order, pay a deposit on, or sign for the equipment before your application is approved. This is the mistake that sinks otherwise strong applications. These schemes fund future investment, and an “incentive effect” rule means the support has to be what enables the project to go ahead. If you have already committed to the purchase, the logic is that you were going to buy it anyway, and the expenditure becomes ineligible. A purchase order, an invoice, or a paid deposit dated before approval can disqualify the whole claim. The correct sequence is: scope the project, get the quote, submit the application, wait for approval, and only then place the order. It feels slower, but it is the difference between a funded project and a self-funded one.

What does an application actually need from the equipment side?

You will assemble the financial and corporate parts of the application with your accountant, but the technical justification is where a supplier earns their place on the project. A credible application usually needs a formal quotation that itemises the equipment and installation, and a clear statement of the benefit in the scheme’s own terms. For a sustainability case, that means quantifying what the project removes: rolls of label stock no longer bought, ribbon and applicator consumables eliminated, waste diverted from landfill, energy saved. For a digitalisation case, it means describing the data flow the project creates and the manual steps it removes. Vague benefit statements are weak; a number you can stand behind is strong. Our companion guide on direct case and pallet printing works through exactly the kind of consumable-saving figures that make a sustainability case concrete.

Which Sirap equipment commonly forms the basis of these applications?

The clearest sustainability cases tend to come from the equipment that removes the most consumables. The Domino Cx-Series replaces printed labels on cases and pallets with direct ink coding, which removes label stock, ribbon and applicator maintenance in one move. The Domino F-Series fibre laser goes further by removing inks and ribbons entirely, marking the code permanently into the surface. On the digitalisation side, the Domino Mx-Series print-and-apply labeller and the Vx-Series overprinter both pull variable data from your systems, which is the kind of automated, verified coding these schemes like to support. The point is not that any one machine is “grant equipment”, but that each one tells a different funding story, and the scheme you choose should match the story that is true for your project.

Where the Domino Ax-Series fits

Continuous inkjet (CIJ) is the default technology on most production lines for a reason. It prints on almost any substrate, from curved glass bottles to flexible film, without ever touching the product. For many operations, the Domino Ax350i is the safest initial investment because of this versatility.

From a funding perspective, the argument for replacing an aging CIJ fleet rests on waste and consumable reduction. Older inkjet coders consume heavy amounts of solvent during their daily flush cycles. The Ax-Series uses an automated, sealed ink system that drastically cuts makeup consumption. In a Smart & Sustainable grant application, quantifying that reduction in solvent emissions provides the necessary environmental case.

There is a catch, however. CIJ is still an ink-based technology. If your primary goal is to eliminate consumables entirely to maximise a sustainability grant, you should investigate a fibre laser instead, assuming your product packaging can be lased safely.

Where these grants will not help

It is worth being clear about the limits. These schemes fund capital investment, not your running consumables, so the ink, ribbon and labels you buy month to month afterwards are your own cost. They will not retroactively fund equipment you have already committed to. They are competitive and budget-limited, so approval is never guaranteed even for an eligible project, and a call can close or change between the day you read about it and the day you apply. And the administrative effort is real: there is paperwork, reporting, and often a requirement to keep the asset in use for a defined period. For a small single-printer purchase, some companies decide the grant is not worth the process and simply buy the machine. That is a legitimate choice, and an honest supplier will tell you when the juice is not worth the squeeze.

The sensible next step

If you are weighing a coding or labelling investment this year, the order of operations is what protects the funding: decide what you want the line to do, get a specified quotation, and submit the application before you commit to buy. Sirap can provide the itemised quotation and the technical benefit statement that an application needs, and point you to the scheme that fits your project. We are not grant consultants and we will tell you to involve your accountant for the financial and eligibility side, but we can make sure the equipment half of the case is solid and that nothing in our paperwork accidentally breaks your claim. Talk to us about a grant-ready coding or labelling quote →