Still stuck on you

Print and apply may be the less glamorous end of the labelling sector, but it's a vital part of supply chain management, particularly in the retail sector. Such labels allow companies to use generic boxes, obviating the need to have a warehouse full of preprinted boxes.

It is a well-established area and the solutions generally consist of three main elements - a label printer, a method of applying the label to the box and a control module.

Most systems use thermal printing: either thermal direct, which requires papers that use a heat-sensitive chemical to change colour when heated; or thermal transfer that prints via a ribbon coated with an ink, normally wax or a resin, which melts when heat is applied.

This latter is a more flexible system, as it can work with a wide variety of materials depending on which ribbons are used.

Denis Brett, managing director of Industrial Labelling Systems, says that inkjet is too messy, adding: "You need to have a fairly
good substrate to spray the ink on."

Brett says the biggest issue in this sector is traceability, noting: "It's more important for the customers now."

ILS supplies a number of different print and apply systems, capable of producing labels from 10mm to A3. Brett says the most popular system is a 6-inch printhead that allows the customers to print most common label sizes without having to change the vacuum pad to suit that label size, saving a lot of time and hassle.

The TT150 comes from the Swedish manufacturer Mectec and is designed for box and pallet labelling. It has a thermal transfer printer and can apply labels to the sides, top and bottom of boxes, preferably stationary. It uses a 150 x 210mm tamp applicator. Resolution is 8 or 12 dots, up to 300dpi and it runs at 275mm/sec. There's an optional handheld terminal and also a 4-inch version, the TT100.

Connectivity
Janet Thorpe, a director with Cobalt Systems, says that speed used to be the priority, but adds: "We are finding that connectivity is far more important than it used to be." Connecting the print and apply machines to a host network means that the label information can come directly from the central control system, thereby ensuring that the right data goes to the appropriate label.

It also allows the system to respond directly to events up and down the line, such as machines going down or starting up. Thorpe says that there are different levels of connectivity, noting: "You can have it so that you can check right on the machine, such as if the labels have run out."

She adds that there is a need for traceability, but that it is relatively easy to support this, pointing out that by the nature of print and apply applications, most labels already have enough information to move the products through the supply chain.

"We can add unique information to get you traceability down to the pack level," Thorpe adds, dismissing any worries about future coding requirements, saying that it's up to customers to add whatever codes they want through their design software, with most systems capable of printing both standard barcodes and 2D codes.

Cobalt has two standard systems, Nexus and Sprint, both launched last September. Each of these can be supplied as a single head that can be connected to a network, but there's also a double-headed version that ensures the system can keep running in the event of one head stopping.

Thorpe says that there is even a triple head system that can overprint a label in the event of a problem when a label is validated.

Peter Lister, product manager for Domino's print and apply solutions, agrees that integrating the print and apply system into the customer's main system is the main issue.

He says that the technology is well established, adding: "Everybody is just looking for something that will be straightforward to install and implement fully without any headaches".

He says that another thing that customers look for is a small footprint, so that a labeller can fit into a line without taking up valuable production space.

Future proofing is also important, according to Lister: "We have a legislative arm and are a GS1-approved supplier, so we know what is coming down the line in terms of future coding requirements".

Domino sells the M-series printers that include both direct thermal and thermal transfer engines and can print text, graphics and barcodes. There is a choice of right or left hand versions and they come with an easy to use Printer Control Unit.

The applicator is capable of handling different label sizes and materials from a single pad, so there is no requirement to change pads. The M-design software can handle both fixed templates and variable data feeds.

Verification
Another issue to be considered is that of verification that a label has been printed with the right information and is legible. At present, most verification to ISO standards relies on taking samples of a run, partly because the ISO standards are quite exacting.

Howard Jagger, UK sales director for Logopak, says that sampling isn't always done as often as it should be, noting: "Operators get tied up doing other things, so they are just checking occasionally".

However, Logopak has developed a high speed barcode verification system that could be used inline, and which will be launched at the Total show in Birmingham, UK next month.

The Logopak system can verify all of the pallet and case labels in a production run to the standards laid down by GS1, the international barcode standards organisation. The system is based around technology licensed from Axicon, which specialises in verification systems, and can be integrated directly into a print and apply machine so that the labels can be checked as they are printed.

The system also provides diagnostic data for remedial action should a barcode fail to meet the standard set.

Jagger explains: "This ensures that barcodes can be read by different scanners in different circumstances along the supply chain, such as light levels, distance and conveyor speeds." He says that the system is driven by the major retailers, as mistakes can trigger punitive fines.

However, Cobalt's Janet Thorpe questions just how feasible an inline verification system would be, noting that a customer would need verification for each line, whereas an offline verification system can cover several lines. She goes onto say that most print and apply systems are used at the end of a production line, and that most customers aren't willing to spend additional money at this stage.

A simpler approach

Codeology is a small company based in Wiltshire which deals mostly with outer case labelling for the retail supply chain, putting on barcodes for automated warehouses.

Jim Mason, a director and one of the company's co-founders, says: "Our customers' problems are how to do this without adding lots of costs, how to do it reliably to maintain maximum uptime, and how to do it in such a way that it's difficult to upset their customers."

According to Mason, the key to this is keeping the equipment as simple as possible to reduce any potential maintenance problems. To this end, rather than using an air system to apply the labels, the Codeology machines simply hold them in place and wait for the box to take them. He explains: "We move the label at the same speed as the box and it does all
the hard work for us".

However, he accepts that this system is best suited to labelling batches - printing several labels and then holding them - rather than real-time print and apply, but says that it allows enough traceability to satisfy his customers' needs.

Codeology's main product in this area is the P100, which is designed to be simple to use, and can easily be wheeled from one line to another. There is also an option for an integral conveyor that can be tailored to the required height.

The P100 has a 300mm diameter label roll capacity to minimise changeovers and handles labels from 50x25mm up to 100x300mm. It can print and apply up to 50 100x150mm labels/min. The system uses Datamax print engines, but customers can also specify Sato, Intermec or Zebras.

There are options for both wired and wireless ethernet, and Codeology has its own iBar software, but will integrate with other programs.

The P100 applies labels to the side only or wrapped around the side and end, and there is also a P150 with similar specs that can apply labels to the top of boxes.

One happy customer is the Cheese Warehouse, based in Shropshire. Since installing a P100 system, the company is said to have experienced an immediate increase in efficiency with less waste and less manual labour. This has resulted in the Cheese Warehouse adding two more P100 systems to be sure that the correct labels were being applied.

In conclusion, most industries are seeing a growing demand for better accountability, and a big part of that comes down to better traceability in labelling.

There is clearly a growing desire for integrating the print and apply machines into an overall system, but this is a market sector that is very sensitive to cost.

www.ilsystems.co.uk
www.mectec.com
www.cobaltis.co.uk
www.codeology.com
www.datamax-oneil.com
www.logopak.com
www.axicon.com www.domino-printing.com