Looking Class
As evidenced by these application examples, package printers have put web inspection systems to work for a broad spectrum of reasons, from meeting customer or end-use requirements, to establishing a general competitive advantage, to achieving process efficiencies. See for yourself.
By Susan Friedman, Editor
Fast-forward for flexpack quality
A general push toward quality assurance has taken hold in the flexible packaging segment, reports Koby Shtaierman, vice president, marketing and sales for AVT. He hears more printer requests to see the web at all times, to provide process control and quality assurance for big-name brands such as Frito Lay and Coca Cola.
Flexible packaging converters who have recently invested in AVT equipment include Excelsior Packaging, which installed five of the company's PrintVision/9000NT units to enhance operating performance on PCMC, Uteco and Windmöeller & Hoelscher presses at its two packaging plants. Stevens Flexible Packaging put a PrintVision/ 9000NT unit to work with the purchase of a new Windmöeller & Hoelscher 10-color press. MainePoly looked to the PrintVision/9000NT to reduce waste and help run its presses faster for greater productivity.
Shtaierman credits the PrintVision Series' appeal to its "process control" workflow, or its ability to trace problems before they cause waste. The systems can potentially cut waste by more than half.
Custom connections
Elimination of costly and error-prone human inspection required to meet customer requirements led a high-end label printer to invest in PC Industries' Viper Printing Inspection System™.
The Viper automatically detects print defects, verifies the sequential human-readable characters via optical character recognition, and provides real-time measurement of critical print and die tolerances.
In this installation scenario, the system was required to interface to the label printer's existing equipment. Timed outputs were provided to stop the press, mark the defective product, and output the human readable characters via a serial interface. Customization without costly programming fees was facilitated with the system's drag-and-drop interface, which allows screen layout changes and features to be added without programming.
"We are finding more applications where it is cost-effective to replace or augment human inspection," states John Woolley, vice president of sales. "With increased demands being placed on printers, sophisticated technology is needed to meet higher quality standards and to maximize efficiency and profitability.."
Wider windows for strobes
Security, speed, and versatility are driving new installations of strobe inspection systems. A pharmaceutical printer has put Unilux's new Lith-o-Light (LOL) UV illumination kit to work inspecting the UV coating on a product which must have one area left coating-free for a printed serial number. The UV kit illuminates the coating to a purple haze, so that press operators can ensure proper application.
Narrow-web printing firms have cut inspection time for finished rolls by as much as half with LOL-10 and LOL-5 systems, which can check for defects at production speeds approaching 1,000 fpm. The systems illuminate the entire web edge-to-edge. For wide-web inspection up to 60&Mac253; or more, LOL-850 and 851 systems can be mounted behind the operator.
Printers of longer-repeat flexible packages are turning to Unilux's LOL-15, which concentrates a brighter light and a heavier-duty power supply in a handheld design to allow spot inspections across the repeat that are easier on operators' eyes.
Used in conjunction with fine-tuned vision systems, strobe technology can ensure total quality of the printed product, emphasizes Jim Thomas, vice president, domestic sales.
Bar code back-up
Proof of verification was the simple force behind a recent installation of Label Vision Systems' INTEGRA 9000, a CCD camera-based bar code verification system billed as an alternative to laser-based verification systems, which don't always scan a bar code enough times to secure a formal ANSI grade.
In this case, the customer needed a high-end level of inspection with customized reporting functions to support claims of 100 percent product verification. Multiple customization challenges were overcome: The INTEGRA 9000's software was adapted to handle specific requirements, and its read heads were reconfigured to accommodate custom product sizes. Three more systems have since been installed, reflecting continued sales growth and customer retention.
"Most of our target prospects do not currently have bar code inspection systems," reports Tim Lydell, director of marketing at Label Vision Systems. "A large number of companies need these systems, but are still trying to get by and hope nothing goes wrong."
The INTEGRA 9000's newest feature, Duplication Database, allows the operator to determine if a number sequence or series has been previously run.
Pharmaceutical regs management
The cGMP Regulation for Finished Pharmaceuticals led Thomas Packaging to invest in Focus Automation's FDA-validated, 100 percent automated PharmaVision label inspection system. New FDA regulations not only require records for label quality inspection, but mandate that inspection systems must respond to both long-period defects and single instantaneous defects.
Thomas Packaging meets these regulations with PharmaVision's dual-inspection technology, which not only compares every label on the roll back to a pre-selected master image, but also compares each label to the label before it.
Robert Katcher, general manager at Thomas Packaging, favors line scan camera technology, which generates a continuous, two-dimensional video image of the roll surface as it moves by at production speeds.
Katcher also recommends heavy consideration of an inspection system's placement. On-press inspection can minimize the amount of non-conforming product produced, but defects can creep in as rolls are finished, he points out. On the other hand, post-press inspection ensures perfect labels just before shipping and without slowing throughput speeds. However, this approach may or may not lower overall costs.
A finishing touch to a new press
The search for a competitive advantage in the tightening label market led The Kennedy Group to invest in BST Pro Mark's Genius 100 percent inspection system for its new UV flexo/rotary screen combination press, the Mark Andy Model 7000. The press will be running flexible packaging print jobs, including unsupported film applications, as well as folding carton work on up to 24 pt. board.
Genius technology incorporates defect detection, 100 percent inspection of the repeat, and automatic inspection of color, bar codes, registration, etc., into a comprehensive defect prevention system. Dual CCD cameras provide background image analysis, and can process ten images every second. "While label converters today predominantly use visual inspection and semi-automated inspection systems, we have seen growing interest in the use of 100 percent inspection systems," observes John Thome, vice president, marketing.
The Kennedy Group, which owns eight other BST systems, opted for the Genius due to its advanced technology and upgradeability. "They liked the ‘core kernel' approach," Thome notes.
A new Genius model for the label market introduced at Labelexpo USA, the LeX, has a camera box small enough to fit on a typical label press and provides automatic inspection of a wide variety of print defects, including color and register errors. It can also be used for visual inspection of the web.
Narrow web's next level
Entry-level, narrow-web inspection capabilities get a facelift with the latest version of TruColor Video Systems' Series 1000 system, which now offers a higher resolution, 480 image line RGB camera and split screen capability. Three of these upgraded systems were sold in the first hour of Labelexpo USA, relates Jim Doerr, vice president of sales.
Printers were drawn to the Series 1000's dual-strobe capability, which eliminates shadows on the printed surface that can be caused by single-strobe systems. Each strobe is adjustable to ensure balanced lighting. Motorized lens control is now standard. Doerr says the Series 1000 can handle any web width, but its manual camera controls are best suited for webs 16&Mac253; or less. The system sells for under $6,000.
TruColor also continues to add custom touches to other systems. When a flexible packaging printer recently sought to integrate visual inspection and 100 percent bar code inspection on a 26&Mac253; Comco press, TruColor's highest-end 4000 Series system, which performs bar code sampling as part of its Program Scan function, didn't quite meet the requirement. In this case, TruColor met the challenge by integrating a bar code varifier on its intermediate 2000 Series system.
