Print/Apply Labeling Corners The Spice Market
Lauren R. Hartman, Senior Editor
From all spice to tumeric, Tones Brothers knows herbs and spices. Distributing more than 3000 herbs, spices, blends and dry sauce mixes in the U.S. and Canada under the Spice Islands, Blue Ribbon and Durkee French brands, Tones aims for peak quality and freshness. Operating what could be the largest spice plant in the world, the Ankeny, IA, company lays claim to being the first to produce see-through plastic bottles and first to cryogenically produce spices, a freezing process that seals in freshness.
When it comes to package identification and coding shipping cases, Tones takes that same high tech, progressive approach. Recently, Tones added 39 Model 2198 print-and-apply labelers from Labeling Systems Inc. (LSI) to its 39 spice bottling lines to code cases and open-topped trays of product. The move was part of an overall $1.8-million bottling operation upgrade to reduce troubleshooting time and reach peak efficiency. Tones treasure trove of herbs and spices serve foodservice outlets, retailers and clubstores. The plant generates some 22,000 shipments of product per eight-hr shift. There are about 60 different corrugated shipping container and tray configurations. The label printer/applicators were furnished by Challenge Printing/Flexographic Specialties' Steve Sylvander, who also provided peripheral labeling software and line integration. Sylvander recommended the Model 2198 for its abilities to handle such volumes and withstand a harsh environment like that of a spice plant.
Dust busters
While equipped with a sophisticated dust filtration system, the massive 750,000-sq-ft plant's spice bottling operation can sometimes be peppered with aroma and particles, making label application tricky. According to Tony Bolletta, engineering manager, the systems exhibit no problems in the spice plant's sometimes difficult environment. Designed with a purged-air print engine, the printer/applicators were customized with suitable dust covers and custom ribbon supply, label kits and printhead cleaning kits. Most practical is a unique high-volume vacuum system with large anti-clog vacuum slots that holds each label in place on the applicating arm and removes free-flowing dry spice particles from the area. Installed last year over several months, the print/apply machines offer highly legible, consistent code printing, with an emphasis on improved accuracy and precise placement on one corner of each case. The data can be easily scanned and read by the human eye, Tones tells PD, satisfying stringent industry code compliance and customer needs for tracking and scanning, as well as Tones own code scanning and tracking requirements. "The LSI printer/applicators greatly improved distribution efficiency and code scannability," says Bolletta. "The clarity of the printing is far superior than anything we tried. We're better able to meet customer requirements."
A choice of print engines includes Tones-specified Zebra 173 Series PAX engines that provide print
resolution at 300 dots per inch. In operation, the printed wraparound label feeds to the applicator's
vacuum grid and then rolls onto the leading case panel and around the side. Label roll capacity in this case is 12-inches O.D. Label placement accuracy, currently pegged at better than +/- 1/32 inch, is a dramatic improvement, Bolletta says.
The applicators keep pace with coding as they dispense up to 30 2 ยด 9-inch thermal-transfer labels per minute (one standardized label size serves all 60 case configurations). "We tried just about every type of coding and labeling equipment we could find to do the job, but the LSI corner wrap applicator was the simplest, most robust of any we tested," Bolletta explains. "It had the most durable framework and worked well in the plant, which is not always the easiest environment to deal with."
Other line upgrades include the implementation of a plant wide data acquisition system as well as the addition of new high-speed case packers from Thiele and a computer control network from Allen-Bradley. Driving each of the 2198 print/apply machines is an Allen-Bradley MicroLogic 1500 programmable logic controller interfaced with an A-B master control and individual SLC 500 Series line/station controls. The new data acquisition system is part of the company's plant automation upgrade. The PLCs are also linked with A-B hand-held bar code scanners on each line, used to swipe bar codes in order to change label printing variables, verify data and code/verbiage correctness or input new information. The printer/applicators' touchscreen display panels allow users to input data on the screen so that the printer/applicators can communicate with the rest of the line and feed data back to the central computer. Customized LabelView PC-based code development software accommodates each spice product's variable information and allows Tones to create new label structures. "The machines signal the rest of the line if a printhead error occurs, indicate low print ribbon or label stock, and detect approaching cases," Bolletta says. "They can analyze errors and record how many labels scanned were printed correctly and how many were rejected. And they operate on-demand, in real-time." That's especially welcome, he adds, considering the thousands of identification variables on so many production lines running thousands of product varieties. "The systems allow us to control data from a centralized base. Before, we had to maintain a completely separate one for coding, which along with our product master lists, required constant updating. Now, all information displayed is directly taken, via computer, from the product master file in our main computer base. It's the most accurate, up-to-date information in the plant."
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