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Used Labeling Machinery: Hidden Costs You Did Not Know About

July 19, 2019 by value

Used Labeling Machinery and Packaging Machinery: Purchasing used labeling machinery, sealing, and packaging machinery will definitely provide a path to lower machinery purchase costs- and it will feel like a great deal. But watch out- you could be setting yourself up for huge costs that far outweigh any savings you thought you might make by […]

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: caps and liners, induction sealing machines, labeling machines, packaging materials and machinery

Making Re-Purposed Glass Packaging Possible with Induction Sealing and SealerOn™

February 26, 2019 by value

Induction Sealing Glass The appeal to pack into glass is well documented. Those seeking products in glass are looking for product that is not tainted by plastic contact.  They are looking for purity in the product and most likely align themselves with the goals of environmental awareness and sustainability. If packaging can be recycled, that […]

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: caps and liners, induction sealing machines, labeling machines, packaging materials and machinery

LabelOn™ Mini Synergy – Accuracy of Application – Five Times Spot On

February 21, 2019 by value

We’ve got you covered In the smallest of spaces! Two of the most difficult production line problems faced can be finding the room and finding the budget for equipment to accurately place labels onto your product. Check out our new LabelOn™ Mini Synergy Range: These are Power House pieces of labeling equipment that can sit […]

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: caps and liners, induction sealing machines, labeling machines, packaging materials and machinery

Treating Induction Liners as Contents

July 12, 2018 by value

Food Grade Induction Liners Big Brand Cosmetic and Food Companies value their product being produced in Western Countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, The UK, Germany and France. For example, a Salt Scrub that says produced in Canada carries a lot more appeal to clients and Brand owners alike than a product that […]

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: caps and liners, induction sealing machines, labeling machines, packaging materials and machinery

LabelOn Labelling Machine Range

May 9, 2018 by value

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: caps and liners, induction sealing machines, labeling machines, packaging materials and machinery

Cap Liner Types and Functions

May 1, 2018 by value

A cap liner is a piece of material that sits between the cap and the bottle. Its traditional primary purposes are to offer proper sealing of the product to prevent leakage and optionally to provide tamper evidence. New technology is now turning this humble piece of packaging into a multimedia gateway for brands to reach out to their consumers […]

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: caps and liners, induction sealing machines, labeling machines, packaging materials and machinery

SealerOn3000™ Flat Cap Induction Machine

September 22, 2017 by value

The SealerOn™ 3000 is typically rated for Flat Caps of Diameter 20 mm to 120 mm traveling on a conveyor at speeds up to 20 Meters (60 Ft) per minute. The Actual Speed needs to be determined with the Cap, Lining Material and Bottle combination to hand. The Standard frame Allows the Sealing Head to be […]

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery

Induction Sealing Statistics – How You Must Get The Right Cap and Lining Material Combinations

September 22, 2017 by value

This discussion below is an excerpt of a client discussion we have prior to supplying equipment. We don’t have to do this; we could be like the ebay or Alibaba or “one stop every machine under the sun supplier” but we are not as we like to think of ourselves as a supplier invited to […]

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery

1″ Solution

July 30, 2017 by value

This week something happened that makes me want to “blow our own horn”.  Maybe we’re boasting, but I’m very happy by how we supported a client this week.  Let me tell you more.


1″ Labels-Print & Apply
We’ve been selling to several customers 1” wide labels for printing with the C7500 and C7500G.  What makes this fact interesting is the minimum print width on the C7500G is 2”.  Please see this post for more information:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2016/06/cryogenic-narrow-labels.html

For this customer, we created a 1” label centered on a 2” liner.  And it worked perfectly.

1
1″ Wide Label-2″ Total Construction
In addition, this customer uses basically all black artwork.  And black is the most difficult color by far.  Here is what we’re recommending for all black labels:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2016/11/ink-pigments.html

After several months, the customer purchased an automatic label applicator from Label-On; The Label-On Mini 500 Tabletop applicator:

http://www.label-on.com/tabletop-round-bottle-labeling-machine/

This applicator, however, would not allow us to account for the .5” liner on the “bottom” side of the label.  Normally, exposed liners are approximately only 3 mm or less.  Attempting to apply the 1” labels centered, we would have place them above the start of the taper on the bottle.  Therefore we had to move the label from the center.
To make this change, we changed the die to make the labels, placing it on one side; and making the exposed liner basically on 1 side.

1
1″ Wide Label-One Side Justified
It was very difficult to come to agreement, however, on which side to place the label.  We had to account not only for the applicator placement of the label, but also the fact the labels would be rewound to place on the applicator.  It may not sound complex, but this requirement led to a great deal of discussion.  And some worry on my part.
Once the labels were manufactured, our customer tested them; and found the labels did not print at all correct.  They were still centered on the 2” label.  Frankly, I had forgotten to tell the customer of the need to redo the artwork.  Tim, our Support Manager, figured this out quickly. But was still “nerve-wracking” for me.
To support our customer, we quickly recreated labels the labels adding the extra liner and bleed.

1
1″ Wide Label PDF- 2″ Total Construction
Once we had the new artwork, the label printed close to perfect; we had to move horizontally the label to print full-bleed.  A slim line of white was exposed on one side.  Using the horizontal alignment feature in the C7500G driver and changing slightly the media size, the label printed perfectly.  And the rewinder worked as expected.  Watch us print and rewind here:


More important to me, the label worked on the applicator:

C7500G Printed 1
C7500G Printed 1″ Wide Label Applied By Applicator
Watch the Mini 500 Tabletop apply these 1” labels onto the bottle perfectly.


Reading this post, it may not sound like much.  But getting this label design to work correctly was a lot of effort.  And I appreciate the patience the customer showed during this process.
If you want to print 1” wide labels or any other difficult or special color labels on-demand, contact us.  We’ll help you create the solution that meets your requirements.
Guy Mikel
855-962-7670
info@colorlabelsolutions.com 

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: Color Label Printers, Kiaro, Labels

“Hot” Labels

July 29, 2017 by value

Burn Hot Sauce (www.burnhotsauce.com)  is an original, small batch, farmer and chef-owned business in Santa Cruz, California.  All of their produce is grown on organic farms; and is raw, alive and full of probiotics.  Their single-origin fermented hot sauces age for months, highlighting the farm on every bottle; and are made with love.  To learn more:  http://ediblemontereybay.com/online-magazine/winter-2016/edible-artisans-burn-hot-sauce/


When asked about their interest in printing color labels on-demand, Chase Atkins and Amada Pargh, owners of Burn Hot Sauce, said, “We like the ability to modify our label designs at any time; which helps us conserve media.  In addition, we wanted to print labels ourselves to save time.  It takes a lot of time to purchase and use preprinted labels.”
After trading a few emails, Amanda and Chase sent me a PDF of their labels. 


Burn Hotsauce Label
Burn Hot Sauce Label
I printed from the C7500 and sent print samples of their labels to them to review. As I did not have the correct size of label, it was difficult to impossible to print full bleed.  But the label print quality was good.

C7500G Label Print
C7500 Label Print
However, I sent them only paper as I did not understand their requirement for waterproof labels. 
Once Amanda and Chase received the labels, they wrote, “Unfortunately we will not be buying an C7500 printer since it does not suit our needs.  The gloss paper disintegrates in water”.  In addition, Amanda and Chase were MAC users.  Initially, they did not want to use a printer with no MAC printing capabilities.  If you want to print labels from your MAC computer, read this post from our Tech Support Manager Tim:  http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2016/02/printing-from-epson-label-printers.html

After receiving this email, I sent them another set of samples from the C7500 on matte poly labels.  Our matte poly labels are very durable, waterproof and chemical resistant.  If you search “GHS” on our blog, you will see many posts on labels for GHS.
After testing the poly labels, Amanda and Chase purchased a C7500 and 2.5” x 6” labels and started printing!

C7500 Printed Labels
C7500 Printed Labels
According to Amanda and Chase, “we like the C7500 color label printer.  This printer has great print quality and speed; and enables the use of a variety of label media.”

Burn Hot Sauce Labels
Since receiving Burn Hot Sauces pickles, I can vouch that they are Spicy; and Good! 
Also, I found the Cyklon Probiotic Powder a very interesting product.  I look forward to finding a new interesting way to use the powder.
Now producing their own labels, Burn Hot Sauce will start printing for other local food manufacturers.  Chase will begin printing labels for two other food companies shortly; with customized label sizes from us.
We enjoy working with food manufacturers like Burn Hot Sauce; producing unique, specialty products.  Our print on-demand color label systems fit their requirements well; and we get to try great tasting food!  Contact us if we can help with your custom labels.
Guy Mikel
855-962-7670
info@colorlabelsolutions.com

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: Color Label Printers, Kiaro, Labels

Edible Love

July 29, 2017 by value

Love’s Oven (www.lovesoven.com) products are produced with the highest quality all-natural ingredients that are sourced locally (Colorado beet sugar) and organically (organic coconut oil) whenever possible. Their proprietary THC & CBD extraction methods ensure that you receive a consistent and effective dose of cannabutter/cannaoil Love in every bite.


Love’s Oven was born in 2009 with a promise to its patients to provide great tasting cleanly extracted products to help with their chronic pain and other ailments.  If you look at the label of any of their 15+ products you’ll never find any ingredients that you need to have a chemical engineering degree to pronounce. Ingredients like crystallized ginger and honey roasted peanut butter are about as complicated as it gets.  Love’s Oven has built its reputation by crafting their products in a state of the art facility in Denver where their food safety and quality assurance programs guarantee you’ll receive a potent and delicious product that can be found throughout Colorado.

In the fall of 2016, Colorado issued new label requirements that caused Love’s Oven to change their labeling procedures. According to Katie Wrank, Administrative Assistant & Marketing, “Colorado mandated that we add the Universal THC Symbol, in various sizes and colors, to each label for both medical and recreation use.  At the time, we were using a black only, DataMax thermal transfer printer adding variable data on top of five different preprinted labels in conjunction to printing some on a laser printer. This process was very frustrating and time consuming.  We had to make a change.”
Katie says, “While growing significantly, we needed an efficient and improved process to label our products. Prior to any changes, our work flow was to extract label information from the daily production list, transfer the production numbers and product information manually to the packaging order, and then type everything by hand onto our label templates. With over eighty-eight label templates requiring daily changes, our label process was at risk for human error. Plus, all these changes were too much for one person to manage.” 
To change their label process, Love’s Oven contacted Rich Arbogast of Sendata Systems, (www.sendatasystems.com). As a partner of Color Label Solutions, Rich contacted us to see if we have a solution for Love’s Oven.  Rich said, “Sendata are experts at managing data and thermal transfer printers.  But decided to work with Color Label Solutions to bring the best possible print on-demand color label system for our customer, Love’s Oven.
To start the process, we printed sample labels on the C7500G.  We recommended this printer given their need for a large volume of gloss labels.

Love's Oven C7500G Full-Bleed Label
Love’s Oven C7500G Full-Bleed Label
In addition, we provided an estimated ink cost of their labels.

C7500G Estimated Ink Yield
C7500G Estimated Ink Yield
On these long, full-bleed labels, I estimated the ink cost at $0.027 per label.  Based on the samples and estimated ink costs, Love’s Oven purchased a C7500G printer.
About the C7500G, Katie says, “We now have the ability to print on demand labels quickly and efficiently. We also have the design flexibility to change our graphics on a moment’s notice.  Many of our customers love to see their logo printed in full color on products that contain their trim or flower.”
While working with Love’s Oven, I learned about their new label creation process.  Katie says, “to improve our labeling process, I decided to use a mail merge technic that I used in a former position at a large shipping and printing company. In Excel, I created a database of our products, including all the variable information: product name, ingredients, allergens, net weight, and pieces per package. This database allows us to quickly update product information such as changes to a recipe. On another tab in the Excel database, we retain information about the ingredients used during the cultivation of the marijuana, which are required by the state of Colorado. By using the VLOOKUP command in Excel, we pull information pertaining to each product, automating the data input on the production list.”
“Once we have the products compiled in one list, we use Adobe InDesign to merge the data with our artwork onto the backgrounds of our label templates. With this workflow, we can export all our labels from one file as separate PDF files which print like a dream on the C7500G.”

C7500G Label
C7500G Label
One other interesting note, Rich has worked to help Love’s Oven to print THC symbols on their brownies using white, food-grade ink.  What a great solution Rich put together for Love’s Oven.

Edible Ink Printed Brownies
Edible Ink Printed Brownies
“With the constantly changing Cannabis labeling/direct marketing laws and regulations required by the State of Colorado, providing the best solution to these requirements was our goal. I believe we hit the mark with the C7500G printer for the packaging labels and direct marking food grade inkjet coder for applying the mark directly to the edible products. These products are the only ones I know that can print with the quality needed for the labels, and the food grade ink for the direct marking of the edible food cannabis products.”
We’re excited by the success at Love’s Oven.  If you need a new labeling solution for your cannabis or any other products, contact Color Label Solutions.  We’ll help you meet the regulatory requirements of your industry; and produce beautiful labels in the process.

Guy Mikel
855-962-7670
info@colorlabelsolutions.com 

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: Color Label Printers, Kiaro, Labels

On-Demand Color Mattress Tags-Labels

July 29, 2017 by value

The story of Pleasant Mattress Inc. stretches back to the throes of World War II, when the original Morgensterns immigrated from Vienna to the United States and cobbled together a new life. Today, Pleasant Mattress continues their tradition of resourcefulness and forward-thinking. Their success rests on the synergy between father and son. Generation after generation, Morgenstern sons have taken inspiration from their fathers, each one building on the tradition of the last. As Isaac Newton said, the secret to success is standing on the shoulders of giants.


Pleasant Mattress manufactures following product lines in their plant in Fresno, California:

●   Chattam & Wells-the first Californian Born luxury mattress.  Each Chattam & Wells luxury mattress is made in the USA by people who believe their job is to create a mattress that provides the foundation for a healthy life.
●   MAXX-Ingeniously over-engineered for years of support.  MAXX takes cues from traditional high-end mattress crafting; employing proven and durable coil engineering.  
●   Spring Air- the standard for quality mattressesand sleep systems. A great night’s sleep starts with a mattress that can both support the body and relieve pressure where it is needed most. Spring Air Back Supporter mattresses do just that, with patented designs and innovations that are unmatched by any other bedding company.
●   Eclipse-makes a difference in the sleep health of their customers through handcrafting the highest quality sleep products.  
Pleasant Mattress Factory
Pleasant Mattress contacted me when they wanted to add color labels and tags into their operation.  According to Russell Raymond, Director of Plant Operations, “In our facility, we mark each law tag we sew into our mattresses with a highlighter.  Each day of the week is added to each tag in the color of the group of orders.  These colors markers make it easy to track our products through production.  But it takes time to mark all of these tags; and opens up the possibility of errors.  We needed to automate this process, using our existing Easy Label software.”
To test the feasibility of this solution, I shipped a C3500 demo printer and labels to Pleasant Mattress to test.  Working with IT, we added the demo printer to their network and adjusted the Easy Label templates to add color based on the order number.  We made this change in a very short time.

Pleasant Mattress Text Label
Pleasant Mattress Test Label


In addition, we tested sewing into the mattresses some of the 5 mil poly tags we sell, and they seemed to work great.
 

Tag Sample Sewn Into Fabric
Tag Sample Sewn Into Fabric

Based on this test, Pleasant Mattress purchased C3500, tags and labels; and deployed them in their operation.

C3500 Printing 4
C3500 Printing 4″ x 12″ Tags
These printers produce the 4” x 12” law tags.  The letter represents the day of the week of the production; and the color represents a group of orders.

On-Demand Color Mattress Law Tag
On-Demand Color Mattress Law Tag
And these tags are sewed into the mattress during production:

Color Tag Sewn Into Mattress
Color Tag Sewn Into Mattress
Once packaged, Easy Label generates a color-coded label for each mattress to represent a shipment of a group of orders.

On Demand Color  Mattress Label
On Demand Color  Mattress Label
And once the label is on the finished product, Pleasant Mattress uses the color-coded label for staging and loading of orders.

On-Demand Color Labels for Staging
On-Demand Color Labels for Staging
According to Russell, “the color codes prevent potential errors.  If a shipping error is made, the incorrect color sticks out.  The color-coding labels in our operation saves us time and potential costs.”
The color-coding solution deployed at Pleasant Mattress reminds me of one of the first stories I completed on the C3500, many years ago at Tubelite:

Tubelite

From my perspective, two aspects of the Pleasant Mattress C3500 deployment make this solution stand out. Neither have anything to do with the printer.
First, Pleasant Mattress understood how color would improve their operation, and they found a way to automate this component as part of the solution.
Second, implementing an automated color printing solution was easy.  Using their existing label printing software, Easy Label, Pleasant Mattress’s IT manager understood the application sufficiently that making the change was easy.
I’m exciting by the on-demand tag and label solution implemented by Pleasant Mattress, as it shows how color creates value in an operation.  Contact us to discuss how color can improve your operation as well.
Guy Mikel
855-962-7670
info@colorlabelsolutions.com

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: Color Label Printers, Kiaro, Labels

No Risk Label Printing

July 23, 2017 by value

This post is from guest blogger, Tim Semic, Support Manager from Color Label Solutions.

Would you like to provide a way for your employees or vendors to print labels that meet your exact specifications without the risk of accidentally making changes? 
How about printing labels from multiple computers? 

Printing labels from a web browser?  Even across the internet?

BarTender Print Portal
BarTender Print Portal
 If so then please read on…
Seagull Scientific offers two Bartender companion applications that enable you to print labels from a simple read-only interface.  Those applications are Bartender Print Shop, and Bartender Print Portal.
The user interface is basically the same between the two products, while the configuration is more complex for Print Portal.
Bartender Print Station is bundled with every edition of Bartender, while Bartender Print Portal is only bundled with the Enterprise-Automation edition.
Print Station provides a mechanism for printing labels within an easy to use read-only interface.  This configuration prevents employees accidentally changing or deleting labels.  Consequently, some companies may wish to have a “design” computer using Bartender Designer, and then another computer or two set up for print-only label printing.

BarTender Print Station
BarTender Print Station
Print Station can be configured for full-screen and secured; effectively turning a computer into a print kiosk.  This type of kiosk would be great for printing badges, shipping labels, or static labels in a secured computer interface.

To learn how to configure Print Station, watch this video:

Configuring BarTender Print Station 

Print Portal offers different options for risk free label printing.  Elizabeth Sinclair of Seagull Scientific says, “Print Portal includes many features that make locating and printing documents quick and easy. Running on a web server, BarTender documents are available from any computer connected to the internet. With built-in security measures, administrators of Print Portal can require users to login to the site, and assign user permissions granting access to specific documents on the server. Print Portal’s intuitive interface lets users quickly locate the document they need to print and send it to the printer with a simple “click” operation.”

BarTender Print Portal
BarTender Print Portal
If interested in learning how to configure Print Portal, see this YouTube video. 

Configuring BarTender Print Portal

As Print Portal is more difficult to configure, the video is long; but goes through every step in the process to get your users, either internal employees or outside vendors, printing the labels you need.
To operate Print Portal, you’ll need an Enterprise Automation edition of Bartender; which is licensed based on the number of label printers you require.
Which edition is right for me?
The number of computers required to print labels will dictate which companion application to use.  If you wish to provide label printing in a read-only interface from more than three computers, purchase the Enterprise Automation edition of Bartender.  You will get security, ease of label printing, and some pretty heavy bragging rights too!
And contact us to help you configure Print Portal to work for you and your company.  Happy Printing!
Tim Semic
855-962-7670
support@colorlabelsolutions.com

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: Color Label Printers, Kiaro, Labels

“GE”–NOT “G”

July 16, 2017 by value

As of August 1st 2017, Epson will no longer sell the C7500G printer.  They announced end-of-life for this part number earlier this July.


C7500G
C7500G

I first wrote about the C7500G in July of 2015:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2015/07/c7500g.html

And wrote about one of our first customers, NIC Industries, using the C7500G:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2016/06/c7500g-whiz.html

Instead of the C7500G, Epson will sell the C7500GE.  The “GE” is a printer bundle: including the C7500G printer, a single user license of Wasatch SoftRIP, one year of on-site service for the printer, and 6 months of free support for Wasatch SoftRIP.  Learn more about the GE printer bundle, including the Wasatch RIP here:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2016/11/c7500ge.html

With the SoftRIP, you get better color control; especially important when trying to color match.  For example, you may use it to match specified Pantone numbers, to match more closely the color printed on a label to the original artwork.  However, you don’t have to use the SoftRIP to print to the C7500G.  You can print to the C7500G from most if not all Windows based applications.

Wasatch SoftRip Label Edition
Wasatch SoftRip Label Edition
Here is information from Wasatch on their Label Edition: 

https://www.wasatch.com/labels.html 

For an incremental $955 for the C7500GE versus the C7500G, you get 1 year of on-site service valued at $1,029 and the Wasatch SoftRIP valued at $1,200.   Even with just the on-site service, the GE bundle is a great deal.
Personally, I believe the SoftRIP is best suited for professional printers; those individuals experience with using other RASTER IMAGE PROCESSORS (RIP) from other printing applications.  Although not difficult, using the RIP is different than printing directly from a PDF and other Window-based software programs.
So beginning August 1st, you’ll be able to purchase only the “GE” version.  But some of you may not want or need the on-site service or the RIP software.  If so, please contact us know to order your C7500G before the price goes up.  Or purchase from our store here:

https://colorlabelsolutions.com/product/c7500g-inkjet-label-printer/

Don’t forget to add 2 years of Extended Warranty with the “G”:

https://colorlabelsolutions.com/product/c7500-c7500g-return-to-depot-extended-warranty-one-year/

And a spare set of ink:

https://colorlabelsolutions.com/product/c7500g-multi-pack-ink-cartridge-cmyk/

And a spare maintenance kit:

https://colorlabelsolutions.com/product/c7500g-maintenance-box-c33s020596/

If you prefer to get the C7500GE with the one year on-site service and Wasatch SoftRip, purchase in our store here: 

https://colorlabelsolutions.com/product/c7500ge-graphics-editon-inkjet-color-label-printer/

Or contact us if you have any questions around printing color labels on-demand.
Guy Mikel
949-680-7840
info@colorlabelsolutions.com 

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: Color Label Printers, Kiaro, Labels

L801 Full-Bleed Label Printing

June 27, 2017 by value

While attending the recent Afinia reseller meeting, I learned about a relatively new feature built into the L801 printer driver, which makes full-bleed printing relatively easy.  Let me tell you more.


L801 Full-Bleed Printed Label
L801 Full-Bleed Printed Label
If this company is new to you, Afinia Label (www.afinialabel.com) was founded in 2009 to offer specialty printing solutions with best-in-class support at accessible prices. Their parent company, Microboards Technology, has been offering media duplication products since 1989. This background gives Afinia a rock-solid foundation of technical expertise, and decades of experience providing the best possible customer service.  
In the past, I’ve written about one of their new products, the L301:  
http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2017/02/l301.html

and we’ve sold some of their other products.  Afinia’s major product is the L801 which uses the Memjet print engine:
http://afinialabel.com/equipment/l801-printer/

The L801 prints beautiful labels up to 8.5” wide; especially using the dye-based inks.  Although the dye inks are not sufficiently durable for many applications, they produce a very vibrant color, which is required for many prime label applications where many customers want to print full-bleed.
But full-bleed printing can be difficult on die-cut labels.  You must get some ink on the exposed liner; but not too much.  Too much ink on the liner may transfer to the label itself.  I written about full-bleed label printing in the past.  Here is a recent post covering full-bleed printing.

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2017/04/easy-to-do.html

Now in the driver, Afinia has added to their driver controls that make it easy to print full-bleed labels.  To cover labels 100% with ink, you need to first know the orientation of the labels. To know the “language” that Afinia uses to describe the label orientation.

L801 Label Orientation
L801 Label Orientation
The leading edge of the label (the edge that comes out of the printer first) is described as the “Top”; making the trailing edge of the label the “Bottom”.  Standing behind the printer, you’ll find the “Left” and the “Right” edges.  When facing the printer, the left and right are reversed (naturally).
When printing full-bleed, Afinia recommends making the size of the label in the driver slightly larger than the actual label size.  I’ve used 0.03” as my standard recommendation since I’ve written this article on the LX2000:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2015/06/lx2000-full-bleed-color-label-printer.html

Once the print size is set in the driver, Afinia recommends printing a few labels to examine the initial print output.  You need to ignore the first label, according to Afinia, to enable the settings to be completely implemented.
Once printing, you can see if the image need to move up or down; or right to left to better fit.  To move the image in the template, it’s simple to do using the position adjustment.

L801 Position Adjustment
L801 Position Adjustment
The position adjustment provides the movement direction for positive or negative inches or millimeters you can adjust the image. This diagram makes it very simple to center the image correctly on the label.  Again the idea is to have only a very thin line of ink on the liner; covering the edge of the label completely.  Here is the setting we used during our training:

L801 Position Adjustment
L801 Position Adjustment
Once this setting is establish, Afinia recommends printing a few more labels.
If you still have an edge or two that is still slightly off, you can make an “offset” adjustment on a single edge.  This setting basically stretches the edge slightly; just enough to eliminate a thin ribbon of white label showing; or to reduce the overprint slightly.  Again, here is my setting during training:

L801 Offset Adjustment
L801 Offset Adjustment
It’s a genus idea that makes printing full-bleed easier to do.


According to Mike Atkins, National Sales Manager for Afinia, “The low cost of ink and great quality of color output from the L801 has made it one of our most popular options for prime label applications. However, printing edge-to-edge has certainly presented a challenge to users in the past. These latest updates in the driver have opened up what our customers can do with the L801, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.”
If you need to print full-bleed labels; but don’t want to spend a lot of time adjusting the print, contact us to help you with the L801 color label printer from Afinia.
Guy Mikel
855-962-7670
info@colorlabelsolutions.com

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: Color Label Printers, Kiaro, Labels

On-Demand Color Badges

June 13, 2017 by value

Founded in 1976, CompuSystems (https://www.compusystems.com/) has enjoyed many years as a major registration service provider for the trade show industry. They offer integrated software that meets the specific needs of their clients, creating an ecosystem that fosters the buyer and seller relationship.

Their goal is to establish long lasting relationships with their clients based on trust, a shared success and a commitment to quality. Their vision is to have every customer recommend CompuSystems. To succeed, CompuSystems is dedicated to making investments in quality products and services to support their customers now and in the future.


When Jeremy Kubik, Director of IT for CompuSystems, and I first communicated, he was looking for an alternative to the Xerox Color printers they were using.  Jeremy said, “We’re looking for an alternative to the Xerox sheet fed printer.  We want to use some type of continuous badges; many of our badges are 4” x 12”.  In addition, we need a smaller footprint as our registration desks have limited space.  Plus we need to have the capability to print on-demand and in color.”
Based on our discussion, I sent samples of both 10 mil paper and 8 mil poly badges designed to work in the C3500.  The poly material is more expensive than the paper; but prints great and is very durable.  Ink costs are less, generally, compared to laser..  On the sample artwork provided by Jeremy, I estimated the ink cost for the C3500 printer at $0.049/badge.  Not bad for a 12” tag.

4
4″ x 12″ Badge Ink Cost-C3500
As CompuSystems consider alternatives, I found a new 8 pt tag paper tag material that was stiffer and printed great.  Plus this material was very affordable.  With this new material, Jeremy created a new 12” tag design, set up to print 2, 4” x 6” badges separated by a crease.  With this design, the C3500 can print a two-sided badge.

4
4″ x 12″ Badge Design
Based on the available materials, running costs and printer cost, CompuSystems purchased C3500 printers for their badge printing.

C3500 Badge Printers
C3500 Badge Printers
Even more interesting to me, is how CompuSystems deployed the printers in an overall solution.  First, how the printers were deployed.  According to Jeremy, “to install and configure the printer drivers, I figured out how to accomplish this task via a batch mode.  This step was important as every badge pickup desk at each event uses a different server.  The batch driver deployment makes it easy for us to set up an event.”

C3500 Badge Printers
C3500 Badge Printers
In addition, CompuSystems uses BarTender to create the templates and print badges.  According to Jeremy, “we use BarTender to print our badges.  Our Unix-based registration application looks up each person in the database and “prints” via port 9100 to the local BarTender server.  BarTender then adds the variable information to the template to create each individual badge.  We’re printing hundreds or even thousands of badges at a time with variable information.   All that information is then synchronized with our main servers.  BarTender works great for us.”

BarTender Badge Printing
BarTender Badge Printing
C3500 Badge
C3500 Badge

Jeremy and CompuSystems has built a great solution for printing color badges on demand using the C3500 printers and BarTender.  Jeremy says “we’re very happy with the performance of the C3500 in our first event.  They’re working great; printing very fast.  We especially like the short time to first print.  Plus the print quality is sufficient for our situation.”
In addition, we’ve found badge material, both paper and poly that print great and is affordable.

Fanfold Badge Tags
If you need to print event badges, contact us.  We’ll help you move to printing color badges on-demand, saving you time and money.
Guy Mikel
855-962-7670
info@colorlabelsolutions.com 

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery Tagged With: Color Label Printers, Kiaro, Labels

Medium Sized Personal Care Manufacturer Seeking to Find a Supplier of Induction Seals

July 12, 2016 by value

We have received an inquiry from a medium sized personal care manufacturer seeking to find a supplier of induction seals for HDPE bottles. They are looking to insert the seals with a machine or by hand if they have to.

The start up, their Induction Seals order volume is not that great and is geared for small orders of 5kpcs. They are catering on a client that placed their first order and expect large growth quickly. They are looking to purchase a machine that will get them by until their volume justifies a more automated cap liner inserter.

Our Response:

We understand the chicken and egg situation for purchasing equipment and materials in the rapid growth stage.

In order to assist them with their project we would need pictures of their bottles and caps.

Pictures should show:

  1. the bottle with its cap off from the side
  2. the bottle with its cap off from the top
  3. the bottle with its cap on from the side
  4. the bottle with its cap on from above
  5. cap from underneath (inside)
the bottle with its cap off from the side

the bottle with its cap off from the side

the bottle with its cap off from the top

the bottle with its cap off from the top

the bottle with its cap on from the side

the bottle with its cap on from the side

the bottle with its cap from above

the bottle with its cap from above

cap from underneath

Cap from Underneath

With these pictures we can assess the induction seal suitability and machinery requirement

Other information we need to know

  1. a) The Bottle Material (what kind of plastic or is it glass)
  2. b) Contents ; is it a product with Oils Wet/Dry/Cream

With these details we can determine the best sealing material to supply

Note: we also have equipment to assist with labeling in small volume and can work with you in both induction sealing and labeling equipment as you grow.

Filed Under: Case Studies, Packaging materials and Machinery

What to Do with a Bunch of Labeling Machine Quotations

July 15, 2015 by value

Labeling Machine Quotations

Labeling Machine Quotations

Labeling Machine Quotations

Before spending on a capital piece of equipment like a label applicator, due diligence will usually require you obtain a number of quotations to compare; this is especially the case if you have not used label applicators before.

You want the best value piece of equipment that fits your budget to apply labels.  This article seeks to assist you in logically prioritizing the quotes you have received and to help point out the key targets that must be satisfied.

1.0 Bottom Line – The Price

Here it is important to understand that the price and the cost of a machine are very different.

A very cheap labeling machine can cost far more than a medium priced machine if that machine causes significant line downtime with slow and difficult set-up procedures or unreliable mechanics and electronics that break down and need replacing.  Imagine your line down for a day or a week with your staff still needing to be paid and your clients being let down with supply, not to mention your lost profits on your product.

A medium priced machine can cost more than an expensive machine if spare parts pricing is prohibitive or if machine service and back up is difficult because that machine does not have well thought out design features to facilitate fast over the phone fault finding or onsite swap out and replacement of parts.

2.0 Who really listened to you?

Looking at your quotation there will be some quotations that stand out because the people providing you with your quotation appear to have really “listened” to what you want rather than supplying a machine they want to supply you with template quotations.  Quotations from people who listened are a good sign that you will be listened to in the future with after sales service and advice.

3.0 Were you dealing with a pawn or the king of the organisation?

Many machine sales people have little to no technical or management background so they will find it difficult to properly understand your requirements on these fronts.  It is often far better to be dealing with some-one senior in a small to medium sized company who can assist in all facets of the machine supply from machine proposals to machine maintenance and operational advice.  These key company people value long term client satisfaction and feedback far more than say a sales executive/manager in a large organisation.

4.0 Machine Service

A supplier boasting a big service team can indicate great after sales service but it can also indicate there is another self-funding business operating within that company.  Spare parts are often a quick and easy way for machine suppliers to make fast money supplying parts you would find hard to source and charging out relatively low paid employees at top dollar rates.  There is little incentive in such an organisation to solve your problems over the phone as they have a team that needs to charge out their time and needs to sell parts to make budget.  A supplier of well-designed labeling machine like the LabelOn™ modular should be able to advise that well over 95% of machine problems can be sorted out over the phone and possibly with the courier of parts.

Machines that rely on service technicians to be available for a visit to sort out a problem can indicate machinery is not that well designed for intuitive fault finding and repair, machine records are not available for the client or a high maintenance budget is inevitable.

Filed Under: Labeling Machines, Packaging materials and Machinery

Caps with Liners

July 15, 2015 by value

Caps and Closures

As we deal with so many cap manufacturers we are able to source and supply you with the cap and cap lining material combination you are looking for without the need to separately supply you with cap lining material. The caps are supplied from cap manufacturers for whom we have an established trading relationship.

These cap manufacturers will almost always sell through third parties and we have qualified with many cap manufacturers to be that third party. We insure the pricing we supply is equal to or better than if you had gone to other third parties or EVEN the cap manufacturer themselves.

Our knowledge and involvement in the supply of Cap Lining Material, Lining Inserting equipment for the cap manufacturers and induction sealing equipment for the end user means we can help source “get-it right first time” combinations of caps with cap lining material and supply at very competitive pricing.

caps with liners
caps with liners

 

Contact Us

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery

Induction Material Liner

July 15, 2015 by value

Material Liner is what we call that piece (or pieces) of what looks like paper inside product caps. It is also referred to as induction foil, induction sealing material, foil seals and induction seals among others. Many people are unaware of the purpose they serve to the product aside from being a protection seal or a tamper proof seal.

Material Liner Purpose

Material liner within caps can be one piece or two pieces depending on the expected purpose of the lining material.

Single piece cap linersSingle piece cap liners are often present in smaller sized containers in which the product is likely to be consumed after opening. Its packaging is regarded as being one time use packaging.  In this instance, the liner functions as protection until the product is opened. No other material is left inside the cap.

 

 

Two Piece Material LinerLarger packs or bottled items are not likely to be completely consumed right after opening. The consumer is more anticipated to reclose the container and store the product. The caps used on these conditions have demands for caps that reseals effectively. Upon close examination, the caps used on these kinds of merchandise have laminated foam within. This lamination enables the cap to reseal the container upon closing to maintain product freshness.  The laminations within the cap as well as the removed tamper evident seal on the product are referred to as two-piece cap liners.

Deciding on the best components and structure of your foil seal is essential to guarantee the proper amount of protection for your merchandise. We can help you in selecting the type of material as well as the construction suitable to your application.

We have induction sealing materials available in many variants to fulfil almost any standard or individualized product packaging requirement which are safe and meet the strict specifications set by the Food and Drugs Authority.

Effective for products that must be kept free from contamination, oxidation and moisture, tamper evident hermetic seals are best suited for use in the following production:

  1. Food & Beverage
  2. Drugs
  3. Alkalies
  4. Acids
  5. Oils
  6. Organic solvents and products
  7. Flammables,
  8. Powders
  9. Pellets
  10. Other products

Induction foils are generally supplied to the closure manufacturers. Developed over 35 years ago, induction sealing, in the beginning, was designed to eliminate leakage of chemicals from plastic bottle caps. At present, this method works extremely well with most style container and closure.

Induction Sealing Process

The caps are supplied with an induction foil waiting to load into the capper. The container is then filled and capped, using the caps that are pre-lined with the induction foils.

The capped container is then transported down the conveyor line and travels underneath the induction sealing head. The electromagnetic field generated by the sealing head penetrates the cap and the aluminum foil layer. When the field permeates the foil, it causes an electrical current which melts the liner’s sealing film. The foil cools down as it leaves the induction field causing the heat seal film bond to the container. Once the cap is removed, the aluminum foil remains bonded to the lip of the container.

You can trust our team of experts to provide you the best solution to your application requirement. Contact us today!

Filed Under: Packaging materials and Machinery

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