Helping Beverage Industries with High-Speed Printing Solutions for Coding and Labelling

September 16,2020

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The beverage industry is facing its moment of truth. Not only are consumers asking brands to be more accountable for their actions, but they are also pushing them to adopt sustainable approaches. Increasing customer awareness and regulatory scrutiny mean that all the data related to manufacturing and pricing must be captured and printed correctly.

Batch numbers are usually added to ensure correct and complete tracing and bring full visibility to the supply chain. They also play a key role in investigating consumer complaints and rectifying errors detected during internal quality control processes. Lot number marking or batch number marking must hence be a seamless process.

FSSAI Requirements

To satisfy regulatory demands by FSSAI and customer nuances, critical data that needs to be printed for beverages in India includes but is not limited to

  • Code No/Lot No./Batch No.
  • Date of manufacture or packing
  • Recommended last consumption date or use by date or expiry date

The above data is variable, and hence, it can be printed only after the beverage is packaged. This data is often a source of decision-making by the consumer and directly affects their health and wellness.

Considering the above, there is a need to have industrial inkjet printers capable of printing these values in the beverage plant itself. This printer working as an MRP printing machine must not only withstand general wear and tear, but it should also be able to perform efficiently in a factory environment.

What are the Challenges faced in printing codes on substrates and labels in high-speed beverage industries?

Some of the challenges faced by Continuous Inkjet Printers (CIJ Printers) in printing codes on substrates and labels. They are

  1. Speed of the bottling conveyor

Beverage industries work on high-speed conveyor systems, ranging from 36,000 bottles per hour to 72,000 bottles per hour. When around 20 bottles per second are passing a particular point, customers will need a fast, responsive and reliable solution for their needs as the cost of poor quality in the case of a missed print can be very high. The CIJ printer or MRP printing machine must also be capable of being configured based on the scaling up and down as per the needs of the plant.

  1. Different Substrates

The data needs to be printed on different substrates based on the beverage. Sometimes, the substrate encountered may be aluminum cans. At other times it may be tetra packs, plastic lamination, plastic wrappers or even pouches. The ink used in the continuous inkjet printer should dry quickly, and the print should be legible. The batch number marking or the lot number marking must be accurate without the substrate limiting the operation.

  1. Food safety and hygiene

Food safety and hygiene are of paramount importance, and there can be ink splatter or spits in the conveyor lines. Further, the environment is highly humid. The CIJ printer or the printing operation by itself should not introduce any contaminants.

Solutions Offered by KGK Jet India

KGK Jet India offers comprehensive industrial inkjet printing solutions to overcome all the above challenges with the following products

  1. CCS3000L

The CCS 3000L Industrial Inkjet Printer is robust, compact and versatile. Not only can it print on different substrates, but it can also operate in harsh environmental conditions due to the stainless body. Further, it can also print on different-shaped objects, thereby enhancing the creativity of the packaging by removing the print limitations.

A fluorine nozzle ensures that the ink does not become dry nor the nozzle dirty. A touch panel in higher models offers smooth and seamless control.

With a printing speed of 400m/min (6.7m/s), the CCS 3000L model is suitable for any beverage plant.

  1. CCS 3100

 The CCS 3100 Continuous Inkjet Printer is a simple-yet-sophisticated innovation from the KGK stable. From a single central module,upto 16 CIJ printers can be controlled. This means that in large beverage bottling plants, multiple production lines can be easily managed. Communication ports and USB provision give flexibility for communication with other devices. Further, it also means that the printing speed can be controlled from a single touch panel, and each line can have its custom specifications.

With a printing speed of 400m/min (6.7m/s), the CCS 3100 model is suitable for any beverage plant.

Advantages of choosing KGK for industrial inkjet printers for the beverage sector

  1. Robust and reliable machines and systems
  2. Unmatched customer support with checks by KGK personnel every 4 months.
  3. Japanese roots and rich innovation capabilities
  4. Balanced and competitive pricing
  5. Wide variety of ink choices
  6. Reasonable ink consumption with a guarantee from KGK before installation on ink consumption for operations
  7. We also offer condensation removal solutions using an air knife for efficient printing.

Need some more information?

Contact us, and we will help you fly on wings of change!

Tags :

MRP printing machineindustrial inkjet printingHigh Speed Printing Solutions

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