One of the many solutions used in today’s production facilities to meet the needs of identifying cases of various products is the use of labels, both pre-printed and printed on-demand.

With pre-printed labels, each SKU is assigned a self-adhesive label that was printed by an external printing company with whatever information is required – e.g. the product name, logo, bar code and plant information. The label is then applied to a case by hand or with a label applicator. Any variable information, such as a date or lot number, is applied afterwards using a stamp or coder.

For on-demand printing of labels, a label file is assigned to a product SKU, matching the required size of the label with the corresponding case. The label is then printed with both the “fixed” (product name, logo etc.) and the variable (date, lot number etc.) information. Labels can be printed offline and applied by hand, or they can be printed inline and applied automatically in a single step using a label printer-applicator.

While meeting companies’ needs, these solutions can be cumbersome and costly to implement and maintain. Direct case printing with an inline ink jet printer is an attractive option for companies looking to reduce costs, add flexibility to their production and increase uptime.