Print & Label Inspection

Do you need accurate code and print inspections? Damaged or incorrect labels can hurt the reputation of your products and make your company vulnerable if you’re not meeting safety and regulatory requirements. A custom print or code inspection system can solve this problem.

Common Applications:

• • Date and Lot Codes: Robust Optical Character Verification (OCV) is used for inspecting quality, contrast and legibility of printed codes and can detect damaged, poor quality text which may be important for users to read in cases of product recalls
  • Data Matrix, QR Codes and Bar Codes: Read 1D barcode and 2D Date Matrix for readability and product match. Can inspect preprinted artwork, ink-jet quality, laser markings, chemical etchings, can provide code scoring feedback on contrast, modulation, decodability, and resolution
  • Print Quality: Legibility of reading, blurred label print, consistent print, degradation of print, correct print sizes
  • Ingredient Reader:  Verifies correct labeling, nutritional information, correct ingredients, verification for FDA or regulatory purposes

Selected Print and Code Inspection Case Studies

Flexible OCV for High Speed Applications (Date-code Verification)

EPIC designed and built over 15 top-of-the-line label inspection and date-code inspection systems capable of read rates >1000 inspections/min. This complete solution provided reading/verification of hard to read product date codes printed on the top of cans. Cognex FlexOCV technology  handles run-to-run print variation and achieves high read rates. Standard text verification systems apply strict font libraries that allow for little print variation. Even hard to read codes with wavy features or minor distortions were understood and inspected. Eight CPU cores were used for parallel processing.

Key Features:  FlexOCV print vision inspection technology allowed for standardization across multiple production facilities, verification of hard to read text, improved production rates on high speed lines, encoder communication to reject station for incorrect codes

Label Inspection and Barcode Evaluation for Children’s Consumable Product

Barcode verification for correct product labeling needed to be achieved on a high speed juice bottling line for a children’s consumable product.  The smart camera was integrated by our machine vision team to read the 2D bar code and verify the label was correct and present. The vision system allowed for internal verification and prevents lots from being held back for labeling mistakes.

Key Features: Vision system for FDA compliance, improved accuracy of the product, ability to easily reject incorrectly labeled products, cost and time saving

Why EPIC Machine Vision?

Many producers of consumer goods, food and beverage, pharmaceutical or medical producers are upgrading their production lines with machine vision validation for safety and regulatory requirements.

Wrinkled or incorrect labels and typographical errors can hurt the presentation and reputation of your product. Shipping products with the incorrect date codes could cause them to be returned by your distributor for failing quality inspection. You may need to meet FDA regulations that require strict label inspection requirements for allergens and ingredients.

Certain factors like glare and improper camera position can hinder proper inspection of small detailed text in a high speed production line. Our goal is to facilitate your inspection process of all types of errors like blurred text, incorrect ingredients, misspellings or codes on the incorrect package.

Contact a vision engineer today to get a quote for your custom print vision inspection or code inspection system.