Hapa 800 LabelJet UV printer gets an upgrade

Published: 7-Mar-2013

Helping pharmaceutical manufacturers comply with the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD)

Hapa, a Swiss developer of packaging printing solutions, has updated its Hapa 800 LabelJet UV Drop On Demand inkjet printer to enable pharmaceutical manufacturers to achieve an optimum blend of print quality and operating efficiencies, while also complying with current and forthcoming industry regulations.

Launched in 2008 as a replacement for the Hapa 400 – of which 250 machines have been installed globally since the 1980s – the upgraded LabelJet 800 features new software that ensures optimum performance. Available in reel-to-reel or inline executions, the LabelJet system is a complete unit incorporating printer modules combined with a customised label feed, offering a digital four-colour (CMYK) approach.

With the Delegated Acts for the EU’s Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) set to be announced in 2014, the system also crucially includes the intelligence to complete the current print cycle during line stoppages – thereby ensuring that there is no impact on print quality or packaging line efficiency.

Reject products can potentially cause reconciliation issues for serialisation schemes (which are a key requirement of the FMD, with each product needing its own unique code to ensure traceability) but with Hapa’s ‘stop-start’ technology, the waste of label stock will be reduced, as well as the percentage of false rejects.

With in-house late stage customisation, however, the need for huge inventory is largely alleviated

The LabelJet can also accommodate different sizes of label web widths, and print small characters such as a 2D data matrix code at A-grade levels. The printheads – which are driven by Hapa’s software – also operate with high specification UV inks, which are smudge- and scuff-resistant and which stand up to scrutiny from OCR/OCV systems.

‘Variations in product, dosage strength, pack sizes and local market requirements traditionally create the need for hundreds of different packaging variants,’ says Roy Taylor, Managing Director of Hapa UK and Ireland. ‘With in-house late stage customisation, however, the need for huge inventory is largely alleviated: instead, companies can use blank or part-printed stock which, for the handling of complex production schedules with many short batches, delivers a host of benefits.

‘Plus, with pharmaceutical manufacturers facing the most extreme demands on their product operations in years, late stage customisation enables producers to satisfy customer demand almost immediately, thereby meeting the twin objectives of increasing customer satisfaction through reduced lead times, while improving operational efficiency and profitability – despite the challenges of FMD compliance.’

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