Article by:
McCluskey, Laura

When launching a new pharmaceutical product, there is virtually no margin for error. Researchers and compliance staff members must tabulate and crosscheck the results for accuracy and proper documentation with patients' lives at stake.

For pharmaceutical testing, sequentially numbered barcodes play a key role in ensuring accuracy of test results. They contain the information used to determine each patient's results in live testing, and to enable the database to account for those receiving a placebo.

Confidence in barcode verification has an added value for the customers of Tag & Label Corp., Anderson, S.C., a division of Advanced LabelWorx, Inc., one of the largest's privately held flexographic printing companies in the U.S. A growing number of customers require the printed label to be ANSI grade B quality level or better to ensure the accurate recording of critical information.

Tag & Label is able to deliver on-target labels with the help of an in-line Integra 9000 ANSI-grade barcode verification system from Label Vision Systems, Inc. The system verifies the grade of each barcode (up to 60 labels/sec) as it passes under the read head, which relies on a Unilux Lith-O-Light LOL 2Þ. The system enables the company to verify 100 percent compliance with specifications, while eliminating time-consuming redundancies, such as rewinding rolls for inspection and sampling to verify the accuracy of an entire roll.

Before purchasing the Integra 9000, Tag & Label would sample barcodes by hand periodically in an offline process and use the sample to certify the entire run. Now, the company guarantees each label in a much more efficient production scheme.

Real-time removal
By locating the system between the press and the slitter/rewinder, operators identify out-of-spec labels in real-time and remove them from the roll.

The Integra read head is composed of a CCD camera and the LOL 2Þ stroboscopic inspection light. Data from the read head is processed by a desktop PC, programmed to measure edge determination, minimum reflectance, symbol contrast, minimum edge contrast, modulation, blemishes, quiet zone, decodability and opacity. It supports six sets of symbols.

Tag & Label uses 7-in.-wide Mark Andy 2200 flexographic presses and a 16-in.-wide Mark Andy 4100. Production speeds range from 150 to 200 fpm, depending on print requirements. With 10-color capability, plus varnishes and UV coatings, the ability to verify each label without slowing speeds is critical to maximizing productivity.

Streamlined operation
Several steps can be combined into one integrated function, which reduces waste and increases efficiency while freeing up resources to accomplish other tasks at hand, says Steven Cramer, quality manager for Tag & Label. It is now able to print an entire four-up label, inspect the barcode and remove defective labels before slitting and packaging an entire run in one continuous line. Before, it had to print blanks, imprint it with variable data, slit it to one-up and run it through the verification system.

As a result of the integrated system, it is able to offer more of its customers ANSI barcode grading at a little cost increase to customers and a huge increase in Tag & Label's confidence, Cramer says.

Enhanced inspection capability also helped Tag & Label reduce its cycle time for custom label products from three or four weeks to a matter of days. Reduced cycle time enables the company to take jobs such as orders for 500,000 labels on short notice and work them into their schedule more efficiently.

Verified barcodes not only enable pharmaceutical companies to maintain accurate records, they also enable the companies to demonstrate "good management" in the event of a label audit by the Food & Drug Administration. "Guartanteed verification is becoming a bigger economic issue in the retail field because retailers are better able to quanitfy the benefits of bar-code scanning to speed up lines at the cash register and manage inventories," says Cramer.

For quality managers, like Cramer, who need to quantify the benefits of flawless product and maximized productivity, the computerized, strobe-based system combines the speed and consistency the company needs to solidify its leadership position in a niche market.

Avoiding costly mistakes
To emphasize the importance of accurate barcodes, a number of nationwide retailers are penalizing printers for errors.

"One discount department store chain has collected over $27 million in penalties from their vendors over the past five years," says Daniel G. Kubon, president of Label Vision Systems. "At the same time, a national pharmacy chain has calculated that one erroneous UPC can cost in excess of $8,000 direct costs and double that in intangibles, such as the deterioration of customer service. That chain has instituted a cost recovery charge of $5 per non-scanning item UPC multiplied by the number of stores stocking the item."

Kubon noted that a number of discount department stores have penalty schedules based on a formula that takes into account the number of times it supplies defective barcodes and the cost of compensating for that defect in store operations. He also states that a national auto parts retailer has developed a schedule of penalties based on their purchasing volume and the degree of the problem created by a bad barcode.

Product Information:
LVS 9000 Data Sheet (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).

More information:
Label Vision Systems, Inc.
101 Auburn Court
Peachtree City, GA 30269
1-800-432-9430
+1 770-487-6414
www.lvs-inc.com

Unilux Inc., 59 N. Fifth St., Saddle Back, NJ 07663, 800/522-0801, www.unilux.com

Mark Andy, Inc., Box 1023, Chesterfield, MO 63006, 800/700-6275.

Converting Magazine, Dec. 1999 v17 i12 70(1)