LABELLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 07+08/23 www.petpla.net 22 Inspection system for all types of labels For the decoration of bottles, jars and cans, there are more different types of labels available today than ever before. Producers have the choice: established pressure-sensitive labels, indestructible IML decoration, or an outstanding sleeve solution? For the inspection of these decorations, companies are then also spoiled for choice. LABELLING Why not a “one for all” solution? Some suppliers of vision inspection rely on universal solutions that cover different label types. A customer should then be able to perfectly inspect several label types with the same kind of vision system, for example sleeves as well as pressure-sensitive labels. On first impression, this may seem tempting to many customers, as it is assumed that these solutions can be flexibly used for different label types. “At first glance, such solutions certainly look attractive to some customers due to their low initial price,” knows Janina Orlowski, Team Leader of Product Management and Marketing at Intravis. “But at second glance, these solutions come with enormous disadvantages. For instance, you need at least one absolute expert in the company to adjust the system to the ever-changing types of labels. As a company, you are therefore dependent on a well-trained employee. If this employee is absent, this can immediately have a noticeable impact on the quality of the inspection process - and thus on the quality delivered.” And this is not the only disadvantage of an ”one for all” solution. Janina Orlowski continues: “The decisive disadvantage of these solutions, however, lies in their inspection accuracy and the data determined. The systems may sort out defective parts, but they cannot tell you exactly which defect caused a part to be sorted out. So, as a customer, they know they had a bad part, but how to prevent that from happening again is something they have to painstakingly check in the quality lab and then draw their conclusions with a time lag. In that time, you may have already produced half a production slot with inferior quality. If this happens more often, the initial advantage of the low price is used up very quickly.” Special solutions for quality products Therefore, Intravis has chosen a different path for many years now. The Aachen-based company offers specialised systems for the various types of labels. “With our systems, producers ensure, on the one hand, that high quality is delivered to their customers. On the other hand, in the event of a defect, they learn directly which defect types have caused rejects and to what extent,” reports Markus Juppe, Chief Marketing Officer at Intravis. The company accomplishes this thanks to two factors. Firstly, each system is equipped with hardware explicitly designed to detect the typical defects of the particular labelling process. This includes specific illuminations that are necessary due to different surface conditions of the various label types. For example, this avoids annoying reflections that would otherwise result in false ejection or at least a restricted inspection area. Moreover, the integration of high-resolution cameras is claimed to support an optimal and detailed evaluation of the labels. The second decisive factor is the IntraVision inspection software. The software has specific modules which, on the one hand, have been developed directly for the different label types and, on the other hand, are additionally adapted explicitly for each customer product. This has the advantage that special label geometries or product shapes can be precisely addressed. In conjunction with high-resolution industrial cameras, the integrated inspection modules are then able to find defects and identify which type of defect it is. Thanks to an interface between the vision system and the customer’s ERP or MES system, this information can also be directly transmitted. Thus, line operators and plant managers can see immediately and at a glance which processes they need to check in order to keep their production quality high in the long term. The IntraVision software also solves the problem of the image processing specialist that the company has to keep on hand when using “one for all” solutions. This is because, on the one hand, the systems are completely commissioned by an Intravis service technician. They are ready-
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