Correctly coded? Verifying product markings inline

Whether plain text or coding: the markings on packaging make an important contribution to the safety and traceability of a product. They make the clear identification as well as the complete process tracking of drinks, food and healthcare products possible during each stage of the production and value chain. They provide the consumer with essential information regarding ingredients, shelf life and dosage. There is a threat of serious consequences if these are missing, unreadable or incorrect as regards content. Therefore such product markings should be checked as soon as they have been applied - with well-engineered technologies from HEUFT.

Unique IDs, batch and series marks, batch numbers, barcodes and 2D codes, best-before and expiry dates but also printed text:  the markings on packaging strengthens the confidence in drinks, food and healthcare products.  They allow the clear identification of a product, guarantee protection against forgery and weave a complete safety net.  Because they make it possible to track a product during each stage of it being placed on the market over the complete production and distribution chain.  This simplifies quality assurance and if necessary the recalling of a product.  They inform consumers about the life and tolerability of a product as well as in what quantities it may be consumed.  Packaging which is not marked or incorrectly marked should be detected at the production plant and rejected before it reaches the market in order to prevent a loss of confidence.  This can be achieved with the intelligent camera systems from HEUFT.

Optical character recognition with the HEUFT vio OCR

The HEUFT vio OCR can specifically check product markings.  It not only checks their presence but verifies their correctness as regards contents by comparing them with reference values stored in the system.  The module for optical character recognition achieves maximum detection accuracy due to a multicoloured LED illumination, a high-resolution camera technology and the HEUFT reflexx image analysis technology developed especially for high-speed pictures even at high line outputs of up to 72,000 individual packages per hour.  It reads out markings such as BBDs, barcodes and data matrix codes and other types of codes precisely even under adverse conditions such as similarly coloured backgrounds.  An automatic date adjustment prevents misadjustments when verifying best-before and expiry dates.  This reduces the false rejection rate to a minimum.  The HEUFT vio OCR can check up to two lines at the same time even in the high speed section with the standard software - even more is possible with optional extensions.

Verifying product coding with the HEUFT VX OCR

The module can be directly integrated into labelling machines such as the HEUFT TORNADO W.  Misadjustments to the coder are therefore promptly identified.  This effectively prevents the costly disposal of complete product batches or image-damaging recall actions.  Integration in the full container inspection systems of the HEUFT SPECTRUM family is also possible.  The best example:  the new HEUFT VX OCR for verifying product coding on confectionery packages.

Checking and validating product markings with the highly efficient HEUFT technology makes an important contribution to the quality assurance and traceability of your products.