Code reader saves food manufacturer £2m per year

A high speed automatic code reader from Identify Direct in use on 26 food production lines in the UK is saving the food manufacturer over £2,000,000 per year.

The system is designed to read the recipe code of every can at line speed and take appropriate action on detection of bad cans. Removing the risk of mislabelled products, product recalls and massive fines, the code reader:

• Prevents wrongly labelled products reaching customers
• Prevents accidental product mixing on line
• Prevents shipping of mixed products to customers

The code can comprise up to five unique alpha and numeric characters on the end of cans.

A key feature of the system is its ability to read the code in any radial orientation. This means it can be installed at any point on the line, typically after the ink jet head, product filling and or labelling, ensuring correct product identification.

The system can then include label reading, either bar codes or patterns, thus guaranteeing integrity of labels to product.

Key features of the system include:

• Can perform up to 750 scans per minute
• With or without gap
• Auto reject incorrect codes
• Floor mounted with line height variation adjustment
• Comprehensive screen display including live images / last ‘bad’ can
• Simple product changeover (keyboard entry or automatically from the factory system)
• Enclosures in stainless steel to food industry standards
• 100% verification of the correct printing on every can
• Interfaces to line to operate standard reject mechanism / stop line