Modular solutions with centralized control system
From manufacturing to retail, it is important to be able to identify products quickly and efficiently. The Traceable Quality System TQS by Wipotec is perfectly tailored to create markings of all kinds. Our tried and tested solutions not only apply labels with maximum precision, but also offer the option of printing labels dynamically in line and verifying the result immediately. If required, we can supplement this basic equipment with additional modules for checkweighing and foreign object detection in combination with automatic ejection.
You will work with a seamless system where each module is fully integrated into the central control, covering a wide range:
- Prefabricated design labels can easily be applied to folding boxes in the pharmaceutical industry, trays for medical products, or even foil and thermoformed packages containing cold cuts or cheese.
- Folding boxes can also be sealed at the corners using a tamper-evident label to comply with legal requirements of your industry or to voluntarily protect valuable contents against counterfeiting and tampering.
- In the case of glass bottles, medicine cans as well as vials containing pharmaceuticals, TQS applies labels all-round for you. Manufacturers of high-quality spirits are also increasingly relying on counterfeit protection. Special modules also cover canisters and plastic bottles, such as those used for oils or chemicals.
You decide whether the labels are printed with text, code or both. If the marking is done in-line, you can, for example, clearly differentiate food or other consumer goods at batch level or pharmaceutical products for serialization purposes at all stages of the supply chain. If, for example, you are a manufacturer of high-quality cosmetics and are not yet subject to any regulations on individual labeling, you will once more benefit from the characteristic flexibility of TQS: Modularity allows you to apply human readable text or batch codes in line using just one system – and switch to full serialization with an easy upgrade.
Get to know TQS now. Together with our experts, you are guaranteed to find the right configuration for your application.
The great advantage of modularity
A modular system that meets the highest standards is characterized in particular by its ability to adapt to requirements. Our philosophy is that all modules are components of the higher-level system and can be controlled accordingly via one single display. Thanks to this system character, the label printer and the camera for optical verification communicate directly with each other and you no longer have to teach-in. Both modules receive identical information when the operator makes corrections to the layout on the touchscreen. Switching from one product to the next is just as easy. TQS offers a solution for a wide variety of packaging shapes.
The modularity of our labeling systems allows countless areas of application: preprinted labels that stick to the top and bottom of a tray or the side of a carton, seals that secure the tab of a folding box across the corner, or serialized labels with codes that go around vials. TQS labels your products.
Configure your modular system
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Modular Marking & Labeling Systems
The modular concept of the Traceable Quality System allows us to adapt it to an extremely wide range of requirements. Depending on the product’s size, shape, weight and speed, we simply combine the according modules. Our customers therefore receive a solution that is perfectly tailored to their individual needs. This commitment does not end when the components are mounted. Instead, all functions are fully integrated in one holistic system. The result is that the operator only has to deal with one central user interface. Product changes, article setup and layout modifications thus become minimally error-prone and maximally user-friendly.
We will adapt the system to our customers’ requirements. From checkweighing over mark and verify, metal detection, labeling, up to full serialization and aggregation – every function is integrated. Even if there is existing equipment in use and we supplement it with our integration kits, our customer will have an aligned system and not just unrelated components.
With a variety of handling modules at disposal, the system will easily adjust to most product dimensions and packaging types. Whether it is made to fit directly after the filler or at the end of the packaging line, the result is that only 100% verified products move forward in the process.
Top and bottom labeling: Flat packages for food
If you integrate a labeling module in your TQS solution, the result could look something like this: a compact end-of-line system that performs multiple tasks. This allows you to significantly increase the level of automation at the end of your production line without incurring unnecessary process risks – a decisive advantage over using separate components for marking. The variant presented here is ideal for producers of cold cuts, sliced cheese or alternative products in thermoform packages. As you see in the video, the process steps for quality assurance can be perfectly combined.
Safety is the highest priority. For food content, using a metal detector is the minimum safety requirement. The completeness check is performed by the checkweigher module. On the user interface, you control and monitor all functions in real time. Everything is united in this interface. Instead of keeping track of a handful of devices, your employees coordinate the entire process in one central location.
The smooth interaction of different units within the labeling system once again illustrates the benefits of a holistic approach. The first labeler applies the finished design labels on the packaging from above. A second module with an integrated thermal transfer printer creates dynamic data for the label below. The product thus receives its expiry date and a batch identifier in clear text or with machine-readable 2D code.
Every label applied is immediately verified. The system checks whether the printed label meets the requirements and whether the label is applied at the correct location. If an error is detected, the system rejects the tray. Depending on the configuration, contaminated goods or goods of incorrect weight can be sorted out separately. Different discharge points reduce avoidable waste and make your production process more efficient.
Wrap-around labeling: Serialization of bottles and vials
Compliance with national and global regulations presents unique challenges for manufacturers. In the case of serialization, however, the pharmaceutical industry was able to pave the way and demonstrate the impressive benefits that come with precise identification at the level of the individual product. The label containing all required data forms the basis for this.
Labeling products all-around, which are transported upright, like most bottles, cans or vials, requires special attention. With TQS, a single system is sufficient to apply labels on cylindrical containers as well as on cuboid packages. Our solutions also prints and applies serialized labels with absolute reliability. Glass containers in particular have to be handled by the machines with greatest care without reducing throughput rates.
For TQS, this care starts with the infeed and extends to a gentle ejection that does not harm the packaging or contents. A product where only the label fails quality control can thus be reintroduced at an earlier stage of the process. The system identifies faulty labels with a camera before application and ejects them immediately thus creating fewer rejects and reducing rework to a minimum. This is sustainable action that benefits your company.
Overall, the modularity of TQS keeps your production flexible. Operators can adapt all the elements of a system to the desired format in just a few minutes and thus conveniently switch their line from classic vials to larger bottles, for example, or the medication containers that are most used in the USA – all it takes is a few simple steps. A system with only one user interface means that you simply call up stored settings or redo them as quickly as possible in ConfigureFast-Mode.
Labeling can be so easy when you can rely on an experienced partner for this task who will provide you with the right technology after in-depth consultation. Our team here at Wipotec has first-hand knowledge of the development of pharmaceutical labeling specifically, and is also following the progress of serialization in other sectors, for example in the cosmetics industry. We stay up to date for you.
Our TQS bottle labels your bottles and vials ready for serialization. Discover a basic configuration that fits into existing lines and saves space. With this coordinated system, one service technician can take care of all modules.
Safe labeling: Tamper-evident-seals on folding boxes
Packaging of sensitive goods is subject to strict standards in most countries. In addition to the tried-and-tested Track & Trace mechanisms for tracing goods, further measures are thus mandatory in many countries to make it impossible to tamper with the product. This requires the specific application of tamper-evident labels. The seal labels close the flaps of a folding box at the corner, making unauthorized opening immediately obvious. Customers can check this security feature themselves and thus feel protected.
Do you wish to comply with all currently known regulations for serialization and labeling of your products, but use a single system to do this? Easy. The TQS-HC-A with tamper-evident system does this task in the tightest possible space. Depending on the application, we also provide the model with an additional vignette labeler.
Simple labeling: Marking large shipping boxes
As you can clearly see in this demonstration, TQS is used even for marking large-volume shipping boxes. Compact modules for printing and application handle the labeling and work together as part of the same system including also inspection and weight control. The TQS-HC-A-XL thus combines several labeling units that apply labels to the left and right sides of large packages. Optionally, the system can be equipped with an additional module that applies helper codes to the carton to simplify assignment at a later stage. In conjunction with the information on the label, you can thus aggregate individual units at different levels. With TQS, you keep the overview.
Printing, labeling, weighing – as usual, all functions are fully integrated. Whatever dimensions your products take, our system covers the essentials and allows for a certain level of customization due to the modular design. Just ask our experts!
Maximizing efficiency and automation with hot swap labeling
For all those who are looking for a new way to optimize their processes, our TQS series offers a special function: hot-swap labeling. With this feature, production no longer has to be stopped when the label roll is empty. Instead, a second labeler automatically takes over and the first one is refilled while the process keeps running.
In this example, we show this function in a combined unit with laser marking, optical inspection and checkweigher, fully optimized for efficiency. The user only selects the article, everything else happens automatically:
- Motorized adjustment of modules and conveyor belts
- Marking with preset layout
- Article parameters are applied centrally to all modules
Marking and labeling can be this easy - including 100% optical inspection!
Future-proof planning with TQS
We hope that this short introduction to the performance spectrum of our Traceable Quality System was able to demonstrate the range of options to you. Our systems apply
- Design labels on flat food packages
- Serialized wrap-around labeling on bottles, cans and vials
- Tamper-evident seals on folding boxes
- Large labels on shipping cases
Do you produce thermoformed packages of fresh cold cuts for CPG or do you supply hospitals with life-saving vials? With TQS, your production is ready. You can even start the progress towards 2D codes today by upgrading to our solution.
