A roll of finished labels is only as good as the quality control process behind it, and inspection equipment plays a pivotal role in that department. Print defects cost converters time, materials and valuable resources, so catching these defects quickly and efficiently is of paramount importance.

In order to ensure only error-free labels leave a converter’s shop, industry suppliers continue to innovate and upgrade camera and inspection technology. What follows are explanations and descriptions from leading inspection specialists on the critical role their equipment plays in today’s competitive label market, as well as the latest and most popular inspection products available to converters.

A B Graphic International (ABG)
Ralf Wirtz, managing director for A B Graphic International’s GbmH sites, identifies three areas affecting the narrow web label inspection process: Automatization – JDF and zero point automatic setup; Customization – special processes for variable data control; and Integrated solutions – inspection systems controlling complete processes and machines.

“Our fleyeVision is a 100% print inspection system that guarantees perfect results, prevents costly customer rejections and delivers an impressive return on investment,” Wirtz says. “The system checks text images for print errors and can recognize and classify all standard barcodes, check data in OCR characters and check Braille for errors.”

With ABG’s fleyeVision, images are recorded by a digital line scan camera with between 1024 and 8196 pixels as a color or a grey scale picture. Image processing is handled in the computer. Wirtz explains, “Here, the labels are continuously recorded and are compared to a previously created master image. There is also the option to verify the master image using a PDF comparison process. When equipped with two cameras, a fleyeVision machine can be used to inspect labels simultaneously both front and back or by using different light sources at a single path.”

As a standalone system, fleyeVision can be integrated into any press, converting machine or control system – ready to use, customized and upgradeable.

After starting the machine, the reference images are programmed and the printer tolerance is determined. Irrelevant print areas are removed from the inspection process. “It is also possible to define special parameters for various sections,” Wirtz says. “When the electronic controller starts, the product is subject to 100% inspection. If an error occurs, the machine stops and the error is brought to a pre-defined position.

“When an error is detected, the type and position of the error is indicated on the touchscreen monitor, allowing the operator to then remedy the error. Any stored errors are then processed in sequence. With bi-directional machines, the corrected error is again subject to inspection after fleyeVision has been restarted, guaranteeing 100% inspection,” he says, adding, “fleyeVision operation is simple: all data is entered using symbols on the touchscreen monitor, and the software guides the operator through the necessary inputs step-by-step.”

The latest innovation in the inspection arena from ABG is the fleyeVision 4k color system, which shows a 50% to 80% higher level of performance (maximum inspection speed). The enhanced performance is driven by an OCR and barcode inspection rate that’s four times faster than previous versions and is linked to hardware with higher performance and software optimization. “In addition, the integration of fleyeVision in all ABG products has improved and reached a level that other third-party inspection systems can’t offer,” says Wirtz.

Looking toward the future, Wirtz notes that there will be an increased demand for automatic inspection integrated into digital printing presses, thereby allowing easy inspection of short-run jobs without operator intervention. He concludes, “We’ll also see special processes that increase productivity, using inspection systems that are highly integrated into machines and communicating with those machines.”

Baldwin Vision Systems
Baldwin Vision Systems (BVS) designs and manufatures advanced color management and print inspection technology systems to help converters achieve print quality perfection.

According to Craig Du Mez, global branding, PR and communications manager, BVS, the label industry is beginning to understand the difference between simply collecting data and leveraging valuable data that will have a tangible bottom-line impact for both the print operation and the print customer. He explains, “Increasingly, print customers are demanding advanced reporting and proof of print quality. 100% inline inspection of every label is fast becoming the standard expectation. Advanced 100% inline inspection systems go beyond identifying defects by monitoring your processes to prevent defects from occurring in the first place. It is essential that printers think in terms of eliminating rather than simply finding or minimizing defects.”

Features that make this possible, Du Mez says, include advanced defect mapping, which allows for tracking and managing defects throughout the entire process, make appropriate adjustments in real time, and recording defect positions and images for multiple post-press processes. Other features include automated job setup, dynamic learning, barcode decoding, barcode ANSI/ISO grading, PDF verification, and variable data verification.

“Tracking and comparing many different production metrics and sharing data not only between systems on an individual press – but also between multiple facilities – is where the industry is going. Adoption of the technology needs to keep pace with rapidly growing expectations from brand owners,” Du Mez says.

Based on the latest industry trends, Baldwin Vision Systems has focused its research and development efforts on more efficient, accurate, data-connected inspection workflows. The company has developed new technologies that enable press managers to monitor changes as they happen, and make highly-informed decisions about print quality, defect management, and even operator-to-operator performance.

The Guardian PQV 100% Print Inspection system from Baldwin Vision Systems provides complete print quality verification from prepress through production, reporting and archiving. “Printers and converters can eliminate every defect with a more efficient, accurate, data-connected workflow,” Du Mez says, adding, “Object-based inspection ensures tighter tolerances and fewer false defects. Areas of interest can be defined for enhanced or reduced levels of inspection.”

Baldwin’s Guardian OLP Offline Proofing & Inspection system verifies that the files used for production – or the beginning-of-run press samples – match the customer-approved master file 100%. Du Mez says, “By comparing any prepress file or scanned press sample to the customer-approved original in a matter of seconds, advanced software automatically locates and highlights even the smallest of differences in print quality.”

Baldwin is enhancing its Real-Time Monitoring technology to introduce the new AMP IoT customizable data management dashboard. Utilizing this technology, printers and converters can quickly aggregate, visualize and analyze data from multiple Guardian PQV 100% Inspection systems.

“This helps to quickly uncover printing quality issues, allowing you to get ahead of downtime and rework problems before they occur,” says Du Mez. “Compare and contrast your ‘live view’ with your ‘historical job data’ across multiple machines and data points critical to your process. Like its RTM predecessor, AMP enables you to generate quality reports for customers and brand owners, providing 100% assurance that every job ran according to their specifications. You can also provide your customers real-time access to their print job data.

Du Mez emphasizes that without question, the industry is headed for Print 4.0 data connectedness – live business information available at all levels of the organization – related to print quality and defect tracking. “Both our current Real-Time Monitoring and future AMP IoT solutions are developed with this capability in mind,” he says. “Both software solutions use a central server to monitor, collect and display real-time inspection data on a simple uncluttered dashboard. The combination of Guardian PQV inspection and Baldwin’s data monitoring technology ties together how you manage your processes, your print customers, and even your people. You’re empowered to quickly identify any mechanical issues, process inefficiencies, or even tailor your operator training to eliminate defects.”

BST
“Errors cost money, and one bad label in a roll of labels may get an entire job rejected, which means you’ll either manually inspect it or reprint it and hope it doesn’t happen again,” states Robert Buongiorno, president of BST North America.

“Either way, it’s going to cost you money. Ironically,” he adds, “too often in this market we hear the investment in inspection equipment just isn’t worth it, that almost no jobs ever get rejected. In fact, one or two large jobs rejected will more than return your investment on this equipment,” Buongiorno says.

While many companies offer inspection equipment for narrow web presses, Buongiorno stresses how some of these systems almost cost more than the press itself. Meanwhile, he adds, other systems are affordable but don’t provide the features needed to be effective with 100% inspection. “At BST, we’ve bridged that gap with our TubeScan 100% inspection system for narrow web presses,” he says.

TubeScan was developed using camera and software technology that offers all the features of a system more than twice its price with similar functions. It can be configured for coarse inspection of 5mm or larger, or fine inspection down to 58 microns. BST also offers Pharma mode, barcode reading with grading, optical character recognition, and multiple lighting sources to ensure it can inspect what needs to be inspected. Buongiorno states, “TubeScan is equally effective on-press or rewinder, or both, using the BST Q-Link workflow system.”

Buongiorno poses this question for label converters in the market for new inspection equipment: “So, you have decided to invest in inspection, now where do you install it?”

He continues, “If you put it on the press, you’ll know where the defects are but how do you find them downstream? If you put it on the rewinder, you’re keeping bad product from getting to the customer, but you’ve already printed it. Q-Link workflow is the ultimate solution.”

In short, BST installs a TubeScan on-press for primary inspection. A roll map is generated and between the press and rewinder, operators can accept or reject any defects the system flagged.  That data is sent to a TubeScan installed on the rewinder, which will automatically stop the rewinder at the defect and allow the operator to replace or splice it out.

“The best part is that with a TubeScan on the rewinder, you can also do a secondary inspection of the entire job, something that is critical in markets like pharmaceutical,” explains Buongiorno. “No other system available offers this much flexibility at a price that makes the ROI simple.”

Buongiorno stresses that when it comes to inspection equipment, the future is already here. “BST listens to our customers on what their needs are today and in the future. One area we continue to refine is ‘workflow.’ In truth, real workflow starts at prepress and ends when the product is ready to be shipped. All BST systems use open architecture and continue to work on integrating with anyone’s prepress system.  This allows a job to flow from prepress to press for automatic setup, and to the rewinder, making the entire process quicker and more efficient.”

Esko AVT
Following the acquisition of AVT by Esko in 2020, the company has worked to deliver simplicity and extended connectivity for its label and narrow web customers by incorporating automated quality inspection into the connected packaging and labeling value chains. Customers can communicate and measure print quality and color, from end-to-end on a global basis, delivering easier, faster and more accurate right-first-time production to boost operational performance and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.

“Meeting this standard can be challenging, especially with increasing demand for shorter production runs, as brands seek to grow market share with targeted campaigns, brand extensions and limited editions,” says Guy Yogev, Esko AVT senior director of product marketing. “The recently launched AVT SpectraLab XF has been developed to help converters meet these brand expectations, through effectively measuring and monitoring during run-time and make-ready, and ensuring converters print to color target.”

Delivering accurate and automated color measurement for the full array of packaging applications, AVT SpectraLab XF incorporates a new X-Rite spectral sensor and can measure a complete vertical color bar in a single repeat. Smaller, 4-5mm patches can be supported depending on press speed, and a new LED lamp with M0, M1, and M2 correlates to off-line inspection standards.

Yogev explains that as AVT SpectraLab XF also enables measurements during make-ready, converters can save significant time in ensuring color accuracy, as well as reducing job change time. “With the support for as small as 4mm targets or patches, users can also enjoy  saving on material trim area, while the optional data import/export option gives the ability to send data to various color reporting systems, as well as ink-room interfaces such as X-Rite IFS.”

Incorporating AVT SpectraLab XF into the inline inspection system not only saves time in setup, but it also maximizes operator efficiency. “The system provides visual inspection, as well as color measurement, and enables every aspect of the process and quality to be monitored. Using the BestMatch optional module, AVT SpectraLab XF suggests possible actions on-press and saves time, as well as reducing the workload further,” says Yogev. “It measures L*a*b*, Delta E, density and dot gain on flexible packaging and folding carton applications, comparable with off-line devices, but all at point-of-print with no press stops for maximum efficiency.”

The launch of AVT SpectraLab XF followed just a few short months from the unveiling of the award-winning AVT iCenter – a solution developed by Esko to empower label converters to easily manage quality and production standards across jobs, printing equipment, shifts and even sites. The cloud-based platform integrates with Esko Automation Engine and Esko AVT Helios automated inline inspection systems for label and narrow web printing. “Connecting between prepress and inspection, iCenter enables users to control and deliver one standardized source of truth throughout the quality inspection setup process,” notes Yael Cooper, Esko AVT label marketing director.

With increasingly shorter job lengths and lead times, today’s label suppliers already face significant challenges. These are compounded by the constraints of siloed software applications and duplicating data between the prepress, inspection and production process.

“The inspection job setup process is often manual and fragmented, leading to significant lost time in setting up the right quality level for each job before print and then waiting for supervisors to approve them,” Cooper says. “At the same time, the manual process makes it challenging to control quality on jobs across various different operators and systems, while inaccurate or non-specific quality inspection setup can dramatically affect production speed.

“With iCenter, inspection quality standards are defined only once and then leveraged automatically throughout the process to every live job,” notes Cooper. “This means that quality standards – and therefore products – are consistent across sites, with 100% hands-free, on-press operation, thus eliminating the need for operator input and in turn, human error and waste.”