New coding and marking system for drinks manufacturer
Fruitapeel, a manufacturer of drinks su
ch as juices, smoothies and fruit sauces, has turned to Linx Printing Technologies for a new coding and marking solution on its busy production lines.
Its previous printers were unreliable, suffered from poor print quality and needed frequent readjustment and expensive maintenance, and thus Fruitapeel was looking for reliable coders that didn’t need regular attention and – having used Linx machines elsewhere before – was impressed by their reliability and ease of use.
Fruitapeel chose the new Linx 5900 continuous ink jet printer for coding onto bottles of fruit juices and smoothies ranging in size from 250ml to 2L. The PE caps are printed with a two-line message comprising a use by date and batch code. Each line is 3mm tall and printed with Linx Black 1240 ink, an ideal all round fast-drying ink.
The coding speed is up to 92 bottles per minute, although on average, one bottle is coded every two seconds, eight hours a day, five days a week.
Rob Stillman, engineering manager for Fruitapeel, says: “We code a lot of products and the Linx 5900 has freed up our time to get on with other things – it doesn’t need any intervention other than adding fluids. Since installing the Linx 5900 in August, we haven’t had any problems. Our operators like the printer because it is easy to use and we are able to leave them to it.”
The Linx 5900 also has the adaptability to be further upgraded as and when required, with a variety of enhancements available that can be incorporated at any time, avoiding the need to purchase a whole new printer.
Fruitapeel was established four years ago in Llantrisant, Wales, and manufactures drinks for supermarket own labels, airlines and the wider retail and food service sectors under its own name.
