Label Printer Solves Outer Case Coding Problems

Strathmore Foods, a producer of meals and snacks for the retail and foodservice sectors, has solved its outer case bar coding problems thanks to a Model 2600 Series label printer-applicator.

Strathmore Foods, a producer of meals and snacks for the retail and foodservice sectors, has solved its outer case bar coding problems for chilled food and become fully compliant with GS1 standards thanks to a Model 2600 Series label printer-applicator.

The Scottish company also bought Legitronic labelling software - all products from Weber Marking Systems.

The new equipment has enabled the company to comply with the GS1 standards for bar coding in chilled food distribution, which ensure that products can be accurately identified and tracked at every point in the supply chain, said Weber.

Strathmore expanded in to the chilled foods market following its acquisition of the McIntosh brand and found that the existing inkjet coding system already in place for its frozen food range was not compatible with the requirements of the new market.

Julie Nisbet, project manager of Strathmore Foods, explained: "Our previous coding methods did not comply with the GS1 system for chilled food and the requirements of the UCC/EAN-128 bar code, which holds all the relevant information for the supply chain.

As a result, our bar codes were not reading properly and we were getting a lot of rejects from our customers.

We supply leading supermarkets and a wide range of independent retailers across the UK, in addition to the catering market and we needed to change quickly to a more reliable and efficient system." Weber is a GS1 UK accredited solution provider, helping customers ensure they are fully up to date with GS1 standards and that their bar codes achieve consistent readability at every stage in the retail and distribution chain.

Following an initial training course at Weber on GS1 requirements, Strathmore then chose the company to provide the necessary new equipment to meet its needs.

The 2600 printer-applicator is said to be a lightweight, in-line unit that provides label printing with simultaneous application for fast, consistent pressure-sensitive labelling.

As well as a stand-alone model, the 2600 can be incorporated in to other equipment, such as cartoners, enabling manufacturers to offer an integrated packaging and labelling system.

All labels used in the 2600 are manufactured and supplied by Weber.

Strathmore Foods also invested in Weber's Legitronic software package, which provides precise control of the labelling operation and enables the fast and easy design, editing and storage of label formats, said Weber.

In addition, as part of its ability to offer a complete labelling system, Weber has supplied an on-line Geset label applicator to automatically apply the various pre-printed flash labels that Strathmore Foods' customers often demand.

Julie Nisbet continued: "We have built a reputation in the industry for quality and innovation and we are committed to maintaining these standards across our organisation.

We are delighted with the new equipment.

Our previous labelling system was manual and very labour intensive.

We are now able to free up this resource and operate much more efficiently." She explained: "Equally important, the 2600 is very user friendly.

We can print exactly the number of labels required and our reject rate has dropped dramatically, helping both our customers and ourselves as well as reducing costs.

It has proved to be an excellent investment for the company.".

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