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Successful integrated

Coding system for pharmaceutical production
Successful integrated

As product marking is extremely important in the pharmaceuticals sector, a printing system has to satisfy a host of requirements. A few examples are good legibility, straightforward handling, a wide variety of available bar codes, high-precision, reproducible positioning of the print and easy availability. As the former used printing systems of the Biotest AG did not satisfy these requirements completely nor could be integrated into the packaging process, the company set out to find a better solution. During this search, they came across the innovative coding system m600.

Biotest is an international group of companies with headquarters in Frankfurt/Main. The central administration division and most of the production plants of this company, founded in 1946, are located in Dreieich near Frankfurt am Main. In the pharmaceutical sector, Biotest develops, on the basis of human blood plasma, immunoglobulines, antihemophilic factors and albumines which are used to combat diseases of the immune system or the hematopoietic systems. Today, the company, which has been listed on the stock exchange since 1987, has a workforce of around 1,000 worldwide.

Integrated coding system
In 2006, the first two lines with the m600 coding system, each equipped with three print heads, were commissioned. The packaging lines operate eight hours per day. The batch number, date of production, the sell-by date, packaging number and customer-specific text were printed on the lacquer-free flap of a folding box. Thus, 2,000 to 5,000 boxes per line are printed daily.
Wolfgang Löbnau, head of the pharmaceuticals packaging department from Biotest confirms that the Wolke coding system, which uses the standard Hewlett-Packard cartridges stands out against conventional systems in many respects. Thus, the extremely good printing quality was a decisive aspect for selection of the new coding devices. Due to the compact design of the m600, integration into the packaging process was no problem at all. This was also facilitated by the criterion that the m600 print heads, which are available in various models, are either fixed or mounted in movable condition.
Consumption costs reduced
The use of the above-mentioned standard Hewlett-Packard cartridges helped reduce consumption costs considerably. The cartridge only needs to be replaced just every four months per line. The ink used for printing is the recently launched ink Universal Black 7482 which is put into new Hewlett-Packard cartridges. This ink is water-based and free of solvents, which makes it particularly well suited for the high hygienic requirements of the pharma sector. As there are no separate ink systems with wearing parts, the system requires neither service nor maintenance. This is, according to Wolfgang Löbnau, an essential advantage versus the previous systems, which, due to the complex and frequent changes of the thermotransfer film and the hot stamping tapes, were extremely time-consuming and ran up exorbitant costs. The Click-and-Print process for cartridge replacement takes only a few seconds and printing can be continued immediately afterwards. Thanks to the clever printing technology – the cartridge not only contains ink, but also the print jets – practically the entire print head including jet is exchanged on cartridge replacement.
Of all systems, the m600 offers the highest availability, which otherwise often suffers due to electronic and mechanical problems. Wearing parts include the pressure strip which must be replaced, according to instructions, every three months, or the couplings of the tape spooling device, which must be readjusted constantly are missing. Compliance with internati- onally applicable standards, such as the qualifying documentation of the m600 printing system which has been prepared in accordance with GAMP 4 (Good Automated Manufacturing Practice – the guideline for development procedures regarding systems to be used in the pharmaceutical industry) is another argument for the m600.
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