Nautilus Systems, Inc. was recently approached by a client with an application for placing three labels onto a small carton. The carton was in a flat format such that the three sides requiring labels were all accessible with it in the flat form. The label supplier had already arrayed the three labels on a liner such that their positions relative to each other matched the placement positions on the carton. The client was using manual labor to remove the labels from the liner and apply them to the carton, one at a time. A very important detail of this assembly was that the three labels were being printed in a thermal transfer printer as a set and each of the three labels in each set needed to be applied to the same carton. There could be no mistakes in this process.
NSI evaluated the label material and recognized that the three label set fit within the size limits of a PL165i Applicator. Having already used the PL165i to simultaneously feed, peel, and apply (>Capture>Peel>Place) multiple labels we immediately recognized this as the solution. In order to provide the necessary thermal transfer printing we configured the PL165i with a 300 dpi thermal transfer printer. This model of Applicator is the PL165-TTP.
In the final implementation of this system an Operator places a flat Carton into a Fixture/Nest (provided by NSI) and triggers the PL165-TTP via our Series 1 Base assembly platform. The PL165-TTP automatically prints the necessary data on the 3-label set, feeds the labels to the correct pickup location, and then peels and places the three labels onto the flat Carton. The Operator then removes the labeled Carton from the Fixture, folds the Carton to the final shape, and inserts the product that ships in the Carton. The Carton, which is rectangular in shape, has a printed label on the long edge, a second smaller label on the short edge, and a third larger label on the front face of the Carton. Because all three labels were printed and applied in tandem there is no opportunity for unmatched labels to be applied to the Carton and a huge labor saving was realized by eliminating the manual assembly process.
Please see our website for further information regarding the PL165-TTP and our other products.