Korry HMI Solutions (http://www.esterline.com/controlsystems/KORRY/KORRYHome/tabid/2394/Default.aspx/) has been a trusted name in human-machine interface (HMI) solutions for
75 years, after the company created the first lighted cockpit controls. Providing state-of-the-art switches, cockpit
controls, high-performance displays, and night-vision filters, Korry is a
division of Esterline (http://www.esterline.com/). Esterline
Corporation is a specialized manufacturing company serving principally
aerospace and defense markets.
To move
inventory to specific cells inside their plant, Korry uses card system with
colors. Korry uses colors to signify
which specific cell should get the replacement inventory.
According to Sarah Stout of Korry HMI, “the process was print, cut,
tape, laminate, repeat” which seems to be an onerous and time-consuming
process. Given the complexity of the
process, Sarah contacted Denny Agen of DPE Systems (www.dpes.com/) about color
label printers. Based on this
discussion, Denny sold a TM-C3400 ColorWorks printer to Korry.
After purchasing the
color label printer, I contacted Sarah to help her configure the printer; and
to start printing quickly and easily.
Although we had some difficulty installing the printer on the network,
we did get the printer up and running.
As Sarah was a quick learner, she was printing new cards quickly (see
the bottom two cards) using Codesoft software from Teklynx (http://www.teklynx.com/en/products/label-design-solutions/codesoft).
According
to Sarah, “on the first production, I printed 50 cards; which took a fraction
of the time over the previous process.”
“We needed a printer
that could produce tags that could withstand daily handling for several months. Initially, we were concerned about the
durability of inkjet printing. After
reading in the Tubelite success story (http://pos.epson.com/press/presscss.htm), “the labels
were tested to ensure the ink wouldn’t smear or fade under wet conditions”, we
decided that the TM-3400 would meet our requirements”, says Sarah.
By moving
to on-demand printing, companies like Korry can improve many different
manufacturing processes. Talk to you
customers about how on-demand printing could help.
Guy Mikel
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