Shrink Sleeve Labels

AmeriGraphPackaging Group was founded in 1998 as a manufacturer of printed, pressure-sensitive prime labels, tags, and shrink sleeve packaging for both the food and consumer goods markets.  Over the past 20 years, AmeriGraph Packaging Group has received numerous accolades and awards for product packaging and labeling design innovations, as well as outstanding customer service.

AmeriGraph Packaging Group

In 2020 AmeriGraph Packaging Group became a part of General Data Company Inc. (GDC), the parent of Color Label Solutions.   GDC is a national supplier of labeling solutions for both industrial and consumer goods markets.  Learn more about the purchase of Color Label Solutions by GDC here:

One key aspect that AmeriGraph brings to GDC is the design and manufacture of shrink-sleeve labels.  Shrink Sleeve labels are 360-degree printed labels that utilize heat in the application process to conform the label to the shape of the product. These labels are printed on either plastic or polyester film material.   According to Paul Thompson, General Manager of AmeriGraph, “The main reason to use shrink-sleeves is the 360-degree real estate provide by this type of label.    With a shrink-sleeve label, you can print anything all around the container.  Brand designs, ingredients, and regulatory information can be position anywhere on the container.  Marketing can use the entire space for their messages."

AmeriGraph Shrink Sleeve Example

Continuing, Paul says, “In addition, shrink-sleeve labels make it easy for companies to maintain brand colors when using standard containers that are typically white or clear.  Using standard packaging saves money.”

AmeriGraph Shrink Sleeve Example

In my conversation with Paul, I asked him what type of companies use shrink-sleeve labels on their packaging.  According to Paul, “Consumer good and food companies are large users of shrink-sleeves primarily for branding purposes.  And recently, we’ve had a large increase in business from sanitation companies; for cleaners, disinfectants and other type of products.  For AmeriGraph specifically, we produce a lot of shrink-sleeve labels for spirit companies. For example, Ole Smoky Moonshine, is a customer who uses both our labels and shrink sleeves.  Branding is very important to Ole Smoky, and the combination of both types of labels gives them flexibility in their messaging.”

AmeriGraph Shrink Sleeve Example

In spirits, it seems most wines use labels to communicate their brand persona.  However, shrink-sleeve labels would fit when a unique brand proposition was desired.  With the growth of boutique brands in the spirits, shrink-sleeve labels would seem to fit well in this market.

AmeriGraph Shrink Sleeve Example

After learning more about shrink-sleeve labels, I asked Paul, why choose AmeriGraph?  Paul says, “shrink-sleeve labels are complicated to design and print; and AmeriGraph are experts in this area.  We take an art file, typically created in Adobe Illustrator, and print it on a grid material.  We shrink the material onto the package to calculate how much each area of the label has shrunk.  Based on the percentage shrink, we can redesign the artwork to fit the container.  We are really good at managing the amount of shrink of the label and the design required to work in this situation. Overall, our ability to manage the design and test the material prior to production is our key strength with shrink-sleeve labels.”

To put together a quote for a shrink sleeve label, AmeriGraph requires this information:

• Graphic file, probably created in Illustrator.
• Specification length and lay flat width.
• 3-D design of the packaging from the manufacturer.

If you are interested in learning more about the options or getting a quote for shrink sleeve labels for your brands and company, contact us.  We’ll help you explore how shrink sleeve labels from AmeriGraph can work for you.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com 

Tube Label Applicator

Do you produce and label products that are sold in tubes?  Now, we offer a semi-automatic applicator to apply labels to tubes; The LabelMill LM1005 Table-Top Applicator System with Round Module and Mandrel.

LM1005 With Mandrel

“The LM1005 with a Mandrel is designed for cosmetic, food, cannabis/CBD, and related manufacturers who produce short runs of products sold in squeeze tubes; cosmetics, lotions, shampoos, etc.,” says Chris Wachter, Business Development, for LabelMill.  Continuing, Chris says, “more companies are producing shorter runs of more SKU’s, making labeling of tubes an important part of the manufacturing process.  Our customer, Merle Norman uses it for many different SKU’s.”

Watch the LM1005 run here:

When asked how did you get started making the Mandrel version of the label applicator, Chris says, “we were approached by a dog and cat shampoo manufacturer who need to label tubes.  We took our standard round label applicator and integrated the mandrel for tubes.  Using our base machine, you can go from a tamp application for flat packages to round module bottle application to mandrel tube application quickly.”

Watch how to quickly change the LM1005 from a tamp module to a round module here:

The capability to go from tamp to round to mandrel applicator is a unique feature of the LM1005.  I don’t know of any other semi-automatic applicator with this type of feature.

In addition to the quick-change capability, the LM1005 can be integrated with a printer; including the C6500A.  When you apply a label, the LM1005 control signals the printer to produce a label and keep the loose-loop going.  Watch a thermal label printer integrated with the LM1005 tamp version here:

When asked, “what is the best feature of the LM1005”, Chris says, “What I like best about the LM1005 is how easy it is to use.  The first time an operator adjusts the applicator for a new product, it may take a few minutes.  Very quickly, however, an operator can make the changes in seconds.  With the tube label applicator, the quick-change mandrel makes changing tube sizes very easy and quick to do.”

LM1005 Mandrel

The Mandrel-based, semi-automatic, label applicator is a unique device; especially given the capability to change this machine into a round bottle or tamp applicator.  I don’t know of any other applicators with this type of setup.

Purchase the LM1005 Tube applicator here: 

If you label tubes, contact us to discuss how the LabelMill LM1005 could fit into your operation.  And if you need labels for your tubes, contact us as well.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com 

Streaks No More

Streaks or Streaking is the “bane of the existence” of an operator of an inkjet label printer.

Streaks From QL-120 Label Printer

Typically, vertical streaks occur when a printhead nozzles get clogged and stop working, but can also be caused by head alignment and paper feed issues. To eliminate the streaks, Quick Label recommends cleaning and/or replacing the printhead of Kiaro or QL-120 printers.

QL-120 Non Functioning Nozzles

QL-120 Clogged Nozzles

However, replacing a Kiaro or QL-120 printhead may get expensive.  $699 per channel and up to $2,796 to replace all four.

And in my personal experience, this still may not completely remove the streaks, especially when printing artwork that is 100% covered with ink, due to paper feed and head alignment issues mentioned earlier.

QL-120 Print Output With Streaks

Instead of attempting to cure streaking issues, another option is to design a label printer that can correct or eliminate streaking automatically.  This idea is what Epson has seemingly done with the C6000 label printer series.

C6500 Color Label Printer

I got this idea by watching the printhead of the C6500 move/work.  By comparing the print speed settings, you can see a difference in number of passes/overlap and print resolution.  Watch the difference between Max Speed, Speed, Normal, Quality and Max Quality setting of the C6500 print two, 4” x 6” labels.

And not a streak in sight on these labels.

C6500 Labels With No Streaks

To confirm my ideas, I contacted Andy Scherz, Product Manager Epson to learn more about the overlap capability of the C6500 printer.

According to Andy, “Epson has a lot of experience making printers that don’t streak; especially the high-resolution photo printers.  The best way for me to explain how the C6500 works is to compare to other printers.”

Continuing, Andy says, “the C3500 prints basically 1" at a time” by moving the printhead left to right, then another inch followed by right to left.  At the intersection between this printing, a banding effect may occur if the ink spray doesn’t overlap exactly correct.  In the C3500 driver, you can adjust for this banding effect; but it takes time. Since the C3500 was introduced, the Epson driver/firmware was updated to add a “Quality Mode 2” setting that makes 2 ¼ passes on average which greatly improves print quality.”  After selling and installing 1,000+ of the C3500 printers, the effect of this setting was news to me. Everyone with a C3500 should consider changing/testing the Mode 2 settings!

“Comparing the C7500” says Andy, “Epson uses the new Precision Core technology that produces precise dots/pixels of color.  These precise dots produce better image quality than other types of older, inkjet printers.  Using an analogy, it’s like shooting a rifle compared to shotgun; a very precise dot with the Precision Core based printers.”

Even with this new technology, the C7500 may leave “print artifacts”. First, an inkjet nozzle may get plugged and leave a vertical streak.  The C7500 uses a “waterfall” type of printhead, which means the printhead does not move.  If a nozzle gets plugged, the C7500 can find the plugged nozzle and attempt to compensate to correct the print (dot substitution).  I understand it takes more than one plugged nozzle to notice streaking in the C7500.  An operator can attempt to unplug the nozzle first by using the Cleaning function, then try to remove air in the ink lines from the Maintenance menu from the front LED screen.

Second, as the C7500 prints so fast, localized wind as the media moves through the printer may create print artifacts.  I’ve found by moving the Color Mode Ink Profile to “Dark” improves this issue significantly.

C7500 Ink Profile Setting

Comparing the C7500 to other printers, Andy says, “printheads in other label printers are not as durable as the Precision Core. Therefore, they need to be replaced frequently; and as they fail, the number of streaks increase.  Further, the pixels look more like a “splat” up close rather than a precise dot with Precision Core.”

The C6500 has both similarities and differences to the C3500 and the C7500 printer.  First the C6500 uses the new Precision core technology like the C7500 producing very fine print resolution.  Second, the printer overlaps when printing, but potentially much better than the C3500.

In my discussions with Andy, I learned the following about the C6500:

•  The media is stopped during printing eliminating wind effects.
•  The C6500 then uses special overlap patterns of head and paper feeding to eliminate streaking. 
• In Normal mode, average overlap is 2.5 passes.  In Max Quality mode, the average overlap is 12 passes.  This overlap means that when a nozzle is plugged, other nozzles can easily compensate for the issue.  Further, the multi-pass patterns averages out any feed or alignment imperfections virtually eliminating streaking. 
• In Speed and Max Speed, the C6500 does not overlap.  By combining the more precise dots from the Precision Core printhead with shifting the C,M,Y colors darker in the Color Correction dialog box.

 

C6500 Color Correction For Max Speed

Better print quality can be produced using these lower resolution/faster print speed settings.

Bottom = "Normal"; Top = "Max Speed"

Bottom “Normal” setting (About 2”/Second) with no banding; Top “Max Speed” setting with Max Color setting (about 5”/Second).

In the top, I can see slight banding.  In an attempt to improve this setting, I made a banding adjustment in the printer setting utility, including printing an adjustment sheet.

C6500 Banding Adjustment

C6500 Banding Adjustment

And I did improve the banding with the adjustment.  One interesting point: I found Max Speed seemed to produce less banding than the Speed setting.

Andy says, “Normal setting will be sufficient for most organizations.  But by adjusting Max Speed, Color Correction and Banding, higher speeds can be obtained with sufficient print quality for most labels.”

With the printing overlap, operators will find the C6000 series printers easier and less costly to run; Less to no streaking and no need to replace printheads as with Kairo, QL-120, LX2000, LX900, VP485, VP495 and the 300x label printers.  And if you need faster speeds, setting changes available in the C6500 make the printer run much faster.

If you are tired of dealing with streaks in your label printing, contact us.  We’ll help make your operator’s life much better.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com 

Printing Circles With The C6000

Printing Circles correctly can be difficult.  But one, mostly overlooked, feature of the new C6000 series of label printers from Epson is the movable gap sensor.

C6000 Movable Gap Sensor

Epson did not mention this feature in their C6000 series press release:

Epson does not mention this capability on the main C6000 product webpage:

Epson doesn’t mention this feature until the 4^th page in small type in the collateral material:

C6000 Movable Gap Sensor Copy

But the movable gap sensor may be the most used and important feature on the C6000; especially if you print circle labels.  Now you don’t need blackmarks on labels to print circle labels correctly.

C6500P Printed Circle Labels

This post is designed to help you start printing circle labels correctly using the new C6000 series printers by moving the gap sensor.

Most importantly, TURN OFF the printer to move the gap sensors.  And make sure the TOP/BOTTOM sensors are aligned.

C6000 Aligned Gap Sensors

The first time I tried to use the movable gap sensor feature, I failed on following both of these requirements. It took forever to figure it out; including having to read the instructions.  Find them on page 166 of the Engineering manual.

C6500 Label Detector Instructions

If you don’t align the sensors correctly, you get this error on the printer:

C6000 Gap Sensor Error

And in fact, I thought I had the sensors aligned correctly; but kept getting an error.  It seems sometimes the printer had issues with the movement of the gap sensors once the printer was turned back on.  I just turned it off again and adjusted the sensors to get it to work correctly.

On circles, the idea is to move the gap sensors to align with the apex of the leading edge of the circle.  To make this change, I would follow these steps:

• Use the LED menu on the printer to adjust the media settings to the new label (I recommend using the LED menu on this printer and not the driver).
• Media Type: Matte Paper, etc.
• Media Detect: Gap or Blackmark
• Media Source: Internal or Rear Feed
• Media Form: Roll or Fanfold
• Turn off the printer
• Load the new label media to set the widths of the guides; then remove
• Move the gap sensors to the center of the new label media.
• Turn on printer. 
• Load label media

C6500 Gap Sensor Set Correctly

To print circles, especially multiple up circles, I recommend using BarTender.  This label creation and printing software makes circle label printing much easier to do than with static PDF’s or other file types.  With BarTender, I can adjust easily the settings for printing circles; such as rows/columns of labels and gap between:

BarTender Circle Settings

In addition, you can embed the image in the background and easily add an “overhang” to the print, which makes printing full-bleed much easier to do.

BarTender Background Image Overhang

 Using this feature in BarTender, I recommend you set the template as the same size as the actual label.

BarTender Label and Template Size

With BarTender and the movable gap sensor, I printed 1” 2 Up circle label above earlier in the post, and 2” circle labels:

2" Circle Labels 

And 1” clear film circles 6 UP using the blackmark sensor:

1" Clear Film  Circle 6 UP Labels

(FYI: the minimum 1" print width feature of the C6000 series eliminates the need to print small sizes multiple up!)

During an attempt to print circle labels with a blackmark directly between (Kiaro and QL-120 require this blackmark location), I learned the gap sensor would not function.  The blackmark affected the reading of the gap.  By changing to the blackmark sensing, I could print 3” circles as well.

3" Circle Label Using Blackmark

All of the different sizes and especially the blackmark in the middle of the gap required me to change the print start position; both vertically and horizontally.  To change the print start position, go into the printer setting utility and select the vertical or horizontal setting.

C6500 Vertical Start Position

Please know; the C6000 series offers a great deal of mobility in terms of the movement of the vertical print start position.  For example, more than a .25” with the label with the blackmark directly between the labels.  However, the C6000 series is limited to .06” horizontal movement; which sometimes is not sufficient to print full bleed.  If the horizontal movement is insufficient for full bleed, try reloading the labels or adjusting the artwork to achieve full-bleed on both sides.

Printing circles correctly can be difficult and frustrating; trust me I know.  But the movable gap sensor on the C6000 printer makes printing these labels much easier to do.  Purchase the C6000 Series Label Printers here.

Or contact us to discuss how the C6000 series printers can make your work life easier.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com 

PAC5 Color Label Printer Applicator

I am pleased to announce the PAC5, color label printer applicator from General Data Automation.

PCT5 Color Printer/Applicator

The PAC5 is the first table top color print and apply machine designed to make label printing and applying easier and simpler to do.    After sending a job to the printer and placing a package under tamp head, the PAC5 triggers the start of the application process.  The PAC5 prints, feeds a label on to the pad and extends the dual tamps to apply the label.  Once the label is applied, the PAC5 retracts the tamps allowing the operator to remove the package and repeat the cycle.

PCT5 Color Printer/Applicator In Action

The PAC5 was created by John Roberts, Vice President of General Data Automation.  According to John, “we started with a flat package applicator but will adding a round package applicator in the future.  With the flat package applicator, we can provide a jig to hold the package in place to ensure the label is placed in the same place every time. And for many potential customers, the benefit of applying labels in the same place every time is a crucial aspect of the packaging esthetics.”

The PAC5 has two different operation modes; Batch and On-Demand.  In the Batch mode, the operator sends a print job to the printer.  The printer prints and presents a label placing it on the tamp pad.  As the operator moves a flat package underneath the tamp, a sensor triggers the applicator to apply the label.  John says, “the sensor speeds up the label application, initiating the process.  No need to press a foot pedal or pull a lever.  In Batch mode, the operator doesn’t have to wait for the printer to produce the label.”

Batch Mode is designed where an operator wants to print a series of identical labels; where lot numbers, production dates, best-buy dates, etc. don’t change.  Further, the PAC5 in batch mode eliminates the need to rewind the printed labels, saving significant time and money.  For most customers, I believe, PAC5 will be used in Batch mode.

Color Printed Label With Variable Data

On-Demand mode is designed for situations where the operator must keep a 1:1 relationship with the label and package.  John says, “for those situations where labels must be serialized/sequentially numbered, the On-Demand mode works the best.  In this mode, the printer produces and presents the label after the package is placed underneath the tamp.  This way the operator can ensure the correct label is placed on the package, with the correct date, numbers, etc.”.

Watch the PAC5 in On-Demand mode operate here:

The PAC5 uses the C6000 series label printers.  One feature of these printers makes the PAC5 possible; peel and present.  Learn more about these printers here:

https://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2020/02/my-new-c6500p.html

https://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2019/09/new-c6000-series.html

The PAC5 comes standard with many features that are upgrades from other machine builders; including a 5 color status indicator,  On / Off Switch, Jog Button, Lock Out /Tag Out Main Disconnect, Adjustable Level Feet, and Out of Media Detection.

If desired, we can support the deployment of the PAC5 with jig creation, on-site training, return to depot service, label creation software (BarTender, Nicelabel, etc.) and of course labels.  Our goal is to make the PAC5 improve your overall operation.

If you believe the PAC5 would improve your operations, contact us to discuss your requirements.  Plan on sending us packaging and label sizes/material to test to ensure the printer/applicator works for you.

It’s great selling unique, new products that fit our on-demand color label market.  Contact us to learn more about the PAC5 and printing color labels on-demand.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com