Solve the problem of waste in production with automatic inkjet printer

Environmental awareness in the digital age has a major impact on retailers. As consumers and the world increasingly focus on reducing waste, it is now time for brands to pay attention to the OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) of their manufacturing and production equipment to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. One of the goals of any OEE automated inkjet printer program is to reduce and eliminate equipment availability losses, unplanned/planned downtime, performance losses, slow cycles, quality losses and scrap in manufacturing. Domino’s Senior Product Manager Andy Barrett discussed how automated coding and marking solutions can solve common causes of manufacturing waste while having a positive impact on supply chain productivity. What are the advantages of automated inkjet printers when solving the problem of waste in production? 1. Reducing downtime, waiting time and overproduction. For many companies, providing correct information on product packaging is the key to protecting and promoting brand reputation. From the traceable QR code to the shelf life, the identification code provides consumers with basic information, enabling manufacturers and retailers to maintain compliance. Although there are many different forms of supply chain waste, incorrect identification and coding may bring high-cost waste. Manual identification and coding will inevitably make mistakes; even an operator with 99.7% typing accuracy will usually make an error every 300 characters. As a result, recalls often occur; regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, can impose fines; moreover, retailers may even be cancelled due to incorrect label information, such as incorrect shelf life; not to mention scrap products that require scrapping and rework. By automating the printer process, manufacturers can reduce downtime, waiting time, material waste and overproduction. For example, label templates can be populated directly from the data source without requiring the operator to enter any text, thereby freeing up time to perform more productive tasks. In fact, the product can directly use the data and work schedule in the ERP system for code assignment, or delete the management of related processes and documents. In addition, the automation of job conversion ensures that downtime is eliminated. By avoiding direct manual participation, the coding station does not need to check the accuracy of the data after each operation. The vision system adds an additional verification element to the process to ensure that each logo is assigned to the correct position on the product. The automated code assignment with the integrated vision system ensures that the consistency and completeness of each product on the production line is checked in real time, and production is stopped immediately when a problem is detected. 2. The opportunity of personalization In this era when more and more consumers are looking for personalization in the brand, Coca-Cola responded through the share a coke activity. Coca-Cola redesigned the traditional logo, replacing the Coca-Cola logo on the side of the bottle with the phrase sharing Coke + names. The event was a great success, with more than 500,000 shared photos spread on Facebook, and tens of millions of new fans were gained. Although personalization means that the production line runs on a smaller scale, it also involves more conversions, which will increase the potential waste of time and more labor costs. In this case, it is easy to produce waste. Highly personalized marketing campaigns and products tend to have smaller profit margins; therefore, manufacturers cannot risk relying on manual processes. The automatic identification and coding system can effectively manage this process from beginning to end. Automated inkjet printers enable retailers to respond to growing consumer expectations while reducing errors and providing reliable products that retailers expect. 3. Solving the problem of inefficiency through automated inkjet printers. Now is the time for manufacturers to take waste seriously. Companies need to understand how much downtime, waste, and scrap are in their production, and determine the entry point in the supply chain where sustainable methods can be effectively applied. Solving the problem of low coding efficiency through automation will help reduce waste and save time and money for manufacturers. Reducing the inefficiency of the production line will also encourage manufacturers to continue to produce higher-quality products, which will help strengthen existing relationships with retailers and bring the potential to manufacture more goods.