A large science and medical laboratory contacted Pineberry Manufacturing of Toronto, Canada, to serialize its products and support traceability throughout its supply chain to comply with the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) in the U.S. The problem: limited space necessitated a compact system to print serialized codes on flat pouches and cartons.
A few weeks later, the CartonTrac FC flat carton serialization system was delivered. Measuring 60 in. long and 32 in. wide, flat cartons are placed on the Pineberry HSF 12 friction feeder and dispensed singly on a vacuum conveyor, which passes a drop-on-demand inkjet printer for application of variable serialized data. An integrated camera system verifies code data before the printed blanks drop into a catch tray.
“CartonTrac flat carton and erect carton serialization systems are available as turnkey systems or as specialty feeding units integrated to existing structures,” says David McCharles, President of Pineberry Manufacturing. “Our ability to adapt to a large, changing industry with heavy regulations has made us a trusted manufacturer in pharmaceuticals and packaging industries,” he notes.
He explains, “The Pineberry CartonTrac Serialization Series marks flat and erect cartons, bags and leaflets to add track-and- trace information, barcodes, date and lot codes, UDI codes, labels, inserts and much more. Our serialization systems produce [clean codes], verified with an in-line reader and cannot be tampered with. Cartons are controlled with precision.”
With longer supply chains and rising e-commerce sales providing more opportunities for counterfeiters, regulations to serialize and trace products are or will soon be in place in more than 40 countries. Deadlines set to comply with the U.S.’s DSCSA and the European Union’s Falsified Medicines Directive 2011/62/EU (EU-FMD) are fast approaching in 2017 and 2019, respectively. Pharma companies, contract manufacturers and contract packagers should already be taking steps to ensure lines are serialization-ready.
Reprinted from the PACK EXPO East Show Daily.
