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Digital ink jet printing enhances food safety

Grower/packer implements advanced on-film labeling technology to track and trace fresh produce from field to store to kitchen.

Each individually bagged product can be scanned for date of harvest and point of origin.
Each individually bagged product can be scanned for date of harvest and point of origin.

Growers Express LLC, Salinas, CA, cultivates and packages a family of fresh produce brands, including Green Giant Fresh, Capurro Farms, Western Express, and Topless. For food safety, traceability, and marketing reasons, the grower wanted to implement Quick Response (QR) matrix and barcoding for unit-level traceability of these products to more concisely target where the product was packaged, the day it was packaged, etc. Growers Express turned to its polyethylene film supplier and printer, Emerald Packaging, for assistance.

Responding to this customer request, Emerald Packaging investigated several systems and concluded that the Bitjet digital ink jet printer from Domino was the best and most cost-effective option. “At Emerald Packaging we run 4 million quality bags a day,” says Converting Department Manager Patrick McMahon. “When it comes to traceability, we put our trust in Domino Bitjet.”

The Domino Bitjet system can print the QR matrix codes, conventional barcodes, and human readable alphanumeric data directly onto the poly material for every package when it is still in roll form during the converting process. The rolls of film then are cut down in bag form, boxed, and shipped to the Growers Express facility in Salinas.

Emerald opted for the Bitjet system because it offered good, consistent print delivery to the substrate, fast-drying ink, print speeds up to 1800 feet per minute, compact machinery floor space footprint, simplicity of use, and operational durability (Emerald often runs seasonal products 24 hours per day).

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