Crest Solutions has launched a ground breaking new high accuracy in-line print verification system. Crest Solutions PrintInspector™ is designed to accurately inspect large format labels commonly used in the medical device sector.

Crest Solutions is an established player in the provision of inspection systems for the life science sector and in a prime position to understand the problems faced by medical device manufacturers. The importance of ensuring correct label printing and verification is paramount, as errors or inaccuracies in product labeling have the potential to result in wasted and unusable product or worst case, incorrect use of product by medical staff. Equipped with years of experience and knowledge of the industry, Crest Solutions has designed PrintInspector™ to provide highly accurate vision-based technology to check medical device labels for all the print defects commonly found in this industry.

Crest Solutions PrintInspector™ addresses concerns over validation by providing a highly accurate means of inspecting large and varied sized labels. The system offers high resolution inspection using advanced vision technologies and has been designed to cover labels of up to A4 in size to ensure highly accurate print verification.

Frank Madden, CEO of Crest Solutions said, “From our dealings with our medical device customers we clearly understand the emphasis they place on ensuring accurate label verification. We developed PrintInspector™ to meet these high standards; it uses our highly accurate high resolution vision technologies to ensure correct label inspection and verification. The solution is also flexible enough to handle the large and varied quantity of label types used by this industry. Our solution has been met with much enthusiasm from the market and is currently under evaluation by several large medical device manufacturers.”

Crest Solutions PrintInspector™ consists of a high resolution scanning camera with a built in light source positioned directly above the label as it exits the printer. It clips on permanently to the front of the printer using existing locating points and utilises the drive mechanism of the printer to guide the labels under the scanning head. It offers the ultimate in accuracy and ensures the best quality image for high speed printing. The system verifies labels as they are printed and is capable of speeds of up to 300mm per second. The system has different attachment heads depending on the printer manufacturer. It reads all common 1D barcodes, pharmacode and datamatrix code. It checks for missing and excess print, it inspects graphics for accuracy, detects smudges and streaks on unpopulated areas of the label and is a key component of any product mix avoidance initiative.

Click to see a video of Crest Solutions PrintInspector™ in operation