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picked into a single shipping container,
manual systems are perfectly adequate as
the picking and packing process is likely to
be slower than the printing and labeling
operation.
Can you accelerate throughput?
Boroff says a typical print-and-apply system can label 15 to 25 cartons a minute.
Including a packing slip with the label
would cut that almost in half.
For print-and-apply systems, especially
those handling cartons of varying heights,
he suggests installing two print engines on
the same line with advanced control systems. That would come close to doubling
the throughput speed, depending on product size, by having each head printing and
applying to every other carton.
The biggest constraint in the whole
print-and-apply system, he says, is the
product mix. Most often, labels are applied
to the top of a product for shipping. The
print head has to move down to the carton
to apply the label, then move back up out of
the way before the next carton comes
through. The time it takes for the print
head to lower and raise again, he explains,
is the limiting factor in how quickly cartons
can move along the conveyance system. If
the height of the cartons varies markedly—
say, from six inches tall to 20 inches tall—
the print head needs time to lower and
raise as much as 14 or 15 inches in each
direction.
One way to improve throughput in a system with a broad range of carton heights,
he says, is to assign each print head to a
small range of carton heights. For example,
one print head could handle cartons from
six to 12 inches high, a second those from
12 to 18 inches. That limits the stroke each
machine must take to lower, apply, and
retreat. But it requires some advanced skills
to set up and manage that sort of system.
“This is where the technology skill of your
workforce is important,” Boroff says.
Uptime and maintenance matter. Not
too long ago, a malfunction in a printer
could bring shipping to a standstill. But the
development of smart printers, with tech-
nology that alerts managers to an impend-
ing failure so they can take preventive
action, can sharply diminish downtime,
especially when combined with
more modular printer designs that
make maintenance easier. Says
Perry about smart printers, “It’s not
just the capability to print labels,
but to do preventive maintenance
based on predictive algorithms that
are coming from the device man-
agement system.”
Perry says that current printers’
warning systems offer screens that
provide specific information on
printer issues, as opposed to a simple warning light. And maintenance
is simpler. “You’re able to replace the
print head without using a screwdriver, which you can never find
when you need one,” he says. “What
was once a 20-minute job now takes
15 seconds.”
GETTING THE CIO ON BOARD
Going forward, logistics managers
may find themselves having to
check with the company IT depart-
ment before deploying printers in
the warehouse or DC. That’s
because today’s printers are no
longer simply tools for expediting
shipping. As manufacturers build
more intelligence into them, these
devices are becoming important
nodes in companies’ overall IT net-
works.
“CIOs are becoming more powerful in device management,” says
Alex Babic, product manager industrial printers for Intermec. That
doesn’t mean the CIO will be looking over a DC manager’s shoulder
and trying to tell him or her what
printer to select. What the technology people are interested in is ensuring that smart devices fit in the
overall IT infrastructure, he says.
Their concern, says Babic, is network security and ensuring that
smart printers comply with the
rules and regulations that govern
the company’s IT infrastructure. ;
