Inspection Systems for High-Quality, Defect-Free Flexible Packaging
Flexible packaging is used in a wide range of industries. In addition to the pharmaceutical industry, they are also common in the food and beverage industry as well as in the personal care sector.
With EyeC’s solutions, we offer the highest quality and error-free flexible packaging throughout the entire manufacturing process, from artwork inspection to the final offline inspection at delivery.
Fields of Application of the Inspection Systems for Flexible Packaging
Our systems are suitable for all types of flexible packaging.
They help brand owners, pharmaceutical companies, print shops and design agencies to avoid mix-ups and recalls, reduce time and material waste, and lower quality costs.
Overview of the Various EyeC Software Solutions
Artwork and Pre-Press Inspection
The first step towards error-free flexible packaging is artwork creation. As early as this step in the process, you use EyeC Proofiler Content to check the final artwork of the flexible packaging. The software reviews editable and vectorized texts and layouts – and does so very conveniently in PDF form. Barcodes and braille can also be proofed in this way. The check is performed in a single operation, which speeds up the approval process.
In the next step, the pre-press stage, the EyeC Proofiler Graphic comes into play: This allows you to detect errors in your print files before the printing plates are created. This inspection is also carried out in PDF format. You create any number of inspection procedures within the workflow, for example, to compare pre-press files with customer files or different file versions with each other. It can also be integrated into various systems using EyeC Workflow Integration.
Offline Inspection Systems
In just one inspection process, the printout from the press or the sample from the incoming goods department is compared to the approved artwork. To do this, you simply feed the print template and the proof sample into the high-resolution scanner, and all relevant errors are reliably detected, such as missing or misprinted letters, missing ink, and spots, as well as font mix-up and missing special characters.
If you choose the EyeC Proofiler 900 – 1700 DT, you will benefit from an even faster sample inspection of your flexible packaging in half or large format. Defects are detected at twice the speed and can be corrected even faster. In addition, measuring sections can be examined simultaneously with the same device, for extra flexibility. This allows you to randomly check several printing machines/presses during the printing process. In the area of incoming and outgoing goods inspection, printing defects are also detected in the shortest possible time.
Inline Inspection Systems
The inline inspection takes place directly at the printing press or finishing machine: Here, the entire print web is compared with the customer’s artwork so that you also have perfect quality control during finishing.
With the EyeC Proofrunner Web, you thus inspect the flexible packaging as roll goods and do not need a visual inspection.
With EyeC Quality Link, you use the inspection system on both the press and the rewinder, so you no longer need two different inspection systems. First, the data from the press is checked and evaluated on a workstation. In the next step, you use the approved inspection results to then remove the defective flexible packaging on the rewinder. During the inspection process, all usable flexible labels are counted and recorded at the same time: This guarantees that exactly the required number is printed.
FAQ
What is flexible packaging, and which industries use it?
Flexible packaging is used across a wide range of sectors – including pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and personal care – EyeC offers inspection systems that are suitable for all types of flexible packaging.
How can flexible packaging inspection reduce recalls, mix-ups, and waste?
It is quality control throughout the production cycle, helping companies avoid mix-ups and recalls, reduce time and material waste, and lower quality costs.
How does artwork and pre-press inspection work for flexible packaging?
Quality starts at artwork creation, where PDF-based checks can review editable or vectorised text and layouts, with barcodes and Braille also proofed in the same workflow. In pre-press, PDF-to-PDF comparisons are used to spot issues before printing plates are created, including checks between customer files and different file versions.
What defects can be found during offline inspection of flexible packaging samples?
For press samples or incoming goods samples, it can be described as comparing the sample against approved artwork to detect issues such as missing or misprinted letters, missing ink, spots, font mix-ups, and missing special characters — using a high-resolution scan-based process.