PCI Pharma Services First to Employ Track and Trace Module

PCI Pharma Services, a service provider to global healthcare companies, is first to use the just-introduced the Print & Check Flex Machine, a flexible high-capacity serialization unit from Antares Vision, a provider of serialization-based track-and-trace solutions for the pharmaceutical industry.

Ideal for maximizing the track-and-trace capabilities of large contract manufacturers, the unit is especially suitable for contract packagers and brand owners running a wide range of formats on the same lines— those that require the most flexibility in terms of carton dimensions, frequent artwork changes and varying code printing specifications.

Ian Parsonage, PCI’s Senior Director of Global Serialization Services, notes, “The Print & Check Flex is ideal for our serialization needs, as it meets the requirements of our ‘shared packaging suites,’ which serve multiple customers and handle a wide range of sizes, artwork designs, and pack-out details. PCI provides packaging services to a broad range of clients and supports products destined to over 100 countries around the world. Across our supply network we require a great deal of flexibility in printing, image verification and packaging, including the option to print and laser on multiple faces with a high degree of reliability.”

The Print & Check Flex is the latest addition to Antares Vision’s Print & Check series of standalone/in-line modules, all of which print fixed and variable data on cartons via inkjet or laser techniques, then check the accuracy and integrity of the printed data. The Print & Check Flex combines laser and inkjet printing technologies on up to three printing sides.

With line speeds up to 300 cartons/min, the Print & Check Flex is designed to handle cartons spanning from “match box” to “shoe box” (up to 270x100x200mm) with weights up to 500 grams. The machine is part of the Antares Tracking System (ATS) 3.0, the third generation of the company’s platform that has been deployed to more than 700 packaging lines worldwide.

The Print & Check Flex includes a labeling unit equipped with thermal-transfer printing, a dedicated camera to check the correct label position, integrity and readability of datamatrix and human-readable codes, and a built-in tamper-evident seal application module. The tamper-evident function responds to the authentication strategy of several customers and regulatory/reporting mandates worldwide.

“When PCI Pharma Services, a valued customer that has universally adopted Antares Vision serialization platforms to comply with worldwide track-and-trace mandates, came to us with a set of challenging requirements, we were delighted to partner with them as a launch customer for the Print & Check Flex,” says Adriano Fusco, Strategy & Development Director for Antares Vision.