Paperboard Packager Gets Results with AVT Inspection Solution

Published: November 02, 2009

HOD-HASHARON, ISRAEL | The Stratus Group, West Chester, Ohio, is the first beta site for the Advanced Vision Technology’s PrintVision/Orion 100% automatic inspection solution for folding carton, single pack applications, which was introduced at Drupa in 2008. After more than six months of in-depth testing, the Stratus Group gave their final acceptance to the Orion system.

A premier printer of paperboard packaging and pressure sensitive labels, along with other specialty converting and decorating solutions, Status’s capabilities include package design and the printing/converting of each unique product. For over 35 years, Status Group has served the packaging requirements of consumer brands from the health and beauty, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care and automotive industries.

Currently, Stratus Group is using the PrintVision/Orion solution to automatically inspect individual die cut package blanks for one of their pharmaceutical clients. The system is installed post press and die cutting, inspecting each package prior to gluing. Orion operates around the clock on a 24/5 basis and literally inspects millions of packages.

Curt Curran, vice president of Stratus Group, says, “We are receiving excellent results from AVT’s PrintVision/Orion system. We inspect for color, registration, type and die cutting. Our client’s packaging often has small print and we must be confident that the type is in place and readable. The speed of Orion is truly impressive, but what really counts is that this 100% automatic system totally eliminates the human error factor. Any pieces that are not consistent with our strict quality criteria are simply ejected.

“Our clients are very pleased with our quality control initiatives. Since installing the Orion system, our delivery of millions of packages shows zero defects.” The PrintVision/Orion is a new innovative solution that provides 100% automatic inspection and quality assurance for folding carton, single pack applications. Orion uses both established and new AVT automatic inspection and quality assurance technologies for 100% inspection of folding carton blanks.

The system is designed to enable printers to inspect all the blanks just before they are folded and glued on a folder gluer and sort out blanks with print or post print defects such as: Defects in characters areas, color variations, mis-registration, missing print, registration, die-cut and creasing faults, and more. Orion will eject defective blanks while collecting and stacking the good ones to a shingle conveyor or a high-speed blank stacker. The PrintVision/Orion system is designed to integrate in the folding carton production floor in such a way that it will best fit different workflows and applications. The system offers a full upgradeability path, so the configuration can be upgraded or changed in the future as needed. PrintVision/Orion is already installed at several folding carton printers worldwide, majority are mainly printing pharmaceutical packages.