Pharmaceutical coding and marking at Sanofi-Aventis from ... - HP

PHARMACEUTICAL CODING AND MARKING AT SANOFI-AVENTIS
FROM WOLKE INKS & PRINTERS AND HP SPS
When the international pharmaceuticals company Sanofi-
Aventis wanted a solution that it could implement worldwide
for coding, marking and printing data matrices on its product
packaging, it evaluated a range of solutions.
The new solution had to meet a number of demanding
criteria for print quality and commercial viability. It would
have to be space-efficient since it would be mounted on the
packaging lines. In addition, it had to achieve high printing
speeds, generate human-readable text and numbers as
well as machine readable barcodes and data matrices.
Among coding and marking technologies available were the
traditional crash numbering systems, laser-based systems and
inkjet.
Sanofi-Aventis selected the inkjet solution from Wolke Inks &
Printers GmbH based on its m600 advanced controller and
HP inks developed with HP Specialty Printing Systems (HP
SPS) as its worldwide recommended s olution. This solution
met other important criteria for Sanofi-Aventis including ease
of use, minimal downtime, a small footprint on the packaging
line, fast-drying inks and reliability.
“The amount of data now required on pharmaceutical
packaging has grown considerably in the last decade,” said
Stephan Koll, technical head of packaging at Sanofi-Aventis’s
facility in Frankfurt, Germany. “Batch and lot numbers, expiry
dates, barcodes and data matrices mean that printing and
verification systems have to be extremely versatile. We also
wanted a single solution that could print on cartons and foil
substrates.”
The inkjet coding on secondary packaging complements
the tamper evidence solutions used on primary packaging
offering an enhanced level of product security, as it is
estimated that ten percent of all pharmaceuticals worldwide
are counterfeit. (1) While regional variations can be enormous,
global providers, like Sanofi-Aventis, are highly active in
ensuring that their products are easily recognizable and
difficult to counterfeit.
“One of our special requirements was that we wanted to
incorporate a randomly generated serial number in the data
matrix,” Koll continued. “We worked with Wolke which
adapted its controller so that we can now track each item
internally.”
Sanofi-Aventis’s Frankfurt plant has a couple of coding lines
for carton production and blister packs, each equipped
with the Wolke system and using HP inks. The different
requirements of printing on cartons and aluminum mean that
a different ink formulation is used. Cartons are coated, to
protect the print, but a small area is left uncoated to ensure
optimal ink adhesion when the codes are printed. For blister
packs, the aluminum has a coating that enhances adhesion.
It is essential that the ink is dry prior to the verification
inspection. While the ink on the cartons will dry in the
atmosphere, a small fan heater is used to accelerate drying
on the non-porous blister packs.

At a glance
Industry sector:
Product-coding systems
Business name:
Wolke Inks & Printers GmbH
Address:
Ostbahnstr. 116
91217 Hersbruck
Germany
Tel: +49-(0)9151-8161-0
Fax: +49-(0)9151-8161-58
Email: info@wolke.com
Web: www.wolke.com
HP Specialty Printing
Systems (HP SPS)
HP SPS is a business
unit of HP that works
with third party OEMs
in the development
of their applications,
supplying inks and/or
cartridges for use in their
equipment. Solutions
for HP SPS partner
companies include a
wide variety of coding
and marking, addressing
and franking, and CD
printing applications.
“We have an inspection system mounted just after the Wolke
print units,” said Koll. “Print quality and the text, number,
barcodes and data matrices are inspected and verified
via a link with the Wolke controller to insure that the right
information is printed.”
Quality with speed
“There are no moving parts in the Wolke solution; all the
technology is solid state,” said Axel Ochocki, technical
support manager, Wolke Inks & Printers. “That enables
higher print speeds while keeping maintenance to a
minimum. One of the great advantages of the HP ink
cartridges is that they can be changed quickly and easily,
and as a result you effectively have a whole new printer: ink,
circuitry and print-heads.
“In a typical packaging line, 400 pieces per minute can
be printed – 7 per second. That means that each carton or
blister pack is inspected in about 140 milliseconds,” Ochocki
continued. “In that time, it’s read; the text, numbers and
codes are detected, and the data compared to that in the
database. Any deviation and it’s rejected.”
“Sanofi-Aventis evaluated coding and marking systems for use globally on
its sites and concluded that the Wolke system using HP inks was the best for
quality and speed.”
— Stephan Koll, technical head of packaging, Sanofi-Aventis
To learn more, visit www.hp.com/go/graphicarts
© 2010 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to
change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express
warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed
as constitu ting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or
omissions contained herein.
4AA3-2279ENW December 2010
CHALLENGE
• Need for online coding and
data matrix marking solution for
pharmaceutical cartons and blister
packs
• Assured readability and
production speeds
• Meet international requirements
• Cost-effective production with low
and easy maintenance
SOLUTION
• m600 advanced controller from
Wolke Inks & Printers GmbH
• Specially formulated inks from HP
Specialty Printing Systems
RESULTS
• Fast, high-quality coding and
marking used in facilities
worldwide
• Low operational costs
• High reliability
It is important to maintain the speed of the production lines.
Slow-downs or stoppages can affect delivery schedules and
profitability.
“In that respect, good print quality enhances the speed of the
printing,” said Ochocki.
Working with HP SPS and customers like Sanofi-Aventis,
Wolke is able to combine the advantages of ink quality,
system reliability and worldwide service and support to meet
the requirements of the most exacting customers in the world.
“We worked closely with Wolke and HP in the development
of the system’s software, and determine the best inks to be
used for our applications,” concluded Koll. “The result is that
together we have developed what is, for the moment, at
least, a special capability for handling serial numbers in data
matrices that adds value to our products and their integrity.”
(1) “WHO Drug Information, Volume 20, Number 1, 2006,” World Health
Organization, 2006.
Progressive Profitable Printing