ON YOUR MARK PACKAGING
Industry News and Information
Super Bowl XLVIII
January 31, 2014
The last Blue Friday before Super Bowl. 12th Man pride at On Your Mark Packaging. GO SEAHAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Highly Durable Resin Thermal Transfer Ribbons
October 25, 2013
Resin ribbons provide maximum resistance against abrasion, heat, steam, chemicals and solvents. For printing on high-end films such as polyester and polyimide, our resin ribbons deliver maximum durability in the most extreme environments. They even perform to the standards of GM Specification GMW14573. Our resin ribbons also contain no heavy metals, halogen and comply with: REACH – SVHC free, RoHS/WEEE, TSCA, CONEG, and California Proposition 65.
Applications include but not limited to: automotive, heating and cooling, generators, motors, compressors, power tools, electronics, circuit boards, industrial, chemical drum, outdoor, lumber, horticulture, healthcare, slide labeling, pharmaceutical, asset tracking, compliance, apparel/care tags, WIP tags/labels, shelf/bin labels, warehousing/receiving labels, UL/cUL/CSA
PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013
September 20, 2013
We are leaving for PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013 in a couple of days. PACK EXPO is a trade show geared towards packaging and processing. There are over one thousand exhibitors showcasing materials, machinery and methods for packaging and processing. As the packaging industry is constantly evolving, we always come back from the show with new ideas and solutions, and we are excited to share them with our customers. For those exhibiting or attending- we can’t wait to see you there!
For more information visit www.packexpo.com
Label Lead Times Getting in the Way of Operations?
August 23, 2013
For most companies, running out of labels puts the breaks on production or operations. Among many applications, some of the most common uses for labels are to track warehouse inventory, code boxes for shipment, or to be placed directly on end user items. Each of these functions cannot be executed without their appropriate label, so it is essential that our customers never find themselves without.
At On Your Mark Packaging we have made it standard practice to track our clients’ label inventory and keep a history of their usages so we can diminish the chance that they run out of labels. Not only do we monitor inventory, but we also have stocking programs available to cover the lead times of custom label orders. In the event that our customer is out of labels before their order is complete, we have got them covered. We also have many different labels we keep in stock at all times. We recognize that our success is a reflection of our customers’ success, and we constantly strive to make sure our customer is getting the best service possible. Contact us to find out more about our services or stock items.
The Frequently Overlooked Label Dispenser
July 26, 2013
Is your company currently applying labels by hand? As you may know, this is a long and tedious process and there are ways it can be improved. One way is with an automated label applicator. You can purchase a semi-automatic or fully-automatic label applicator to put labels on your desired objects without human manipulation of the labels. This is a great way to speed up operations and drastically decrease or eliminate employee hours attributed to labeling. A label applicator, while incredibly helpful, can be a large purchase and often does not fit into the budgets of small businesses.
So what to do if you are concerned about your bottom line? Let us introduce to you, the label dispenser. A label dispenser can hold large rolls of labels and present an edge so your employees can grab the label without having to carefully peel it off. We find our customers pleasantly surprised with the increase in efficiency they discover while using a dispenser. Just the simple added benefit of not holding a heavy label roll and not peeling a label off by hand can increase efficiency considerably. You will find your employees responsible for labeling much happier too. Win, win!
The Future of RFID Technology and Labels
June 21, 2013
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a wireless method of storing and transmitting electronic data instantly using radio-frequency electromagnetic fields and a tag. Unlike a barcode, RFID tags do not require contact to retrieve information and can be imbedded so they are not visible to the reader. Depending on the tag, information can be transmitted from a few meters to hundreds of meters away from the reader. RFID tags can be imbedded into labels, products, animals or people.
Companies utilize this technology for applications such as inventory management, loss preventions, compliance and counterfeit product identification. One interesting application that has come up in the packaging industry is replacing barcode labels with RFID labels on grocery store or retail items. With RFID imbedded labels attached to all the items in a shopper’s cart, they could walk through a signal receptor that would immediately scan all the items, calculate the total and charge their credit card. This would eliminate the need for an employee to ring up items and people would no longer have to wait in line to pay. It would also make inventory management much simpler and efficient for companies because they could reconcile the items they have in stock immediately through a central RFID signal receptor. While there are roadblocks this application has met, I would not be surprised if one day we see this at the grocery store or mall.
Printhead Optimization
May 24, 2013
A printhead is one operating expense that is often overlooked when evaluating a printing system. This essential component is the most expensive thermal printing consumable and causes the most print-related problems. Did you know that your thermal transfer printer OEM recommends regular preventative maintenance as a way to protect against premature printhead failure and poor print quality? Unfortunately, very few printer operators actually follow this advice.
Our clients (ourselves included!) find tremendous success in lengthening printhead life with the use of Clean Start. Clean Start is built-in at the beginning of our wax and wax/resin thermal transfer ribbons. Patent pending Clean Start printhead cleaner removes debris before it builds up on the printhead so variable images are always clear, consistent and highly readable. We like to combine Clean Start and Isopropyl alcohol wipes between ribbon changes, and we find that our printheads last an unbelievable amount of time. Contact us for more information about how to optimize your printhead!
Earth Day: Vendor Spotlight
April 22, 2013
Sustainability is incredibly important to us, especially in an industry that is responsible for creating a large amount of waste. On this Earth Day, we would like to put the sustainability spotlight on our ribbon manufacturer. Thermal transfer ribbon is consumed at an enormous rate across many industries and our vendor has made huge strides in eliminating their carbon footprint. Take a look at just some of their efforts:
- All ribbons are manufactured in the USA which means less shipping time and lower fuel emissions.
- Cardboard cores are made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper stock.
- All ribbons contain no SVHCs or heavy metals and fully comply with REACH, RoHS and many other environmental standards.
- The manufacturing plant recovers over 95% energy from their coaters through ceramic “chambers” that retain heat and act as radiators for supplying heat to other parts of the facility. This enables them to bypass natural gas supplied heat for over 6 months of the year, reducing natural gas use by 80%.
- Waste materials are sent to other companies for energy utilization. In some cases, waste is converted into steam and electrical energy that feeds the power grid. Also, waste is utilized by a fuels blending program and used for heat by cement production plants.
- Materials are reclaimed, purified and reused during the manufacturing process, resulting in significantly less waste as well as conserving raw materials. For example, a solvent recycling system was installed in 1997 resulting in the recycling and reuse of processing solvents.
- Recycle scrap raw materials- all scrap PET is collected and sent back to the suppliers for recycling on a monthly basis.
- Production recycles all cloth rags used for cleaning during the production process. Dirty rags are collected, laundered off-site and returned for reuse.
Way to go!!