Label print can have an enormous impact on a business if not done correctly. An incorrectly printed label could require a product range to be recalled at great expense, or insensitivities contained in the label could cause irreparable damage to a brand. This is especially the case in regulated industries such as medical device manufacturing.
Label Print Architecture
The label print solution consists of the following three components (also refer to the image below):
Eyelit MES app
- Stores label designs (.btw files) and versions, including translations.
- Manages configurable approval flows.
- Manages mapping of label fields to MES data.
- Manages print actions and queues.
- Scrap/reprint tracking.
Eyelit MES label print service
- Installed on the customer server.
- Manages the flow of data between the customer server, BarTender and the cloud.
- Adds print jobs to the windows print queue.
BarTender
- Installed on the same customer server.
- Creates final label images.
- Manages printers.
BarTender is a label design and management software owned by Seagull Scientific, with whom Eyelit has a partnership agreement. Customers need to have an automation or enterprise license for BarTender to be able to use this module.
Data Flows built into the model enable full tracking of labels designed, label prints executed and scans of printed labels to satisfy traceability requirements including electronic device history record (eDHR) for regulated environments such as medical device manufacture. The two flows are:
- Simple flow: no preview of label.
- Full flow: previews are available.
Simple Flow
Operators are presented with a simplified screen to print off labels. They can trigger automated printing at completion of the action.
The simplified flow does not generate preview of the label design.
- Fully controlled label print job routed to Bartender
(with design template and data). - Label print image created and sent to printer.
- Print status sent back.
- Label status returned from Bartender to be stored in MES-M.
Full Flow
Full functionality, including the preview of a label print with data to cross reference against the product label reference image. This is more likely to be required for regulated environments such as medical environments.
- Fully controlled label print job routed to Bartender (with design template and data).
- Label print image created and sent to printer.
- Print status sent back.
- Final label image returned from BarTender to be stored in MES-M/used as a preview.
- Physical printed label scanned, compared vs design and approved in eDHR.
