Data checks
- Best-before-date inspection
- Use-by-date inspection
- Batch-code inspection
- Lot-code verification
- Serial and product codes
- Expected-string comparison
Confirm the code is present, legible and correct
Date and Batch Code Inspection Systems
Inspect variable print against the live production recipe, reject failed packs and retain the evidence your process needs.
Date-code inspection
Protect against both print failure and data-entry error
Date-code inspection should answer more than ‘is ink present?’. The system can locate the print, assess quality, read characters and compare the result with expected best-before, use-by, batch or lot data before a pack is accepted.
OCR and OCVRecipe comparisonDate-code rejection
Inspection scope
What the system can cover
Each check is configured against agreed samples, tolerances and fault responses. Multiple checks can be combined into a single inspection recipe.
Print technologies
- Inkjet-code inspection
- Laser-code inspection
- Thermal-transfer-code inspection
- Thermal inkjet inspection
- Embossed and debossed codes
- Printed label codes
Inspection tools
- OCR inspection
- OCV verification
- Presence and position
- Character-quality checks
- Database and recipe comparison
- Date-code rejection systems
Typical products and formats
Flow-wrap filmPouchesCartonsBottlesLidsLabelsTraysCases
Production-line integrationOptics, handling, controls and rejection designed as one system.
Engineering priorities
What turns an inspection into a dependable production station
- 01
Capture good, degraded and missing prints across normal coder operation
- 02
Stabilise print position or use a sufficiently robust search region
- 03
Manage reflective film, curved surfaces and low-contrast substrates with controlled lighting
- 04
Define date-calculation and recipe authority to avoid conflicting sources
- 05
Store expected and observed strings with the inspection result where traceability is needed
- 06
Provide controlled bypass, rework and challenge-test procedures
From samples to sign-off
A controlled route from question to production
We reduce risk early by proving the inspection on representative products before final hardware, handling and controls are committed.
Define
Agree the pack, defect, speed, reject risk, data needs and acceptance criteria.
Prove
Run feasibility tests using representative good, bad and borderline samples.
Engineer
Design handling, cameras, lighting, controls, guarding and rejection as one station.
Integrate
Build, validate, install, train and support the system in production.
Useful starting evidence:Product drawingsGood and failed samplesLine videoTarget outputAvailable layout
Questions answered
Date-code inspection FAQs
Need an answer for your exact product or line? Send us the application details and we will identify the next useful test.
Ask an application questionWhat is the difference between OCR and OCV?
OCR reads unknown characters. OCV compares the observed print with an expected string or pattern. Many production applications use both locating and quality checks plus comparison to the active recipe.
Can the system calculate the correct best-before date?
It can compare the printed result with an expected date supplied or calculated from controlled production data. Responsibility for the source and rule set is defined during integration.
Can faint inkjet print be detected before it becomes unreadable?
Quality measures can identify deteriorating contrast or incomplete characters, allowing warning thresholds before the final reject limit is reached.
Can date-code inspection be fitted after an existing coder?
Yes. We assess print location, product speed, available mounting space, trigger position, reject distance and line signals to define a retrofit station.