When the leader in the sauce market launched its new foodservice sauces, the company worked around its limited warehouse space by sourcing just one film for six different sauces and then printing online.

The main reason to imprint online, says a company spokesperson, was to minimize material inventory. Changeover flexibility and good-looking packaging were added benefits.

The plant where the new sauces are packaged has limited warehouse space. With six sauces in the new line-and no room to store preprinted packaging- the decision to buy one film and print variable product information online was an easy one. Because all graphics and type would be printed online, the search for an imprinter with a large enough print area brought this customer to Bell-Mark Sales Co. Each filled pouch measures 9.5 x 7 inches and holds 32 ounces of net weight product.

The imprint for the sauces ranges from 4 x 3 inches to a maximum of 5 x 4 inches-which is the entire imprint area of Bell-Mark's Easy Print 5" thermal transfer printer.

Then, for a short while, the film moves horizontally before it heads back down for filling and sealing. The film is printed while it's horizontal. Installation and start-up of the printer took about 24 hours and went smoothly, the spokesperson says, even though this was the first time Bell-Mark had ever connected its imprinter to this particular Cryovac vertical form-fill-seal machine in a production situation.

"At first, we didn't get a fuzzy feeling about how this printer would work," the spokesperson said. "But Bell-Mark invited us to see how well it was working on another Cryovac machine." He continues, "We had a lot of good support with this project. Bell-Mark's customer service is the best I've encountered. For example, they come anytime we need them. And they understand how a production line runs."

Changeover flexibility

The printer operates at speeds of 300 millimeters (11.81 inches) per second, (for this particular application), which is more than fast enough to keep up with the line speed of 38 pouches per minute. On average, the plant runs two different products per shift, two shifts a day, for two lines. For now, though, they only have one imprinter.

Changing product information on the coder only takes a few minutes. Plant personnel programs the printer using VersaStyle ® thermal transfer design software, a Windows- based program from Bell-Mark. According to the spokesperson, the layout software is very user friendly -it's simple and easy to use. Then, once the file is created and saved to a memory card, the card is inserted into the printer. One memory card can hold information on up to four sauces and it only takes about one minute to download to the printer.

Good-looking packaging

Because the sauces are oxygen sensitive and are filled at ambient temperature, the company selected high-barrier multilayer film-also from Cryovac-to get a six-month shelf life and ensure product quality. To meet this barrier requirement, the film was specified at 5.5 mils thick. Perforations on either side of the pouch helps foodservice personnel tear open the thick pouch without having to use scissors or a knife.

Rather quickly, through trial and error, the operators learned to run this thicker film on the line. It requires a higher heat to seal on Cryovac's Model 2050 continuous-motion vertical form-fill-sealer. And the spokesperson tells us, "Because of the thickness of the film, when the film was printed, the information wasn't impregnating into the film fast enough. We ended up changing the ribbon and turning the heat up to get a good print at line speeds."

Considering the detail in the logo, the company is pleased with how sharp the reproduction is. "We were very impressed with the quality of the imprint. It's great for a foodservice product." This is such a new project that the company is just using black ink for now. But they tell us the company may use different colors in the future to better match or contrast the color of the sauces.

The company's Sauces have been in national distribution to restaurants and other foodservice accounts since February 2001. For the launch, the company developed six sauce varieties. So far response from customers has been positive. "We've got quite a few national chains testing the product. Several are already buying the product even though it's still in test market," the spokesperson says. "The restaurants are excited about this value-added product because they can easily add to their menu items."

Looking ahead, the company says more sauces will be introduced. And the online printing will be able to keep up. "We only have one printer right now. Within the next year, we'll add at least one more."

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