Leading fresh produce packaging supplier Emerald Packaging is providing consumers with more information on the origins of their food after installing new digital ink jet printing equipment from Domino USA, which marks an industry first for delivering unique human readable and QR codes in a single pass.
The California-based packaging manufacturer, which supplies printed bags to companies including Growers Express, a packer for major food manufacturing brand Jolly Green Giant, invested in Domino's Bitjet+ inline digital printing system along with its Editor GT inkjet and production line controller to print unique QR codes onto each of its bags.
The unique codes, which are supplied by database and software management provider Truetrac, contain a range of information on the product including farm locations, grower profiles, food safety notices and nutritional information. These codes are managed by the Editor GT system and printed onto the bags by the Bitjet+.
By scanning the code with a smartphone, consumers can find out everything about the product, including the field in which it was harvested.
Domino's Bitjet+ integrates seamlessly into existing packaging lines and is suitable for adding high resolution, variable data including QR codes, addresses, numbers, bar codes and graphics to a range of substrates.
The printer was incorporated into Emerald Packaging's bag processing line, which produces 150 bags per minute, without any interruption to the manufacturing process.
Emerald Packaging sales and marketing director Todd Somers says, "The Bitjet+ is the first system within the fresh produce packaging sector that prints both a unique QR code and human readable code directly onto the bag. This is important as it enables the end consumer to track back when and where their produce was harvested and packed. This even tracks the item down to the specific field where the produce was grown."
David Ellen, vp of digital printing, Domino North America, adds, "With the integration of the Domino Bitjet+ into its bag manufacturing line, Emerald Packaging continues to innovate and add value to its customer relationships. We look forward to collaborating with Emerald on this and future projects."
