High quality inside and out
With more than 400 varieties of
salad dressings and sauces to manufacture, including Ken’s®
salad dressings and Sweet Baby Ray’s® gourmet sauces,
Ken’s Foods can’t afford to struggle with unreliable product
identification. When it came time to add two new production lines to its
Food manufacturers know
high-quality food lays the foundation for success, but the package—and
specifically the barcode on the package—can be equally important.
Manufacturers like Ken’s Foods use barcodes and text to communicate vital
information to retailers. When this product identification is subpar, communication isn’t the only thing that
suffers. Frequent equipment maintenance and unreadable barcodes can add up to
unnecessary costs and lost productivity.
Using the RSI CaseJet MVP Pro with HP TIJ technology, RSI provided
Ken’s Foods with a customized solution ideal for the company’s
industrial environment. Now Ken’s Foods can print high-resolution
barcodes and text, keeping maintenance to a minimum and increasing productivity
and profits.
Seamless integration and
communication
When evaluating case coding
solutions for its new production lines, Ken’s Foods knew it needed a
system that could seamlessly integrate into its high-volume production environment.
The RSI CaseJet MVP Pro’s multi-SKU
capabilities and integrated RSI software did exactly that.
By easily communicating with
Ken’s Foods plant software, RSI technology made both integration and
message input a snap. Operators simply scan the appropriate barcode for each
run from a print table using the built-in barcode scanner. The RSI CaseJet MVP Pro then pulls up the correct message and
begins production, increasing productivity and reducing errors.
With an integrated TCP/IP interface, each RSI CaseJet MVP Pro can be assigned an IP address that enables the remote monitoring of every production line, in every plant. Plus, the single buffer mode ensures the right message goes on the right case, every time.
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CHALLENGE • Ken’s Foods needed to replace its unreliable product identification equipment with a new system that could produce reliable, high-quality output in its high-volume industrial environment. |
SOLUTION
• The RSI CaseJet MVP Pro with HP thermal inkjet technology helps to
simplify message input while allowing Ken’s Foods to produce
high-resolution barcodes and text with excellent readability.
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RESULTS
• By acquiring more than 20 RSI CaseJet MVP Pros, Ken’s Foods reduces errors, keeps costly maintenance to a minimum and increases the efficiency of its manufacturing lines for greater profitability. |
Easy maintenance for increased
savings
Ken’s Foods also reduces
costly maintenance, thanks to the RSI CaseJet MVP
Pro’s use of the RSI IMS+ ink management solution and the HP Black 4500
Pigment Bulk Ink System. Easy-to-replace HP printheads and enclosed HP 4500
Pigment Bulk Ink Cartridges quickly pop in and out.
Plus, each printhead
replacement refreshes the printing system, minimizing the risk of
nozzle-clogging and nearly eliminating time-consuming routine maintenance. The
cartridges can also be independently replaced while the equipment is running,
keeping manufacturing line downtime to a minimum.
“Every piece of equipment
will go down at some point. How fast you can get it back up is the key,”
says Jim Constantine, account manager for Ken’s Foods at RSI. “The
combination of RSI and HP technology allows our clients to get back up and
running in a matter of minutes, which makes production lines more efficient and
saves money.”
The RSI CaseJet
MVP Pro also contributes to a clean work environment. A rugged stainless steel
enclosure protects the case coder from tough industrial environments. And
water-based HP 4500 pigment inks are self-contained, eliminating messy ink
spills.
“We no longer have to
deal with leaking printheads and ink spills. There is a noticeable difference
in how clean the area is,” says Dave Muskopf,
vice president of engineering at Ken’s Foods.
A night-and-day difference
After installing two RSI CaseJet MVP Pros, Ken’s Foods noticed a visible
improvement in the quality of its codes. “There was a night-and-day
difference between the new prints from the RSI case coding system with HP TIJ
technology and the previous system,” says Muskopf.
HP 4500 pigment inks enable
high-quality, lightfast and water-resistant output on a range of porous media,
including corrugated cases. Plus, the high optical density of the HP ink
creates high-resolution barcodes with excellent readability.
The 350 milliliter HP 4500
Pigment Bulk Ink Cartridge is also a cost-effective option for companies with
high-volume print environments like Ken’s Foods. “The cost of the
ink is very competitive,” explains
A winning combination
After experiencing the RSI CaseJet MVP Pro’s high-quality output and minimal
maintenance firsthand, Ken’s Foods decided to retrofit a number of other
production lines throughout its three facilities. To date, the company has
purchased more than 20 RSI CaseJet MVP Pros.
RSI attributes its success, and
the success its customers achieve with RSI case coding systems, to the winning
combination of RSI and HP TIJ technology. “We’re industrializing
the reliability that HP technology is known for and putting it out on the
production floor,” says
“There was a
night-and-day difference between the new prints from the RSI case coding system
with HP TIJ technology and the previous system.”
— Dave Muskopf, Vice president of engineering, Ken’s Foods
To learn more, visit www.hp.com/go/graphicarts
©2009
Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change
without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth
in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services.
Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP
shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained
herein. 4AA2-9301ENW, September 2009.
