Advanced Dynamics Meets EU Directive To Braille Emboss Pharmaceutical Packaging

Leading UK distributors of specialist labelling and packaging equipment, Advanced Dynamics Limited has launched a revolutionary new machine to label the outer packaging of pharmaceutical products in Braille.

The machine, a Köra-Packmat rotary Braille embosser, was launched in response to EU directive 2004/27/EU which states that pharmaceutical packaging such as aspirin boxes, prescription packs and in fact any boxed medication must now carry a Braille imprint.

Offering flexibility in text positioning, cost efficiency in production, and process checking to ensure enhanced process security, the new machine is ideally suited for use on small and medium print runs. After die cutting it can be used to emboss Braille onto printed carton blanks. It can handle up to 20,000 carton packs per hour and can be loaded and unloaded by one person. The embossed Braille does not detract from the quality of a printed image as seen by customers with unimpaired vision.

This latest machine has been developed specifically to satisfy the EU directive and is exclusively distributed in the UK by Advanced Dynamics.

So how does this revolutionary machine work? A servo driven feeder feeds single carton blanks onto a flighted conveyor; the speed of the feeder is synchronised with the speed of the rotary embosser. A scanner reads a printed code on each blank to ensure that the printed text is identical to the

Braille text on the die - a blank with a wrong code is routed through a reject

gate. A check station detects and removes any double feeds to ensure that only single blanks reach the rotary embossing station. After embossing, each blank is marked with another code to confirm embossing; this code can be checked when the blanks are fed into a folding-gluing or packaging machine.

The space between the Braille text and the leading edge of a blank is set by the operator at the operator station. The machine detects the leading edge of a blank. A motion control system with servo drive ensures correct spacing from the leading edge to the first Braille character, and synchronises the surface speed of the rotary embosser with the speed of the conveyor. The lateral position of the Braille text is determined by the position of the embossing dies on the transverse rollers. Text with a maximum of four lines, each line with up to 20 Braille characters, can be embossed.

Mike Essler, Advanced Dynamics’ joint managing director comments, “The success of this product lies in its origins. Köra-Packmat was approached by a packaging printer, looking for flexibility in positioning Braille text for small and medium production batches. This ultimately lead to an embosser which combines the printer’s practical experience in embossing with Köra-Packmat’s expertise in mechanical design and handling of flat products such as carton blanks.”