This is Cool .. I just read about this today.
Laser labeling
New technology could revolutionize the way fruit is marked
By GREG STILES
Mail Tribune
Those troublesome stickers on fruit and vegetables that help grocery clerks distinguish between red Anjou pears and Red Delicious apples may soon go the way of rotary telephones and 8-track tapes.
A former University of Florida research physicist has developed a laser device that could replace old-fashioned paper and plastic labeling machinery.
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The old Sinclair Produce Labeling Systems machinery — which applies the label stickers to produce — has been around for two decades. But the British-made technology has its flaws.
"Everybody uses it and everybody hates it," says Pearson. "It’s a hassle and, especially for pears, it’s not very efficient. You have to pay for operators, the stickers and six months of cleanup after the season. The labels stick to everything but the pears.
Besides the sticky mess for packers, stores and consumers, Drouillard’s laser system offers production cost-cutting that would more than pay for its annual use.
"One California packing house saved $508,000 in the first year," says Drouillard, who declines to name the company because of a confidentiality agreement.
Running 16 lasers will reduce labeling costs by more than half, says SOS general manager Diana Doran. The leased Sinclair machines cost $2,400 each annually, plus the cost of stickers. Durand-Wayland leases range from $12,000 to $14,000 for the first 12 months, and the price is reduced in steps over the next four years. |
