Beyond Handwriting: Unlocking Efficiency with Printed Traceability Tags in Food Production

If your traceability system involves handwritten labels or tags you are not alone.  However, with increased pressure on technical and operations managers to improve production efficiency, switching from handwritten to printed traceability tags can be a quick win.

This article outlines just how simple the switch to printed tags can be and more importantly, how it can improve your efficiency.

Three reasons to switch to printed traceability tags

Introducing over-printed thermal tags using a standalone printer brings a higher level of accuracy to your traceability system. Moreover, it can reduce costs and save time thus boosting productivity. Replacing handwritten tags can mean:

  • Better supplier audit outcomes

Metal detectable traceability tagsIntroducing standalone printers and printed tags into your traceability system improves label legibility and cuts down on errors. No more mistaking a 1 for a 7 or trying to decipher an unfamiliar allergen name.

According to the Food Standards Agency, allergen misidentification remains one of the most common reasons for damaging product recalls and alerts. Costly mistakes can be limited by improving the integrity of your traceability system.

  • Cost savings

Handwritten traceability tags often need to be bigger than printed tags. In many cases customers have achieved better results with a smaller tag once they have made the switch. That’s a direct saving before calculating the cost savings associated with a faster and more accurate system.

  • Improved efficiency

With a standalone printer, multiple traceability tags can be printed at the touch of a button! We’ve even done our own test and found that a batch of 20 tags can be printed in the time it takes to hand write just one tag.

Importantly, printed traceability tags can include a digital element, such as a QR code or barcode. Not only does this facilitate easy, accurate traceability, it speeds up your system too.

How easy is it to install  standalone printer and tag system?

It’s simple! You can station standalone printers at any point during your food production process; set one or more up with ease and operate them with minimal instruction.

There is usually no complicated IT involvement needed. Each printer can work on its own or a few printers can be simply networked.

Standalone traceability tag printingYou can programme your printer using a straightforward database containing all the relevant traceability information you need – times, dates, batch codes etc. Furthermore, if your operation requires multiple tag printers, one central database manages any changes required to traceability information.

It really is that simple.

If you’d like to explore whether a standalone printer and traceability tag package is right for your operation, please get in touch. We’d be happy to demo a printer and tags onsite and discuss how to implement efficiency improvements.