The bottled dairy drink Frijj is rapidly becoming more popular in the United Kingdom. Promoted as an “American-style fresh milk shake,” it’s already the category leader. Banana, strawberry and chocolate flavors come in bottles of 500 milliliters and 250ml, the former packed in multipacks of 6 and the smaller bottles in 12s and 24s.

Popularity has its price, and in this case it meant Gloucester-based Frijj maker Dairy Crest had to find ways to increase its line productivity or lose the growth advantage it had worked so hard to achieve.

A major part of achieving that productivity was adopting the new Harland Zeta print-and-apply bar code labelers made by Harland Machine Systems. The two applicators–which incorporate thermal transfer print engines from Zebra Technologies Corp.–are able to maintain print-and-apply speeds of between 35 to 40 packages per minute while placing labels with consistent accuracy.

“No other print-and-apply system we looked at could ensure consistent precision of label application at such speeds,” says Dairy Crest’s Milk Shake Department production engineering manager Andy Bonehill.

The dairy needed accurate placing of labels to meet European Article Numbering system (EAN) 128 bar code standards. EAN128 compliance was an essential element of the new equipment, as more and more of Dairy Crest’s supermarket customers have adopted the coding system. EAN128 enables supermarkets to directly unload product onto automated picking lines which scan the codes for transfer to the correct loading bay or store without operator involvement. For successful use, the bar code has to be in the same position on each type of pack.

The new units apply the bar code label exactly 25 millimeters from the top of each pack. A key to maintaining both speed and accuracy is a spring-loaded beak assembly which allows each label to be printed, fed, then held in front of the appropriate pack as it moves along the conveyor.

One additional benefit of the Zeta system that contributes to productivity is its easy set-up. Operators can quickly switch specifications for labeling of 6, 12 or 24 packs by selecting the appropriate pre-programmed software and adjusting the labeling head to the right preset pack height. The program capacity of the Zeta allows ample room for storage of labels for the basic product codes, flavors, variable prices and on-pack promotions and leaves plenty of room for new codes.

Dairy Crest installed two of the Harland units on dedicated post mountings over the Frijj lines. Mountings include a fine adjustment capability for operators–an important feature, since the EAN128 labels must be placed in exactly the same position on each pack. Changeover is so simple, according to Bonehill, that line operators routinely take care of it, with no need to delay to call engineering personnel.