Labeling speeds vary significantly across different machine types (e.g., sheet-feeding labeling machines for stacked items, flat-surface labeling machines, and round-bottle labeling machines), depending on their design purposes. For mainstream industrial-grade equipment, the labeling speed typically ranges from 50 to 300 pieces per minute. For example, sheet-feeding labeling machines designed for flat products like medicine boxes and cards can achieve a stable speed of over 200 pieces per minute; high-speed models for small-sized products (such as electronic components) can even exceed 300 pieces per minute.
Speed is ensured through the combination of "motor + transmission system + synchronous control":
- Servo motors are used to drive core mechanisms including product conveying, sheet feeding, and label dispensing, enabling fast response and stable operation while avoiding slowdowns caused by mechanical jams.
- The control system (e.g., PLC - Programmable Logic Controller) accurately synchronizes three key processes: "product conveying – label peeling – labeling execution," reducing waiting time between steps.
- Some equipment is equipped with a dual-label-head design, which can simultaneously apply two labels to a single product, further increasing output per unit time.
Compared with manual labeling (usually 10–30 pieces per minute), efficiency is improved by 5–10 times. This meets the needs of industries such as food, pharmaceuticals, and electronics for "mass production and fast delivery," preventing production capacity waste caused by bottlenecks in the labeling process.
Mainstream equipment can maintain stable labeling precision at ±0.5–1mm; high-end models (e.g., those used in scenarios with extremely high appearance requirements, such as cosmetics and electronic components) can even reach ±0.3mm. This is far superior to manual labeling, which generally has an error range of ±3–5mm and is prone to skewing and wrinkling.
It relies on a threefold technology: "positioning + detection + compensation":
- Accurate Positioning: Photoelectric sensors or vision sensors (in high-end models) capture the product position in real time, ensuring the labeling head only activates when the product reaches the designated position.
- Label Control: A traction mechanism (e.g., servo traction roller) precisely controls the length of peeled labels, preventing label misalignment caused by "over-pulling" or "under-pulling."
- Dynamic Compensation: If the sensor detects minor deviations in the product position, the control system adjusts the timing or position of the labeling head in real time to correct the error.
On one hand, it ensures the aesthetics of product packaging (labels are centered and flat, enhancing brand image); on the other hand, it meets industry compliance requirements (e.g., in the pharmaceutical industry, drug labels must accurately indicate key information such as production date and batch number, and misalignment may lead to compliance risks).
The equipment uses photoelectric sensors or vision sensors to detect in real time whether there are products on the conveyor belt:
- When "products are present" is detected, the control system triggers the labeling process, and labels are normally peeled and applied.
- When "no products are present" is detected (e.g., interrupted product conveying or missing placement), the system immediately pauses the labeling action, and labels are not peeled or dispensed.
It avoids label waste caused by traditional equipment that "continuously dispenses labels regardless of whether products are present"—especially for high-value labels such as pharmaceutical supervision code labels and electronic component traceability labels. Based on a daily production of 100,000 products and a missing rate of 0.5%, approximately 18,000 labels can be saved annually, reducing the enterprise’s consumable costs.
The equipment is equipped with a label detection sensor (usually installed near the label peeling plate) to detect in real time whether the label roll dispenses labels normally:
- If "no label output" occurs due to issues such as label roll joints, label breakage, or exhausted labels, the sensor immediately sends a signal to the control system.
- After receiving the signal, the system automatically initiates the correction process: pauses labeling, drives the label roll to rotate forward or backward until the sensor re-detects the label edge and confirms the label position is normal, then resumes the labeling process.
It avoids two problems caused by "label absence": first, missing labels (if not detected in time, a large number of defective products will be produced); second, frequent manual downtime inspections (traditional equipment requires operators to constantly monitor the label roll and adjust manually when label absence is found, affecting production efficiency). It enables "unmanned" labeling and reduces labor intervention costs.
Through vision sensors or dedicated detection modules, multi-dimensional inspections are conducted on labels before and after labeling:
- Pre-labeling Inspection: Checks for label damage, stains, and printing errors (e.g., blurred barcodes, missing text).
- Post-labeling Inspection: Checks whether labels are applied flat (no air bubbles or wrinkles), whether their positions are misaligned, and whether there are missing labels.
If defective labels or labeling results are detected, the system triggers an alarm (audio-visual alarm) and pushes the defective products to a "rejection station" to prevent them from entering the next process.
It replaces manual quality control (which is inefficient and prone to missed inspections due to fatigue), reducing the defective labeling rate from 1%–3% (with manual inspection) to below 0.1%. This minimizes losses caused by rework of defective products or customer returns.
Such high-speed, high-precision, and intelligent fully automatic labeling machines are particularly suitable for industries with high requirements for "efficiency, precision, and cost control":
- Pharmaceutical Industry: Requires fast application of supervision codes and drug information labels, with extremely high demands on labeling precision (for compliance) and label inspection (for error prevention).
- Food and Beverage Industry: Produces fast-moving consumer goods (e.g., snack bags, beverage bottles) in large batches, requiring high-speed labeling; meanwhile, the "no labeling without products" function can reduce label waste.
- Electronics Industry: Electronic components (e.g., chips, connectors) have small label sizes and high precision requirements; label inspection is needed to avoid mislabeling and missing labels.
- Cosmetics Industry: Has high requirements for packaging appearance, requiring high-precision labeling to ensure aesthetics; meanwhile, high speed adapts to the needs of mass production.
