An expiry date can be correct in the printer file yet wrong on the finished pack. The code may sit across a seal, begin too close to an edge, lose contrast on a dark film, or fail to scan after the conveyor accelerates. For factories in Malaysia and Singapore, the safest response is not another last-minute adjustment. It is a repeatable first-off approval process before normal production begins.
A batch coding quality-control checklist gives production, quality assurance and maintenance teams one shared method. It should be used for a new job and repeated after a product changeover, message edit, cartridge change, long stop, printer movement or relevant line adjustment. The aim is simple: confirm that the correct data is printed in the correct place, remains readable in the intended workflow, and is supported by a record of approval.
First-off approval is the documented examination of the first representative coded samples before a full run is released. It is different from glancing at a code while the line is moving. A useful approval checks three layers:
The approved sample becomes the physical reference for that job. A photograph can support the record, but the actual pack is usually more useful because it preserves the real substrate, curvature, finish and print position.
Start with the controlled source: approved artwork, packaging specification, production order or customer requirement. Record the exact fields to be printed, their format and their location. Examples include batch number, manufacture date, expiry date, shift, product code, serial number and barcode data.
Do not ask an operator to interpret an unclear date rule on the line. Decide in advance whether the format is DD/MM/YYYY, DD/MM/YY or another approved pattern, how a midnight or shift change is handled, and which time zone applies when systems exchange data across Malaysia and Singapore.
Open the job and compare it character by character with the controlled source. Check punctuation, prefixes, leading zeroes and human-readable text. Then challenge the variable logic: advance a counter, test a date transition, scan or import a sample database record, and confirm that the next value behaves as intended.
Use a clear naming and version convention so that similar product files are not confused. Access to master messages should also follow the factory's own authorisation procedure. The checklist should identify who created the file and who independently approved it.
The BENTSAI manuals supplied for this review distinguish water-based cartridges for porous materials such as paper, cartons, wood and fibreboard from solvent cartridges for non-porous materials such as plastic, glass, foil and laminated cartons. Surface treatment still matters, so use the actual production pack—not an assumed material name—for the trial. For a fuller selection discussion, link readers to PTS's existing aqueous versus solvent ink guide.
Record the cartridge type, colour and identification needed by the site's traceability procedure. If adhesion, drying or resistance is critical, define and approve a test method appropriate to the real handling environment rather than describing the ink as “permanent” without evidence.
The supplied BENTSAI E61P and E62P/E64P manuals specify a 2–5 mm distance between the nozzle plate and the print object. Treat that range as a model-specific setup reference, not a universal value for every printer. Confirm that the bracket is tight, the printhead cannot be struck by a passing pack, and the product is guided consistently.
Curved, flexible or uneven packs can change their distance and angle while moving. Check several real packs, including normal dimensional variation. A sharp sample produced while holding one pack by hand does not prove that the moving line is stable.
The sensor must detect one product once and trigger the code at the approved position. Test normal spacing, the smallest expected gap, a stopped-and-restarted line, and any pack feature that could create a second reflection. Adjust the print delay only against measured product movement and retain the approved value.
On supported BENTSAI E62P/E64P configurations, an external encoder can be enabled to track print direction and speed; without it, print speed is set to match conveyor movement. This matters when line speed varies. Test the actual operating range rather than qualifying only the slow setup speed.
Higher resolution is not automatically the best setting. The BENTSAI E62P/E64P manual explains that resolution affects print speed: more detail requires slower movement for accurate deposition, while lower settings support faster conveyor speeds. Density or grey-level changes can also alter appearance and ink use.
Create samples at the normal production speed and at the approved upper limit. Inspect small characters, edges, voids and distortion. Save the complete approved setting combination; recording “600 dpi” alone is not enough if speed, density, throw distance or pack guidance changes.
Use good lighting and compare the first-off sample with the approved requirement. A practical visual inspection asks:
If white lines or missing elements appear, stop and follow the applicable BENTSAI maintenance instructions. The manuals provide nozzle-cleaning and print-test functions; they also instruct users to protect a cartridge during extended idle periods. Do not conceal a nozzle defect by repeatedly increasing density.
A successful scan on one phone or handheld reader is a useful functional check, but it is not the same as barcode verification. GS1 explains that printed barcode quality is measured with an ISO/IEC-compliant verifier, and that application-specific requirements are defined in the GS1 General Specifications.
For a barcode job, first confirm that the encoded data is correct. Then test it in the intended scanning environment and orientation. If the customer, retailer or internal specification requires a GS1 quality grade, use a suitable calibrated verifier or an appropriate verification service and retain the report. This prevents “it scanned once” from becoming the entire acceptance standard.
The approval record should connect the code to the job: product and SKU, batch or order, printer or line, message version, cartridge identification, key settings, date and time, approved sample or image, verifier report where applicable, and the names of the operator and approver.
Define when the check must be repeated. Sensible triggers include a new roll or substrate lot where variation matters, cartridge replacement, message edit, printer adjustment, product changeover, line-speed change, extended stop or any failed in-process check. Also define what happens to material produced since the last accepted inspection. Hold, identify and assess it under the site's nonconformance procedure instead of quietly restarting.
The checklist should be fast enough to use and precise enough to audit. A one-page form with pass/fail fields, approved limits and a place for the first-off sample is often more effective than a long instruction nobody opens. Train operators using deliberate errors: a wrong date, a missing digit, excessive delay, a low-contrast code and a barcode that scans but fails the required verification grade.
BENTSAI inline systems such as the E61P, E62P and E64P provide different controller, printhead and integration options. Whatever system is used, the quality principle is the same: approve the complete process under real production conditions, not just the message visible on the screen.
For help matching a BENTSAI inline configuration to your packaging samples and conveyor arrangement, contact PTS Technology before finalising the setup and acceptance criteria.
A master sample shows the approved target. A first-off sample is produced by the current job and is compared with that target before the run is released.
Reapprove after any change that could affect data or print quality, including a message edit, cartridge change, printer movement, line-speed change, product changeover, relevant substrate change or extended stop.
No. A phone scan is a functional check. Formal barcode verification uses suitable equipment to grade the symbol against the applicable ISO/IEC and GS1 requirements.
Record the product, job or batch, message version, printer or line, cartridge, key settings, date and time, approved sample, test result and the operator and approver.
Stop or contain the process as required, identify material made since the last accepted check, correct the cause, produce and approve new samples, and disposition affected material under the site's nonconformance procedure.
Malaysia