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In Line with the Printing Industry:

Label Inspection with Basler sprint Camera Link Cameras

Customer
A B Graphic International Ltd is a leading company
within the label printing industry. An extensive, innova-
tive range of label converting and inspection
machinery and comprehensive technical after sales
support are among the prime reasons for their success
as a world leader within the label and packaging
industry.

Through constant development and investment A B

Graphic International Ltd has become a market leader
in fully modular digital converting, finishing and inspec-
tion rewinding equipment.

A B Graphic International Ltd also produces machines

for many specialist applications including RFID inser-
tion, laser die cutting, booklet label insertion machines
and 100% camera inspection systems for labels, foils,
blisters, sheets and package boxes.

Application
To offer its customers a solution for a 100% label
control, which can be mounted readily on press or
finishing equipment, A B Graphic International devel-
oped a fully modular 100% camera inspection system.
This system was designed as a solution to various
inspection needs with the aim of verifying each printed
label by 100% inspection.

In the printing industry, speed is generally a decisive

factor. A reliable printing inspection must be able to
detect quite a number of different print errors such as
scratches, text irregularities, ink blobs, registration
shifts and even color variations. It must be able to read
codified information, as barcode or OCR code, or to
meter distances between significant points of the label,
too, when the customer requires it. Therefore not only
speed, but also resolution and color fidelity were
important requirements for the cameras to be used in
the inspection system.

In label inspection, the inspection system setup must

be capable of working with different label support
materials, like paper, reflecting plastic and metal foils,
and even holograms.
Basler sprint cameras reliably inspect labels

1

Typical installation of a fleyeVision inspection module
on a Flexo Press
Solution and Benefits
A B Graphic International chose Basler sprint cameras
to achieve the required high speed, high resolution and
excellent image quality. The system uses two different
Basler line scan camera models from the sprint series
– the spL4096-39km with 4k resolution and the
spL2048-70km with 2k resolution.
The Basler sprint Camera Link cameras offer a number
of vital features which are suited for applications in the
print industries such as:
An elaborate illumination concept prevents interfering
reflections into the optics due to difficult base materials
without losing contrast for the printed structures to be
inspected. Examples for such base materials are
metalized or glittering foils and lacquered or varnished
labels, which are especially for wine or food and for
cosmetics. Optionally available is a customized back-
light for bright field inspection of labels with low
contrast. “Next to velocity and price, the customers are
interested in the controllable minimum defect size, i.e.
the pixel resolution, which is related to both, web width
and number of pixels of the sensor. Basler cameras are
an excellent choice with respect to not only these
requirements but also when it comes to image quality,”
states Christer Markgraf, Director of Sales at AB
Graphic.
The software part of the fleyeVision 100% system
presents each defect found to the operator. A number
of optional modules for special purposes are available,
like, for example, modules for barcode inspection,
optical character recognition (OCR), Braille inspection,
comparison with PDF files, and others.
Technologies Used
„„ Basler sprint spL4096-39km line scan camera
„„ Basler sprint spL2048-70km line scan camera

„„ The AOI feature lets the user focus precisely on More Information
that part of an object that is of interest and at the
http://www.abgint.com
same time increase the camera speed.
„„ A dual line sensor enables the camera to scan
each object line twice in a time-delayed fashion.
The double information is combined in the sprint’s
internal memory thus doubling the camera’s sensi-
tivity and enhancing the SNR by 3dB.
„„ The shading correction in each Basler sprint can
be used to correct for the non-homogenous be-
havior of lighting, optics, and the sensor that can
be present in real-world applications.
In A B Graphic International’s fleyeVision system, 4k or
2k line scan cameras are used to cover a maximum
label width of typically 330 or 410mm, in some cases
even up to 800mm. Resolutions up to 50 µm per pixel
sharpen the system’s eyes for even tiny deviations in Basler sprint
the print image. With transport speeds of up to 5 m/s
the maximum camera speeds of up to 35 kHz are
beneficial for a high resolution even in the transport
direction of the labels.

Basler AG
Germany, Headquarters
Tel. +49 4102 463 500
Fax +49 4102 463 599
bc.sales.europe@baslerweb.com
www.baslerweb.com
USA
Tel. +1 610 280 0171
Fax +1 610 280 7608
bc.sales.usa@baslerweb.com
2
03/2012
Asia
Tel. +65 6425 0472
Fax +65 6425 0473
bc.sales.asia@baslerweb.com