ODRI Scanner Inspection

We call “scanner inspection” the process of taking a printed sheet sample, digitizing it with a scanner and then comparing it electronically with known good image. Usually a single product PDF is compared to every label in the control sheet, which should be at least one print repeat. Differences between the reference image and the scanned one are highlighted and the operator can accept or reject them. When the whole sheet is reviewed, a protocol documenting the detected differences is produced.

Scanner inspection replaces inaccurate and strenuous visual inspection; it is fast and produces repeatable results. At 600 or 1200 dpi, the ODRI software can detect very small defects like missing accents, i dots and misprints in foreign languages like Japanese, Chinese and Arabic. Because of their ability to verify text, scanner systems are sometimes called “proofreading” systems.

The ODRI scanner inspection is used for sampling quality control in different stages of the print production process to detect prepress errors and print defects and reduce waste. It brings the following benefits

• Compare first print from press with PDF and assure that it is identical with approved proof.
• Compare one print repeat at end of each printed roll to detect plate damage. If a defective plate is found, the printer can discard the defective row and recalculate job length to accommodate the lost amount. This avoids costly reprints.
• Compare a sample of a previous print run with a new order PDF to highlight differences.
• Incoming control for print production.

Together with the print verification, the ODRI scanner inspection can automatically detect linear and two-dimensional codes, decode and measure their print quality. Optional spectrophotometer interfaces can be used for monitoring colour consistency.

ODRI scanner inspection is used in the following industries:

• Pharmaceutical and cosmetics label printers
• Pharmaceutical leaflet offset printers
• Carton printing
• Pharmaceutical packaging incoming quality control