A pallet label is not a big case label. It is a different machine problem.
The label is large, it goes onto a stack rather than a box, the stack is not always square, more than one face may need a label, and the barcode on it is unique to that pallet by definition. The Altech ALcode P pallet labeling system is Altech's dedicated print and apply system for that job.
Marapack Services is the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems, importing direct from the factory in Bareggio, Italy. Pallet labeling is one of the two ends of a PTI implementation, and it is an easy end to leave until last. Marapack Services is an independent company, not Altech S.r.l. and not ALTech US.
Planning the pallet end of your line? Book an equipment audit and we look at the pallet build area and the packing line together.
What is the Altech ALcode P pallet labeling system?
The ALcode P is Altech's dedicated pallet labeling system; we are confirming its price list code and specification with the factory. It is a print and apply pallet labeler: it prints the pallet label, with its serial shipping container code, at the moment the pallet is finished, and applies it to the load.
It belongs to the same ALcode family as the industrial CD20 print and apply head, built for a pallet rather than a case. Where pallets arrive at a labeling station in a predictable position on a fixed line, a dedicated system like this is the first configuration to look at.
What can we tell you about the ALcode P specification today?
Not yet the figures a buyer relies on. Throughput in pallets per hour, maximum label size, applicator travel and the faces it labels are not in the distributor documentation we hold for the ALcode P, so we are getting them from the factory rather than estimating them. We publish the table when we have it.
What follows is what we can say from documented Altech part codes: what a pallet labeling system is made of, and what the alternatives in the same range are.
What are the three ways Altech labels a pallet?
Altech labels a pallet three ways: a dedicated pallet labeling system such as the ALcode P at a fixed station, a large format tamp applicator driven by a print and apply head, or the ALrobot articulated arm working around a stationary pallet. The choice turns on whether the pallet comes to the machine.
1. A dedicated pallet labeling system: the ALcode P. A print and apply system built for the job, on a fixed line, where pallets arrive at a labeling station in a predictable position. This is the configuration to price first for a conveyed pallet line.
2. A large format tamp applicator on a print and apply head. Altech's applicator range includes large format tamp applicators at 500 mm (about 20 in), 750 mm (about 30 in) and 1000 mm (about 39 in), built for bins, totes and pallets, which pair with the Altech ALcode system. Whether a given configuration reaches your label position is set by the applicator and the mounting geometry, which is a site measurement.
3. The ALrobot, a four axis articulated arm. Altech's AC25 ALrobot works within an 1100 mm (about 43 in) radius and is run from a 7 inch touchscreen, and it can reach more than one face of a stationary pallet from a single position. That is the answer when the pallet does not move to the machine. Details are on our page for the ALrobot AC25 arm.
Worth knowing: there is no ALrobot page on altech.it, altech-us.com or altech-uk.com. If you have been told robotic pallet labeling is not available on this platform, it is.
Why does a pallet label have to be printed in place?
A pallet label has to be printed in place because the serial shipping container code on it is unique to that one pallet, so it cannot come off a preprinted roll. Under the Produce Traceability Initiative, the hybrid pallet label also carries the GTIN, lot and case count for each unique mix of cases on that pallet.
- The SSCC, the serial shipping container code, is unique to that pallet. It cannot be preprinted, ever.
- Under PTI, the hybrid pallet label carries the SSCC in a GS1-128 barcode, plus a GTIN, batch or lot and case count for each unique composition of cases on that pallet. A mixed pallet carries more data than a single commodity pallet.
- Human readable text sits alongside the barcode for the people who have to read it on a dock at 4am.
- Print quality is graded against ISO/IEC 15416, and GS1 sets a minimum grade a GS1-128 symbol must reach to conform. A pallet labeling system that prints an unreadable code has not done its job, even though it produced a label.
The grade table, the GS1 minimum and their sources are in our guide to SSCC label requirements.
What is a pallet labeling system built from?
A print and apply pallet labeler is built from a thermal transfer print engine with its integration assembly, an applicator sized for a pallet face, a data interface to your warehouse or ERP system, an optional in line camera, and the handling that presents the pallet. A missing line item among those is the usual reason a system arrives incomplete.
Print engine. A SATO thermal transfer engine sits inside the head: the S84 series at 200, 300 or 600 dpi (TX42, TX43, TX46), the S86 series at 200 or 300 dpi (TX62, TX63), or an LT408 module (CD40). Each one needs its integration assembly, ST40 for the CD40 and ST50 for any of the SATO S series engines. That assembly is an easy line item to leave off a print and apply quote.
Applicator. For pallets this is usually a large format tamp applicator (at 500, 750 or 1000 mm), a rotary arm where the label has to travel to a face the head cannot reach, or a robotic arm for multi face work.
Data interface. Ethernet, RS232C, USB, RS422 and RS485, or wireless LAN (CD70 to CD77). A pallet label is only correct if the machine is fed the right SSCC and the right case composition at the right moment, so the interface into your warehouse or ERP system is part of the specification rather than an afterthought.
In line camera option. Altech's smart camera for over print reading is an equipment line item on this head. It reads the code after it is printed, in line. On a pallet that is about to leave the building, that is the last chance to catch a code your customer's receiving scanner will reject.
Handling. Infeed and outfeed rotary tables, conveyors and stabilizing arrangements, depending on how the pallet arrives and where it goes.
For the wider category, including other ways to print a variable label at the point of application, see our overview of print and apply label applicators.
Where does pallet labeling fit in a produce operation?
For fruit and berry packers, pallet labeling is the second half of a PTI implementation. The case labels go on at the packing line and the pallet label goes on when the load is built. Both carry GS1-128 barcodes, both feed the same traceability record, and both get scanned by somebody who is not you.
The practical difference is that case labeling failures show up immediately and pallet labeling failures show up at the receiving dock, which is the more expensive place to find out. Our hub on automatic pallet labelers compares the pallet options across the whole category.
Frequently asked questions
What throughput will an ALcode P run at? We do not publish a figure we cannot source, and the throughput for this specific machine is not in the distributor documentation we hold. Tell us your pallets per hour and which faces need labeling and we will get the current specification from the factory before we quote.
How many faces can it label? That is a system design question rather than a single answer, and the ALcode P's own configuration is one of the figures we are confirming with the factory. A fixed station labels the faces presented to it; a robotic arm can reach more than one face from one position. Which suits you depends on whether the pallet is conveyed or parked.
How tall a load can it label? Reach is set by the applicator and the mounting geometry; give us the load height and we will tell you which configuration reaches it.
Do we need a pallet labeler if we already label cases? If your customer asks for an SSCC pallet label, yes. Case labels and pallet labels answer different questions in a traceability record: the case says what is in the box, the pallet says what is in the load.
Can we apply pallet labels by hand instead? Plenty of operations do, with a desktop printer and an operator. It works until volume, accuracy or a customer audit makes it stop working, and when it stops it tends to show up as a rejected load or a receiving dock complaint rather than as a labeling problem.
Can you retrofit pallet labeling onto an existing palletizing area? Usually. The constraints are where the pallet stops, how square the load is and whether there is room for the applicator to reach. Those get measured on site.
How much does a pallet labeling system cost? The price is set by the configuration (a dedicated system, a large format tamp on a print and apply head, or a robotic arm), the print engine, the data interface, any camera, and the handling around the pallet. We quote after measuring the pallet area, because a price without a specification behind it misleads both ways.
Get the pallet end of your traceability specified properly
A packer who solves case labeling first often discovers afterwards that the pallet label is a separate machine. It is easier and cheaper to specify both at once.
We look at the packing line and the pallet build area together, and tell you what each end needs. Call 253-709-5566 or have your pallet area measured.