Altech ALcode Label Applicator: Print and Apply System

When the barcode changes with every case, the printer has to be inside the labeling machine.

That is what the Altech ALcode label applicator is. It carries a thermal transfer print engine, prints the label at the moment it is needed with the lot code, batch, GTIN or SSCC that belongs to that specific case or pallet, and applies it to a moving product. It is the machine behind PTI case labeling, GS1-128 pallet labeling and much of the variable data labeling in food and produce.

Marapack Services is the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems, importing direct from the factory in Bareggio, Italy, and print and apply is the core of what we install. Marapack Services is an independent company, not Altech S.r.l. and not ALTech US.

Quoting a print and apply line? Book an equipment audit and we specify the head, engine and applicator against your cases before anyone prices it.

What is the Altech ALcode label applicator?

The Altech ALcode is a print and apply labeling system: a labeling head with a SATO thermal transfer print engine inside it. It prints each label with the data that belongs to that case or pallet, a lot code, a date, a GTIN or an SSCC, then applies it to the moving product in the same cycle.

A labeling head applies a label that was printed before the roll arrived; the ALcode prints the label as part of applying it. That is the whole difference, and it is why PTI case labels and SSCC pallet labels on an automated line typically run through a machine like this rather than a plain applicator. The CD20 is the industrial head in the family, and the rest of this page is about it.

Which Altech codes make up an ALcode system?

An ALcode system starts with the CD20, the ALcode industrial print and apply head, plus a print engine, the integration assembly that mounts the engine in the head, and a printer interface from the CD70 to CD77 range. Around those sit an applicator, a peeler bar, a sensor, a stand and usually a conveyor section.

A print and apply system is never one line item. A common way a print and apply quote goes wrong is that one of the parts above is missing, and the one that is easiest to miss is the integration assembly. Where the line is lighter or the budget tighter, the economical ALcode LT is the other head in the family.

Which print engine does the ALcode take?

The ALcode takes a SATO thermal transfer print engine: the S84 series at 200, 300 or 600 dpi, the S86 series at 200 or 300 dpi, or the LT408 module. Each engine needs a matching Altech integration assembly to mount in the head, the ST50 for the S series engines and the ST40 for the LT408.

The ST50 is required with any of the SATO S series print engines on an Altech head. That is the line item that gets missed on a quote written by somebody who has not built one of these, and it is why a system can arrive complete on paper and incomplete on the dock.

Resolution is a real decision rather than a spec sheet number: higher dpi prints a smaller readable barcode, and it usually costs print speed. Choose it from your label content and your smallest required bar width, not from the biggest number available. The GS1-128 label structure sets what your barcode has to carry, and that is where the bar width comes from.

Both of the ways Altech names it

Altech's price list identifies this machine as CD20. Order and quote traffic also writes it as CD-20, with a hyphen. Same machine. The family name is ALcode, and the economical member is the ALcode LT, code CD06.

SX and DX on Altech paperwork mean left hand and right hand. Those are the Italian abbreviations the factory uses in serial records and order confirmations, and handing is a build option, not a field adjustment. It determines which side of the line the head mounts on and which way the label web runs.

If you own one already, quote a serial number and Commessa number rather than a model name. Factory parts lookups are keyed to those two, and Altech maintains a 3D viewer per machine for identifying parts.

What is the ALcode used for?

The ALcode is used wherever the label data changes per case, pallet or pack: Produce Traceability Initiative case labels, SSCC pallet labels, date and lot codes that belong on the label, weight or count labels fed from a scale or ERP record, and retail compliance labels whose content changes by customer.

PTI case labeling. The Produce Traceability Initiative case label carries a GS1-128 barcode encoding the GTIN plus batch or lot, with human readable text beneath. Because the lot changes, the label has to be printed as it is applied, and it is one of the main ALcode applications on the fruit packing lines we work on.

SSCC pallet labeling. Each pallet gets its own serial shipping container code, which by definition is unique per pallet. For a head built around the pallet itself, see Altech's ALcode P pallet labeler.

Date and lot coding onto a label. Where the code belongs on the label rather than printed directly on the pack. Where it belongs on the pack instead, that is a coding and marking question.

Weight, count and price variable labeling. Anywhere the label data comes out of a scale, a scanner or an ERP record at the moment the pack exists.

Compliance and retail customer labels. Retail and foodservice buyers specify label content, barcode symbology and print quality grade. Printing at the point of application is how you meet a spec that changes per customer.

Comparing the ALcode against other print and apply formats? Our hub on print and apply systems covers the category, and a line walk settles which one fits your cases.

What does an ALcode need around it?

An ALcode needs an applicator matched to the product face, product handling that puts each case where the applicator expects it, label and product sensing, and, where the barcode matters downstream, a camera that reads the code back on the line. The applicator choice decides whether the label lands.

Applicators. The Altech range is a catalog of application methods rather than a single product:

• Tamp for a flat, presented, consistent case face
• Tamp blow where the case position varies slightly and contact is a risk
• Air blow with fixed tamp for non contact application onto an unstable or delicate surface
• Rotary arm where the label has to travel to a face the head cannot reach
• Large format tamp applicators at 500 mm, 750 mm and 1000 mm, for bins, totes and pallets
• Three axis and three adjacent label systems for multi panel and multi format work
• Multi format soft touch and vacuum belt for surfaces that will not take a tamp
• Servo drive where cycle rate is the constraint

Product handling. A case that is not where the applicator expected it is a label on the floor. Altech ALbelt single, flighted, heavy duty and two section conveyors, twin side belt systems at 1000 and 1500 mm with height adjustment, pneumatic gate and rubber wheel spacers, timing screws, twin roller gapping, stabilizing belts and rotary accumulation tables.

Sensing. The standard label sensor, the CE06 label tracing sensor for transparent product, product presence sensors, compressed air presence detection and an acoustic alarm.

Camera and control options, which are the line items most often skipped. Printing a barcode is not the same as printing a readable one. Altech's control and camera range covers label presence check, laser scanner, mark reader, smart camera for over print reading, smart camera for label presence, full camera vision, and a product ejector to remove a failed pack from the line. The over print camera reads the code you just printed, on the pack, in line. These are equipment options quoted with the head.

Direct coding modules, where the code goes on the pack instead of the label. Hot foil printing units at 15 by 30 mm and a high performance version, and the SC70 and SC75 thermal transfer intermittent coders, which are Markem SmartDate X30 and X45 units carried as line items on the Altech price list.

How does ordering an ALcode work?

An ALcode is built to order in Italy, not pulled from stock. The order runs from a line assessment and a written specification, through the factory's order confirmation and a signed approval drawing, to build, shipping, installation and commissioning on your product, then operator training and a maintenance schedule set against your season.

1. Line assessment on site. Line speed, case dimensions and surface, available gap, which faces need labels, mounting space, power and air.
2. Specification and quote. Head, print engine, integration assembly, applicator, peeler bar, sensor, stand, conveyor and any handling, written against your line.
3. Order confirmation from the factory, with the machine specification as built.
4. An approval drawing, which you sign and return before fabrication starts. This step is not a formality. It is your last chance to correct handing, mounting height and label position, and it is where a wrong assumption gets caught cheaply.
5. Build, shipping and customs. These machines are built in Italy.
6. Install and commissioning on site, running your product at your speed with your operators.
7. Operator training and a preventive maintenance schedule set against your season rather than against a calendar.

Budgetary pricing is available on request. We do not publish equipment prices, because a print and apply price without a specification behind it is a number that misleads both ways.

Who services the ALcode and supplies its parts?

Marapack Services services the ALcode in the field and supplies its parts. We stock parts for Altech, PackLeader, some Label-Aire and Tach-It machines, and we service Altech, Label-Aire 3100 applicators and 5100 systems, PackLeader, CTM and Tach-It equipment. When a print engine wears out, we manage the rebuild.

Parts quotes are keyed to your machine serial number and Commessa, and the codes are on our Altech parts list. For the engine itself, our page on print engine refurbishment explains how a worn SATO engine gets back into service without buying a new one.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the ALcode and the ALcode LT? The ALcode CD20 is Altech's industrial print and apply head; the ALcode LT CD06 is the economical member of the same family. Which one fits is decided on the line walk, from your case rate, label and print engine, rather than from a headline figure that neither price list line carries.

Do I need a print and apply system, or just a labeling head? If every label is identical, a labeling head such as the Altech ALritma is cheaper and simpler. If the label carries anything that changes per case, lot, batch, date, weight, count or a serial code, you need print and apply.

Can you retrofit print and apply onto our existing line? Usually yes. The binding constraint is normally the gap between cases rather than physical space, which is what the line assessment measures.

Can it read back the code it just printed? Yes, with Altech's over print camera, which is a separate equipment line item on the quote. It reads the printed code on the line, so a failed printhead shows up at the first bad case rather than at the customer's dock.

What line speed will it run at? That depends on the label size, the print resolution and the applicator together, so a single headline figure would be misleading. Give us the case rate and the label size and we will give you a real answer.

How much does an ALcode print and apply system cost? The price is set by the head, the print engine and its resolution, the integration assembly, the applicator, the sensors and cameras, and the conveying around it. We quote after the line assessment, because a print and apply price without a specification behind it misleads both ways.

Get the system specified before you get a price

A print and apply quote that arrives without a site visit behind it is a guess with a decimal point. Ours do not.

We walk the line, measure what needs measuring, and specify the head, engine, assembly, applicator and handling together, so the machine that arrives is the machine your line needs. Call 253-709-5566 or book the line walk for your ALcode.