Altech ALpharma Vial Labeling Machine

In pharmaceutical labeling, the label being applied is only half of what has to be proven. The other half is proving that the right label went on the right container, every time, with a record.

That is the difference between an ordinary labeling machine and a vial labeling machine built for pharmaceutical work, and it is why ALpharma exists as a distinct thing in the Altech range rather than as a stainless finish option.

The range covers vial, ampoule and pharmaceutical pack labeling with a recipe-based control system that carries barcode verification in the control itself, and a pharmaceutical validation documentation package available as an ordered line item.

Writing the requirements for a vial line? Book an equipment audit and we will specify the control and camera options with the machine, not after it.

Marapack Services is an independent company, not Altech S.r.l. and not ALTech US. We are the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems, importing direct from the factory in Bareggio, Italy.

What is the ALpharma vial labeling machine?

The ALpharma vial labeling machine is Altech's pharmaceutical labeling range. The components we can document are the CS20 control system (a Siemens S7-1200 PLC, a 9 inch HMI, 100 stored recipes and barcode verification), the ALline pharma pack and AISI 316 cover plate, ampoule handling, vial rotary tables and validation documentation.

If your site does not need recipe control or in line checks, our automatic labeling machine options do the same labeling for less.

The documented ALpharma components, by Altech's own part codes

The CS20 is the part that matters most. Altech documents it as a Siemens S7-1200 with a 9 inch HMI, 100 stored recipes and barcode verification in the control itself, which makes it a batch control rather than a labeling control. One hundred stored recipes means a hundred product formats recalled rather than re-set up, and recall rather than re-setup is what removes the human error that a regulated site cannot tolerate.

How do you label a vial?

You label a vial by feeding it, spacing it, holding it upright and rotating it past a labeling head so a wrap label goes on evenly, then discharging it without tipping it over. On an ALpharma line, Altech's rotary infeed and outfeed tables in their pharmaceutical vial versions handle the feeding and the discharge.

Vials. Rotary infeed and outfeed tables in the Altech range include pharmaceutical vial versions specifically, which is the transport problem for small unstable cylindrical containers: they have to be fed, spaced, held upright, rotated for a wrap label and then discharged without falling over.

Ampoules. Altech offers an integrated ampoule handling mechanism (LN50 and LN52) on the ALline base. Ampoules are among the hardest small containers to handle mechanically, and a machine without a dedicated mechanism for them will not do it reliably at any price. This is what an ampoule labeling machine has to have.

Bottles, jars and cartons for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and clinical products, using the ALline machine range with the pharma pack option and the AISI 316 stainless cover plate.

Syringes. Ask us rather than assume. The documented ampoule and vial handling in the Altech range does not by itself establish syringe handling, and we would rather confirm it with the factory against your actual container than tell you yes and be wrong. A syringe is a different geometry from a vial and it is exactly the sort of thing that has to be checked rather than assumed.

Which control and camera options can you order with the machine?

The control and camera options on an ALpharma line are Altech price list items quoted with the machine: the CS20 control with barcode verification, smart cameras for over print reading and label presence, full camera vision, a laser scanner, a mark reader, a product ejector, an acoustic alarm and compressed air presence detection.

A labeling machine that misses a label on a food line produces an unlabeled pack. A labeling machine that misses a label on a pharmaceutical line produces a compliance event. Altech's control and camera range exists to close that gap, and every item below is a line item on their price list that we can quote as part of the machine:

• CS20 ALpharma control system. Documented by Altech as machine control with 100 recipes, barcode verification in the control, and an operator interface that recalls a stored format rather than requiring one to be built.
• CS16, the smart camera for over print reading. Reads what was actually printed, on the container, in line.
• CS17, the smart camera for label presence. Confirms a label went on at all.
• CS18, camera vision. Full vision inspection for the checks the smaller cameras cannot cover.
• CS03 label presence check, CS09 laser scanner, CS11 mark reader.
• CS05 product ejector. The part that makes any of the above meaningful, because detecting a fault without removing the container from the line is only half a control.
• CS14 acoustic alarm and CS15 compressed air presence detection.

Which combination is right depends on what your quality system requires you to prove. That is the conversation to start with, and it comes before the hardware.

What validation documentation can you order with an ALpharma machine?

The validation documentation Altech lists is IQ00, a pharmaceutical validation documentation package available as an ordered line item on its price list, and it belongs in the order with the machine. We confirm its exact contents against your qualification requirements before the order goes in, because the scope of a package is what a regulated buyer holds the supplier to.

That matters more than it sounds. On a regulated site, a machine that arrives without a documentation package is a machine that cannot be qualified, and retrofitting the paperwork afterwards is slower and more expensive than ordering it with the machine.

Altech also supplies machine manuals as ordered line items and maintains a 3D viewer per machine for part identification, which is directly useful when a change control asks exactly which part was replaced.

What is a pharmaceutical labeling line built from?

A pharmaceutical labeling line is built from a machine base with transport sized to the container, labeling or print and apply heads, wrap around units for cylinders, orienting and gapping equipment, rotary accumulation tables, label sensing that can see a clear label on glass, and a coding unit where the lot or expiry goes on the container.

Machine base. The ALline range: compact, one head, or two opposing heads, with slat conveyors sized from 83 to 254 mm (about 3.3 to 10.0 in), intermittent motion roller conveyors, two way connections and 90 degree curved sections. Codes and configurations are on the Altech ALline range page.

Labeling heads. ALstep and ALritma heads, and ALcode print and apply where the label carries variable data, which in pharmaceutical work it usually does.

Wrap around units. Hand wheel, vacuum, four axis and three roller wrap units for cylindrical containers. The format is explained on our wrap around labelers page.

Orienting and gapping. Side belt aligners, twin grippers for oval containers, double timing screw units that orient and gap in one pass, pneumatic gates and twin roller gapping.

Rotary accumulation tables, including the pharmaceutical vial versions, so an upstream stop does not immediately become a line stop.

Sensing. The standard label sensor and CE06, the label tracing sensor for transparent product, which is what a clear label on a glass vial requires.

Coding. Where a lot or expiry code goes onto the container rather than the label, Altech carries hot foil printing units and thermal transfer intermittent coders based on the Markem SmartDate X30 and X45.

How Altech names this range

ALpharma is the family name. The documented codes are CS20 for the control system and the LN series for the pharmaceutical machine options. Codes are what parts and service quotes are written against and they do not change.

SX and DX in Altech's factory and serial records are the Italian abbreviations for left hand and right hand. On a complete machine that sets the operator side and the direction of travel, decided before fabrication rather than adjusted on site.

Two process facts worth knowing before you start, because both are longer than people expect on a regulated purchase: the machine is built to order in Italy, and an approval drawing has to be signed and returned before fabrication starts. On a validated line, that drawing is also the document your change control process will want to see.

If you already own an ALpharma machine, quote its serial number and Commessa number rather than a model name. Factory quotes for spare parts for Altech machines are keyed to those, and our field service for labeling equipment covers Altech machines whether we sold them or not.

Frequently asked questions

What throughput will an ALpharma line run at? It depends on the container, the label, the number of heads and how many in line checks sit in the cycle. Each check adds time, and on a pharmaceutical line that is a feature rather than a cost. Give us the container and the target rate and we will get the current figures from the factory rather than quote from memory.

Is the checking built into the CS20, or is it a separate camera? Both, and they are different things. Altech documents the CS20 as including barcode verification in the control itself, alongside the PLC, the HMI and the 100 stored recipes. The CS16, CS17 and CS18 cameras are separate line items for over print reading, label presence and full vision inspection. Which combination you need depends on what your quality system requires you to prove, so that is the question to start from rather than the hardware.

Can it label ampoules? Altech offers an integrated ampoule handling mechanism as a documented option (LN50 and LN52), a dedicated mechanism rather than an adaptation. The specifics of your ampoule get checked against the mechanism before we quote.

Can it label syringes? Ask us. We will confirm it against your actual container with the factory rather than assume it from the vial and ampoule handling, because they are different geometries.

Do you supply validation documentation? Altech carries a pharmaceutical validation documentation line item, and it should be ordered with the machine rather than requested afterwards. We will confirm the exact contents of the package against your qualification requirements before the order goes in.

How much does a vial labeling machine cost? The price is set by the container handling (vials, ampoules or bottles), the number and type of heads, the control and camera options, the stainless and pharma pack options, and the documentation ordered with it. We quote after seeing the containers and the quality requirements, because each check and option changes the machine.

What is the best vial labeling machine? The one matched to your vial diameter, your label, your rate and what your quality system requires the machine to prove. A bench station suits a small lab; a line with recipe control, cameras and an ejector suits a regulated site. The right answer comes from the requirement, not the brand.

We are a nutraceutical or supplement packer, not a pharmaceutical site. Is this overkill? Often, yes, and we will say so. If nothing in your quality system requires in line checking and recipe control, an ALline or a head on a conveyor will do the same labeling for less. The ALpharma range is for sites where the proof matters as much as the label.

Talk to us before the URS is written, not after

The most expensive pharmaceutical labeling projects are the ones where the machine is specified, then the quality requirements arrive, and then the controls, cameras and documentation have to be added to a machine that was not designed for them.

We will look at the containers, the line and what your quality system actually requires you to prove, and specify the control and camera options with the machine rather than after it. Call 253-709-5566 or start the specification with a site review.