The ALritma is the head you buy when the line will not slow down for the label.
The Altech ALritma is a self-adhesive labeling head for medium and high speed inline application, running at up to 50 m/min (about 164 ft/min) and taking labels to 100, 200 or 300 mm depending on the version. Marapack Services is the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems, importing direct from the factory in Bareggio, Italy. We specify, install, commission and service ALritma heads on food, produce, beverage and general packaging lines.
Marapack Services is an independent company, not Altech S.r.l. and not ALTech US. We sell the ALritma, we install it, we stock parts for it, and we are the people who show up when it stops.
Not sure which ALritma version your line needs? Book an equipment audit and we size the head against your product, not a catalog.
What is the Altech ALritma label applicator?
The Altech ALritma is a labeling head that peels a pressure sensitive label from its backing web and applies it to a product moving past on the line. It runs at up to 50 m/min, takes labels to 100, 200 or 300 mm, and needs no printer, because the label content is fixed before the roll arrives.
That covers most of what runs through a packing hall:
- Case, tray and RPC labeling at line speed
- Clamshell and punnet labeling, including lid and base pairs on a shared conveyor, which is the job our page on top and bottom labeling machines covers
- Bottle, jar and tub wrap, front and back, and single panel application
- Bag, pouch and sleeve labeling
- Any line where the label content does not change per unit, so no printer is needed in the head
If the label content changes per case, for example a lot code or a GS1-128 barcode carrying a batch number, you want a print and apply head such as the Altech ALcode instead, not an ALritma.
Which ALritma model fits your label and line speed?
Choose the ALritma by your largest label and your line speed together. The LR10 (ALritma S) takes labels to 100 mm at 50 m/min, the LR20 takes labels to 200 mm at 50 m/min, and the LR30 (ALritma L) takes labels to 300 mm at 40 m/min. The LR20 is the version we sell most often.
These are the codes on the 2026 Altech distributor price list. The code is the only unambiguous identifier, which matters more on this machine than on most, for reasons the naming section below explains.
| Altech code | Price list name | Documented specification |
|---|---|---|
| LR10 | ALritma S | Labels to 100 mm (about 3.9 in), 50 m/min (about 164 ft/min), IP54, color touchscreen, 40 stored label formats |
| LR20 | ALritma S, 200 mm | Labels to 200 mm (about 7.9 in), 50 m/min (about 164 ft/min) |
| LR30 | ALritma L | Labels to 300 mm (about 11.8 in), 40 m/min (about 131 ft/min) |
| LR40 | ALritma harsh environment kit | Kit option for the ALritma family |
| LR45 | ALritma ultra compact body supplement | Body option for the ALritma family |
The IP54 rating, the color touchscreen and the 40 stored formats are documented for the LR10 (ALritma S). A 200 mm label capability at full speed leaves headroom that a 100 mm head does not.
Why does the ALritma have two sets of model names?
Altech names the ALritma two ways. The 2026 distributor price list uses ALritma S, L, X S and X M, while the factory serial records use ALritma M, MT, M SX, M DX and XS, where SX means left hand and DX means right hand. Both appear on real paperwork, so quote the serial number when ordering.
- The 2026 price list uses: ALritma S, ALritma L, ALritma X S, ALritma X M.
- Altech's factory and serial records use: ALritma M, MT, M SX, M DX, XS.
So the same family arrives on a quote under one name and on the machine plate or the order confirmation under another. ALRITMA M VERS.DX is a right hand machine and ALritma MT SX is a left hand one. Handing is not a preference. It decides which side of the conveyor the head mounts on and which way the web runs, and it is the most expensive thing to get wrong on a reorder.
Altech's own accessory tables mix the conventions too. Peeler bars are grouped as AE10 to AE19 for ALstep E and S and ALritma S and X S, AE20 to AE29 for ALstep M and ALritma M and X M, and AE30 to AE39 for ALritma L. A peeler bar ordered against the wrong convention is a peeler bar that does not fit.
If you have a machine and you are not sure what it is: send us the serial number and the Commessa number from the plate. Spare parts quotes from the factory are keyed to serial number and Commessa, not to a model name, and Altech maintains a 3D viewer per machine for part lookup. That is how we identify what you actually own rather than what the paperwork says.
What does an ALritma need around it to run well?
An ALritma head needs the right applicator, peeler bar, label sensor, conveyor or product handling, stand and unwind or rewind unit around it. Those parts are specified together, because each one decides whether the label lands in the same place on every product, and the peeler bar and sensor are the ones most often left at a default.
Applicators. The ALritma can apply directly from the peel edge onto a presented product, or drive a pneumatic applicator where the product cannot be touched or cannot be presented. Altech's applicator range is a catalog of methods rather than one product: air blow with fixed tamp, tamp, tamp blow, rotary arm, air blast multi format, air jet, large format tamp applicators at 500, 750 and 1000 mm, three axis, three adjacent label systems, multi format soft touch, vacuum belt, movable peeler bar, U shape and servo drive. The full method-by-method breakdown is on our page of industrial label applicators.
Peeler bars. Rigid, adaptive, spring loaded (AE14, AE24, AE34) and quick change types, grouped by head family as above. The peeler bar decides label placement accuracy, and it is the part most often left at the factory default.
Label sensing. The standard label sensor, and CE06, the label tracing sensor for transparent product. If you run clear labels on clear clamshells, CE06 exists for exactly that problem, and it is the part that stops a clear-on-clear label from defeating a standard gap sensor.
Conveying and handling. Altech ALbelt single, compact, flighted, heavy duty and two section conveyors, twin side belt systems at 1000 and 1500 mm with height adjustment, vacuum belt options, plus spacers and gapping units including pneumatic gates, rubber wheel spacers, side belts and timing screws, orienting units for elliptical and oval products, wrap around units, stabilizing belts, and infeed and outfeed rotary accumulation tables.
Stands and mounting. Floor stands, hydraulic raising columns, semi automatic support tables, and the bracket and adapter families that hold the head in position over a conveyor.
Unwinds and rewinds. Roll unwind units for large diameter rolls, and rewinders for the backing web. If nobody on the line has time to deal with a takeup reel mid shift, look at our label rewinders and unwinders or at the ALritma X S, which has a rewinder built in.
Camera and sensor options. Label presence check, laser scanner, mark reader, smart camera for over print reading, smart camera for label presence, and full camera vision. All are Altech line items, ordered with the head.
Can an ALritma run on a wet produce packing line?
It can, with the right specification. The ALritma S (LR10) is documented as IP54, which means dust protection plus resistance to splashing water. IP54 is not a washdown rating. Where the line is hosed down, the answer is a protected mounting position, a different layout, or an environment kit whose rating we confirm first, and we will tell you which.
The ALritma harsh environment kit (LR40) is an Altech line item, but its own rating is not in the documentation we hold, so we confirm it with the factory before specifying it for a wet area. The other two produce-line problems are specification decisions rather than tuning decisions: clear labels on clear clamshells, which is what CE06 is for, and a season that does not tolerate downtime, which is a preventive maintenance question rather than an equipment one.
A case that must carry a Produce Traceability Initiative label carries variable lot data, which is usually a print and apply job rather than an ALritma job. Our page on PTI label applicators covers that side of the line.
Which Altech head fits your line: ALritma, ALstep or ALritma X?
Pick the ALritma for production speed with a fixed label. Slower, bench or short run lines usually suit the compact ALstep, lines where nobody can tend the backing web suit the ALritma X S with its integrated rewinder, and a variable barcode, lot code or date needs an ALcode print and apply head instead.
| If your line | The right head is usually |
|---|---|
| Runs slowly, or is a bench and short run application | Altech ALstep range |
| Runs at production speed with a fixed label | ALritma |
| Runs at production speed and nobody can tend the backing web | ALritma X with integrated rewind (the X S version) |
| Needs a variable barcode, lot code or date printed at the moment of application | ALcode or ALcode LT print and apply |
| Is a complete new line rather than a head added to an existing one | ALline linear labeling machine |
| Is hand fed and low volume | ALmatic semi automatic kit |
Who services ALritma heads and stocks the parts?
Marapack Services stocks ALritma wear parts and services the heads in the field. 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, including machines we did not sell.
Common ALritma wear parts we carry or source direct: peeler bars and peel plates, peeler blades, braking brushes, drive belts and sprockets, proximity sensors, bearings, stepping motor drivers, rewinders and unwinders, and axis mounting plates. Parts quotes come back keyed to your machine serial number and Commessa, so what arrives is a part for the machine you own rather than for the machine a catalog assumed. The codes and ordering route are on our Altech spare parts page.
Before you call, our label applicator troubleshooting guide walks through the faults your own team can check in minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the ALritma S, the ALritma L and the ALritma X? Label size and web handling. The S versions cover labels to 100 mm and 200 mm at 50 m/min, the L covers labels to 300 mm at 40 m/min, and the X versions run at 40 m/min, with an integrated 250 mm rewinder for the backing web on the X S. The right one is chosen from your largest label and your line speed together, not from either one alone.
We have an ALritma M. Is that the same machine? Almost certainly it is an ALritma from the same family under Altech's factory naming rather than the price list naming. Send us the serial number and the Commessa from the machine plate and we will tell you exactly what you have, including the handing.
Can an ALritma print a lot code or a date? Not on its own. It applies a label, it does not print one. A date or lot code either goes on the label from your label printer, gets coded onto the pack separately, or you move up to a print and apply head that prints at the moment of application.
How long does a format changeover take? The ALritma S (LR10) stores 40 label formats, so recalling a format is a selection on its touchscreen. The physical part of a changeover, meaning the roll, the peeler bar and the sensor position, is what takes the time, and how long depends on how the machine was specified. That is worth asking about before you buy rather than after.
How much does an ALritma label applicator cost? The price depends on the version (LR10, LR20 or LR30), the applicator and peeler bar, the sensors, the stand, and any conveying or product handling it needs. We quote after we have walked the line, because a head priced before the label, speed and product are known is a price for a different machine.
Do you sell just the head, or the whole system? Either. Most of what we quote is a head, an applicator, a peeler bar, a sensor, a stand and a conveyor section, specified against a line we have walked.
Get the head specified against your actual line
The wrong applicator is not a tuning problem, it is a return trip. Before we quote an ALritma we want your line speed, your largest label, your product surface, the gap between products and where the operator will stand. That is a site visit, and it is the step that prevents a machine nobody uses.
We walk the line, measure what needs measuring and tell you what it takes, including telling you when the answer is a repair rather than a purchase. Call 253-709-5566 or schedule a line walk for your ALritma.