A labeling machine that stops mid-run stops the whole line behind it, and most of what comes back for labeling machine repair is a video, a forum thread, a directory listing and a manufacturer that only touches its own machines. Marapack Services repairs labeling, print and apply and coding equipment for a living, on brands we sell and brands we do not.
Marapack Services repairs, services, commissions and maintains industrial labeling equipment from a field base in the Pacific Northwest, and takes service inquiries from anywhere in the US. The person who does the work has spent his career on packaging lines rather than behind a parts counter, and the diagnosis usually starts before anybody opens a toolbox.
If your machine is down right now, call 253-709-5566 with the serial number and a photograph of the fault screen. Many of the faults we get called about can be fixed by your own maintenance team once somebody tells them where to look. If the line is running but not running well, book an equipment audit and get a list of what to fix before your next season.
Which labeling machine brands do we repair?
We repair and service Altech, Label-Aire 3100 applicators and 5100 systems, PackLeader, CTM and Tach-It labeling equipment, plus the SATO print engines inside print and apply heads, whether we sold the machine or not. A manufacturer's service department works on its own brand, so a mixed floor usually means several service relationships.
- Altech. The full range: ALstep, ALritma and ALritma X labeling heads, ALmatic semi automatic kits, ALcode and ALcode LT print and apply, ALcode P and ALrobot pallet labeling, ALbelt conveyors, ALline linear machines, ALpharma. We are the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems, importing direct from the factory in Bareggio, Italy, which means we hold the current parts list and a parts channel keyed to your machine's serial number. We also quote, supply and commission Altech friction feeders as part of the lines we build.
- Label-Aire 3100 applicators and 5100 systems. We service these, including the 3100 and 5100, and we stock some Label-Aire parts, sourcing the rest through the Label-Aire distributor channel.
- PackLeader applicators and hot stamp units.
- CTM labeling systems.
- Tach-It applicators, rewinders, side belts and chains. We service Tach-It machines and stock Tach-It parts.
- SATO print engines, including the S84 and S86 families and the LT408, both standalone and where they sit inside a print and apply head. We repair them in the field and manage the rebuild when an engine needs refurbishment.
- Thermal inkjet coders and the sensors, conveyors and product handling around all of the above.
Marapack Services is an independent company, not Altech S.r.l. and not ALTech US. Label-Aire, PackLeader, CTM and Tach-It are machines we service and hold parts for, not brands we represent. If you are choosing between brands for a new machine, our Altech vs Label-Aire vs CTM comparison sets out where each one fits.
What happens on a labeling machine repair call?
A labeling machine repair call starts on the phone. We ask for the machine, the serial number, what the fault screen says, what changed recently and a photograph of the label where it goes wrong. That triage decides whether your own team can clear the fault, which part goes in the van, or whether the machine needs a visit.
Emergency and breakdown repair
A machine stopped, a line is backed up, and the question is how fast somebody can be there. We triage by phone first, because some breakdowns are resolved without a visit, and because a visit that arrives without the right part is a wasted day for both of us.
The photograph of the label at the point it goes wrong, plus the serial number, is usually enough to know whether the part goes in the van.
Commissioning and installation
A machine that passed a factory acceptance test in Italy is not the same as a machine running your product, at your speed, with your operators, in your room temperature. Commissioning is where those two things are made to agree: mechanical setup, sensor teaching, recipe building, label path, speed sync with the conveyor, and operator training on the machine they will actually run.
We commission what we sell and we commission machines other people sold, which is a service more often needed than you would expect.
Retrofits and upgrades
Frequently the right answer is neither a repair nor a new machine. A different peeler bar for a product whose height varies. A label sensor built for transparent labels on a clear clamshell. A spacer or a timing screw where the real problem is that products arrive nose to tail. An unwind that takes the roll diameter your converter actually ships, chosen from the rewind and unwind units the machine supports.
These are often the least expensive fixes in the category, and a machine salesperson has no reason to suggest them.
Sensor and print engine refurbishment
Sensors and print engines are two components that often get replaced when they could have been refurbished. We arrange refurbishment for both at a fixed price per unit, and we diagnose in the field first so the right half goes out. See print engine repair and refurbishment.
Parts supply
We stock parts for Altech, PackLeader, some Label-Aire, and Tach-It. Altech parts quotes are keyed to your machine's serial number and job number, so what turns up fits the machine you own rather than the machine the catalog assumed. Details on ordering: Altech spare parts.
Scheduled maintenance
The version of all of the above that happens before the season instead of during it. Our preventive maintenance programs are built around your pack calendar.
Remote and virtual support
Not every fault needs a truck. We run a technical support path for exactly the cases where a photograph, a video of the machine cycling, and somebody who knows the machine on the other end of the line is faster and cheaper than a visit.
Why should a seasonal packer book labeling machine repairs before the season?
A packing line in the middle of a cherry or berry run has no maintenance window, and many Altech parts ship from Italy. Wear parts replaced in April are a scheduled maintenance job on a quiet line. The same failure in July is an outage with trucks waiting, and the part may still be on its way.
Cherry season starts around June. Blueberry runs through the middle and late part of summer. During those weeks a packing line does not have a maintenance window, it has a queue of trucks, and a machine that fails in the second week of a run stops the line in exactly the weeks that matter.
The practical consequences:
- Faults get triaged, not scheduled. In season, we work the phone first and dispatch against what is actually down.
- Pre-season is when the work should happen. A machine that has run two seasons on original wear parts is a machine with a peeler bar, a set of belts and a drive assembly that are all wearing at once. Doing them in April is a maintenance job. Doing them in July is an outage.
- Parts lead time is the real constraint. Altech parts come from Italy. Wear items can be stocked. An assembly nobody stocks is a shipping problem, not a repair problem, and the way you avoid it is holding the right spares on your own shelf before the season starts.
If you are inside a pack window right now, call. If you are outside one, this is the month to book the work.
What do we check on an equipment audit?
An equipment audit is a walk down the line that checks the label path, the sensors, product presentation, wear parts, the printed code and label together, and your spares position. It produces a list of what to fix now, what to hold in stock and what not to buy, before a failure makes those decisions for you.
The label path. Roll diameter and core size against what the machine takes. Web tension. The peeler bar type against the product. Whether the operator can physically reach the web to change a roll.
The sensors. Label gap sensing against the label stock you actually run, including clear on clear. Product sensing position and repeatability. Many intermittent faults that look like machine faults are sensor faults.
Product presentation. Gap, speed consistency, guide rails, whether product arrives square. If the product arrives in the wrong place, no applicator saves you.
Wear. Belts, sprockets, bearings, peel plates, drive assemblies, air lines and cylinders. What has life left and what does not.
The code and the label together. Whether the printed content is legible, whether the barcode is placed where it can be read, whether an applied label lands over a wrap seam.
The spares position. What you hold, what you should hold, and what you are one failure away from waiting on a shipment for.
Want that list for your own line? Schedule a line walk and get the fix list before the season does it for you.
Should you repair, refurbish or replace a labeling machine?
Repair when the fault is a component and the machine still runs to speed and accuracy. Refurbish when the machine is mechanically sound but tired. Replace when the parts are no longer made, the label or product has outgrown the head, or rework costs more per season than the capital. We tell you which case you are in.
Repair when the fault is a component, the machine is otherwise running to speed and accuracy, and the parts are still available.
Refurbish when the machine is mechanically sound but tired: worn drives, a soft peel, sensors drifting, an operator interface nobody trusts anymore. A refurbishment plus a sensor and print engine rebuild can cost much less than replacement, and it does not require a line shutdown to install.
Replace when the parts are no longer made, the speed or the label size has outgrown the head, the product changed shape, or the machine is causing rework that costs more per season than the capital. That last one is the case people underestimate.
When replacement is the answer, we supply industrial labeling machines and the full automatic label applicator range. Where volume has dropped to a few short runs a year, a semi automatic machine from the label dispensers range may do the job, and our page on used and refurbished labeling equipment covers the middle path.
Can you fix a labeling machine fault yourself first?
Often, yes. Many labeling machine faults come down to a dirty or mistaught label sensor, a roll the machine was never specified for, low or wet compressed air, or products arriving without a gap, and your own maintenance team can check every one of those. Our troubleshooting guide walks through them symptom by symptom.
We publish troubleshooting on the theory that a customer who fixes their own sensor fault at 6am is a customer who calls us for the machine. Start with our label applicator troubleshooting guide, then call with what you found.
Frequently asked questions
Will you service a machine you did not sell us? Yes. Altech, Label-Aire 3100 applicators and 5100 systems, PackLeader, CTM, Tach-It, and SATO print engines are all in scope regardless of who supplied them.
How much does labeling machine repair cost? It depends on the fault, the part and whether the machine needs a visit, which is why the phone triage comes first. Print engine and sensor refurbishment is quoted at a fixed price per unit, so that part is known before you commit. The rest is quoted after the diagnosis rather than guessed.
How much does a labeling machine cost? The price is set by the machine class (a labeling head, a print and apply system or a semi automatic unit), the application method, the label size and the product handling around it. We quote after walking the line, because a price given before the surface, speed and gap are known is a price for a different machine.
How does a labeling machine work? A labeling machine unwinds a roll of pressure sensitive labels, peels each label off its liner at a peeler bar, and applies it when a product sensor sees the product arrive, by wiping, tamping or blowing it on. The empty liner is rewound. A fault in any one of those steps shows up as a labeling problem.
How fast can you get here? It depends where you are and what else is down, and in season we triage. Call rather than email if the line is stopped. A lot of faults are solved on that call.
Do you work outside the Pacific Northwest? Our own field service base is the Pacific Northwest. We take inquiries from anywhere in the US, and where a site is outside the region we arrange the work through a partner or point you to a company that can support the machine locally.
Do you supply parts without a service visit? Yes. Send the machine serial number and the part you need, or a photograph of the failed part, and we will quote it.
Can you repair a print engine rather than replacing it? Usually. We diagnose the engine in the field and manage the rebuild of print engines and sensors at a fixed price per unit.
Our machine is 15 years old and the manufacturer says it is obsolete. Is that the end? Not necessarily. Obsolete means the manufacturer stopped supporting it, not that the mechanics stopped working. What matters is whether the specific failed components can still be sourced or substituted. Send us the model and the serial number and we will tell you what can still be sourced.
How do we do preventive maintenance on a labeling machine? Plan it against your pack calendar, not a generic annual date, and do the substantive work well before the season. For a seasonal packer, a maintenance program is usually the cheaper way to buy this service.
Can you train our maintenance team? Yes. Operator and maintenance training is part of commissioning and can be booked on its own. A plant with two people who understand the label path calls us less, which is a fine outcome.
Get your labeling machine back to speed
Tell us the machine, the serial number and what it is doing. If it is something we can talk you through, we will. If it needs a visit, you will know what it needs before the visit rather than after. Call 253-709-5566, or book the equipment audit online.