A box or carton takes a label on a face that is flat, hard and fairly consistent, which makes it the easiest pack to label by machine. What goes wrong is almost never the label. It is the gap between boxes, the position, and what the label has to say.
A box labeling machine is a machine that places a label on a carton, case or box as it travels on a conveyor. Searches for it also return desktop and shipping label printers. This page is for the commercial line: a box or carton moving through a shift, where the label has to land in the same place every time and the data on it has to be right.
Marapack Services is the Pacific Northwest distributor for Altech labeling systems, and we supply and service labeling and coding equipment for packaging lines across the US. We will also say when a box line needs something we do not sell. Not sure which head your box needs? Book an equipment audit and bring a sample box and the label.
What kinds of box labeling machine are there?
Box labeling machines come in four working types: a labeling head that applies a preprinted label, a print and apply machine that prints each label as it applies it, a semi automatic bench unit for low volume, and a direct code printer for a date or lot with no label at all. Which one fits depends on what changes from box to box.
- A preprinted label, the same on every box. An Altech labeling head applies a label that was printed before the roll arrived. This is the simplest and least expensive route, and it is the right one when every label is identical. See our label applicators.
- A label that changes per box. A lot code, a weight, a serial or a barcode that is different on each carton needs print and apply, where the printer sits inside the machine. Our print and apply labeling systems page covers it.
- Low volume or hand fed. A semi automatic labeler suits a small run where an operator places the box. See our labeling machines hub for the range.
- Only a date, lot or batch. A thermal inkjet printer can mark the box directly, which is a coder rather than a labeler. That is the subject of our case coder page.
A box labeler is not a different machine from a carton labeler or a case labeler. The words follow the buyer's industry, and the same heads serve all three.
Which face of the box takes the label, and does it change the machine?
The face you label decides the applicator. A label on the top of a box uses a head over the conveyor. A label on the side uses a head beside it, with a guide that holds the box at a steady distance. A label on two adjacent faces, a corner wrap, needs a method built for it.
Altech's range includes the application methods for each. Tamp suits a flat, presented face. Tamp blow and air blow suit a box that wanders slightly or a surface where contact is a risk. Wipe on suits a box passing at a steady position, and a U shape applicator suits a label that wraps around an edge or a corner, while a three axis applicator can reach two faces from one head. We choose among them on a sample of your box rather than on a catalog, because the surface and the spacing decide it.
Two things settle most box lines before the method does. One is the gap: a labeler needs a consistent space between one box and the next, and a spacer, a timing screw or a gate on the conveyor can make it. The other is position: a guide that holds the box at the same distance from the head gives the same placement every time.
What data goes on a box label, and does that need print and apply?
A box label carries fixed information, such as the brand and the product description, plus variable information, such as the lot, the date and a barcode. When the variable part changes on every box, the printer has to be inside the labeling machine, and that is print and apply.
For food and other goods shipped to a large retailer, the case or box label commonly carries a GS1-128 barcode with a lot and date. Our GS1-128 and SSCC guide explains how that label is built. A box line often runs a label on the face for the barcode and a printed code beside it for the plain text date and lot. Your customer's current specification governs what the box has to carry.
If the only variable data is a date or lot and the box takes ink, a thermal inkjet code saves the label, the liner and the label stock. If a customer needs a scannable barcode to a stated grade, or the box face is coated, dusty or textured, a label is the safer route.
How do you choose between a box label and a code on the box?
Put a label on the box when a customer's scanner must read a barcode, when the box face will not hold ink, or when there is more text than a code can carry. Code the box directly when the data is a date, lot or batch, the face is clean corrugated board, and cost per box matters.
Plants often use both, with a printed code for people and a label for scanners. Printing directly removes the label, the liner and the label stock, and a thermal inkjet code is quick to change. The trade is surface: the ink has to suit the board, and the box has to pass the printhead at a steady distance. Our date code and lot code printer page covers the coding side in detail.
What does a box line need around the labeling machine?
A box labeling machine is one part of a small system. The box has to be conveyed, spaced, held in position and sensed, and the finished label often has to be checked. The conveyor and handling decide as much as the head does.
Altech's range includes conveyors, product handling and, for print and apply, an over print camera that reads the printed code on the line. We can supply these as part of a line around the head, or fit a head over the conveyor you already have. If you label or code flat cartons before they are erected, our friction feeders page covers feeding them one at a time from a stack. The pallet end of the line is covered by our pallet labeling systems page. If the boxes then go to a distribution center, our warehouse and 3PL labeling page shows what that end needs.
What do we not sell for box and carton lines?
We do not sell carton erectors, case packers, tapers, sealers, wrappers or other packaging machinery, and we do not sell continuous inkjet, laser marking or warehouse software. We sell labeling and coding equipment and the service for it. Many results for box and carton equipment come from packaging machinery makers, and we sit beside them as the labeling and coding supplier.
We also do not serve the shipping desk that needs a desktop label printer for parcels. Those are sold by office and e-commerce suppliers and are a different product from a labeler built into a conveyor line.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a box labeler and a carton labeler? Nothing in the machine. The two names describe the same job, a label applied to a box, carton or case on a conveyor. The word used tends to follow the industry, so we use them interchangeably.
Can you label two sides of a box at once? Yes. A line can carry a head on each face, or a method built for a corner wrap on two adjacent faces. We settle which by looking at the box and the space on the line.
Do I need print and apply for a box label? Only if something on the label changes from box to box. If every label is identical, a labeling head with preprinted labels is simpler and costs less.
Can a box labeling machine label different box sizes? It can where the sizes stay within what the head and the guides handle, and where changeover is planned for. Tell us the range of sizes and how often they change, because that sets the stand and the guides.
Do you sell a desktop box labeler? No. Our equipment is for commercial packaging lines.
Can you print the date directly on a box instead of labeling it? Often, with a thermal inkjet printer, when the box face takes ink. We test it on your actual box. A label is safer where a barcode must scan to a grade.
Do you sell the carton erector or case packer? No. We sell labeling and coding equipment and service it. Erectors and packers come from packaging machinery makers.
How much does a box labeling machine cost? It depends on the head, whether it prints variable data, the conveyor and handling, and the number of label positions. We quote after walking the line, because a price given before the box and the speed are known is a price for a different line.
Can you service a box labeler we already have? We service Altech equipment, Label-Aire 3100 applicators and 5100 systems, PackLeader, CTM and Tach-It machines. Tell us the make and model and we will say what we can do. Our labeler repair and service page explains how a visit works.
Bring us a sample box
The most useful thing you can bring to a line walk is a sample box and the label. We look at the face, the gap and the speed, then tell you whether a head, a print and apply machine or a code is the right answer. Call 253-709-5566 or request an equipment audit.