Honeywell > Case Studies > Positive I.D. featuring the A-Class printing solution identification labels for home improvement

Positive I.D. featuring the A-Class printing solution identification labels for home improvement

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

Datamax-O'Neil A4212 Printers
Datamax-O'Neil A-Class Print Engines

Tech Stack

Print-Apply Systems
Broadcast Print System

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Cost Savings
Customer Satisfaction
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Product Data Management Systems
Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems

Applicable Industries

Consumer Goods
Retail

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development
Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Track & Trace of Assets

Services

System Integration
Hardware Design & Engineering Services

About The Customer

Wilsonart is a leading manufacturer of decorative laminate and acrylic solid surfaces, catering to the home improvement industry. The company produces a wide variety of sample chips in different colors and materials, which are distributed to home improvement centers for consumers to make informed decisions about their kitchen and bath surfaces. With a dedicated full-time production line, Wilsonart runs its sample chip line virtually non-stop to meet the high demand for these samples. The company has a long-standing relationship with DatamaxO'Neil printers, which have been used for over a decade to apply identification labels to the sample chips.

The Challenge

Wilsonart, a manufacturer of decorative laminate and acrylic solid surfaces, faced a significant challenge in keeping up with the increasing demand for sample chips at home improvement centers. The company needed to modernize its sample chip production line to minimize label waste during changeovers and reduce the total cost of ownership. The existing system, which had been in place for over a decade, relied on DatamaxO'Neil printers, but it required an upgrade to meet the growing demand and improve efficiency.

The Solution

To address the challenge, Wilsonart partnered with Code-in-Motion, an Irvine, California-based company that had designed their original sample labeling solution in the 1990s. Code-in-Motion developed an advanced print-apply system using six Datamax-O'Neil A4212 printers. These printers are specifically designed for high-performance print and apply applications, making them ideal for Wilsonart's sample chip line. The new system features innovative design elements such as stainless steel hardware components, a modular electronics card cage, a field-installable thermal transfer ribbon assembly, a remote control panel, and a full graphics display. The system also includes a unique vacuum-cup pick-and-place mechanism that minimizes label waste during product changeovers and ensures accurate label application.

Operational Impact

The new system allows Wilsonart to apply labels to 300 sample chips every 45 seconds, significantly improving production efficiency.
The Datamax-O'Neil printers run practically around the clock, providing reliable and accurate printing with minimal downtime.
The advanced system minimizes label waste during changeovers, reducing overall costs and improving sustainability.
The broadcast print system enables Wilsonart to use a PC to initiate one print command and have that data automatically communicated to all six printers simultaneously, streamlining operations.
The closed-loop system achieves a high level of performance, with few industry systems matching its efficiency and reliability.

Quantitative Benefit