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A European producer of containers for blood collection, storage and preparation has decided to update their labelling system.
Ravimed, a medical equipment producer in Poland and Central Europe, chose the global barcode, labelling and AIDC specialist SATO to fulfil its demand for labels that meet the stringent requirements necessary for use in the medical equipment and healthcare industry.
Before choosing to work with SATO, Ravimed had experienced a number of issues with the labels provided by a previous supplier which it used for its PVC blood bags. Blood bags are designed to resist steam sterilisation up to 120˚C and freezing down to -4˚C. The labels Ravimed previously used were unable to sufficiently withstand these necessary pressures, becoming stiff and harder to read once they had been removed from freezer units. A secondary problem was also experienced with one label supplier whereby the paint from the labels was incompatible with the PVC of the blood bags.
Ravimed contacted SATO due to the organisation’s established experience of producing high quality and versatile labels for use in the global healthcare industry. After testing a number of materials, Ravimed settled upon a synthetic paper and strong glue SE label. The SATO label was able to successfully withstand the necessary temperature changes experienced by blood bags yet still remain readable, a critical feature when dispatching blood bags for use in transfusions.
Assured of the capability of SATO’s labels, Ravimed moved to integrate the new labels across its whole range of blood bags, and has now been sourcing labels solely from SATO. After the integration of SATO’s labels into its production process, Ravimed also successfully applied to have SATO included into its CE documentation as a long term supplier of labels.
Ravimed’s Kamil Konon spoke of the benefits associated with choosing SATO as its label supplier, stating: “We are extremely pleased with level of service and the excellent labelling solution SATO has provided for our applications. SATO’s product is without doubt the best performing labels on the market and despite being made of the highest grade materials they are very fairly priced. SATO understands our specific requirements and production needs perfectly, and has consistently helped us ensure a continuous quality of supply, improving our product immensely.”
SATO International Europe’s Managing Director Brian Lang commented: “The success Ravimed has experienced since choosing to use our labels for its blood bags demonstrates SATO’s strength and depth of experience in providing innovative and versatile barcode and labelling solutions to the healthcare industry. We want to continue aiding companies who manufacture medical equipment and supplies, and are on hand to provide high quality labels and printing solutions capable of meeting the most stringent criteria for a wide range of healthcare applications.”
