Belgian Finance Department print supplier, Fedopress adopts Lake Image Systems for verifying 1.2 Billion Tax Stamps annually
Lake Image Systems Ltd., a leader in variable data integrity assurance and print quality inspection for the packaging, labels, and commercial print industries, announces that Fedopress, the official print supplier to the Belgian Federal Finance Department, have implemented a camera based, data verification system from Lake Image Systems to read, inspect and verify QRcodes and variable data from in-house, digitally printed Tax Stamps.
To combat the growing illicit trade in cigarettes and a marked increase in counterfeit Tax Stamps, the new Belgium Tax Stamp now incorporates the latest in security printing techniques such as micro-text, UV fluorescent Ink and a unique QR-code which is printed 24 labels across on a digital 5-colour press. This unique, fully digital, print-on-demand Tax Stamp production solution scooped a prestigious innovation award at a special ceremony during the Tax Stamp Forum on 31 January 2017 in Berlin, Germany.
Utilising Lake Image Systems’ Discovery Maxscan, a revolutionary new linear scanning technology mounted on the press, every QR-code is inspected for readability and its imbedded data is logged and checked against a master file for accuracy. This ensures that the essential information on every Tax Stamp is readable, correct and unique before it is dispatched to cigarette manufacturers across Europe. When an error is now detected, the nature of the error and its location on the web is logged for subsequent offline inspection. The operator is alerted via a light and buzzer alarm without stopping the press.
The solution is capable of scanning the full width of the web at full press speeds and in real-time, improving overall quality and enabling superior operational flexibility and efficiency.
“With our new print-on-demand Tax Stamp production process we needed an inspection system capable of validating every Tax Stamp and reconciling the information printed on them against the original data-file.” Explains Bart Vanwijnsberghe, Director at Fedopress. “Since implementing the system from Lake Image, we have experienced fewer stoppages, resulting in better overall productivity. We have greatly increasing our capacity to catch printing or operational errors as soon as they occur, which if unchecked, could result in significant revenue losses for the Belgian Federal Finance Department.”
“With our growing expertise in the Security Print verification market, we have specifically invested in the latest camera technology and have developed software inspection tools to enable us to deliver the most comprehensive, targeted inspection solution for our Tax Stamp clients. We are delighted that Fedopress has chosen us for their inspection needs and pleased that our system has helped them to mitigate risks associated with defective Tax Stamps.” commented Paul Stinson, Vice President of Sales at Lake Image Systems.
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