Becton Dickinson uses Domino K600i to print codes on syringe packages for the AstraZeneca vaccine

Leading global medical technology company, Becton Dickinson has collaborated with Domino Amjet Ibérica on the digital printing of unique codes on the packaging of needles and syringes being used for the Covid-19 vaccine.

The introduction of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has provided a positive and long-awaited boost in the fight against the global pandemic. Governments around the world are making extensive efforts to vaccinate their populations as quickly as possible.

Becton Dickinson was selected by the UK government to provide a large order of syringes and needles called Flu+, to administer the vaccine to patients. The syringes and needles are manufactured at Becton Dickinson’s Fraga plant in the province of Huesca, Spain.

The company has collaborated with Domino Amjet Ibérica on several printing and coding projects in Spain, and has now used Domino’s high speed K600i inkjet printing technology to digitally print unique codes onto the outer paper packaging of the needles and syringes being used for the Covid-19 vaccine.

The decision to incorporate the K600i UV inkjet digital printer into the Becton Dickinson packaging machines was a very ambitious move. The company needed a solution that would address the printing problems it was experiencing using other marking systems: slow and inefficient changeover with multiple SKUs, too many stoppages and downtime for the replacement of consumables, recurrent print failures and inadequate print speed.

In the Becton Dickinson plant in the Aragonese town of Fraga, the syringe and needle packaging machines work at a very high speed, requiring the best quality, fastest and most reliable printing equipment to cope with these high production needs.

Domino says many label and packaging converters have reported an increased demand for variable data printed labels during Covid-19. The company was pleased to support Becton Dickinson on this important project.

Domino Digital Printing Solutions for Iberia and Latin America business manager, Manuel Hernández commented: “We are delighted that Becton Dickinson chose to integrate the Domino K600i digital inkjet printer into its packaging production line. The K600i was capable of meeting its high-quality printing demands and this has resulted in drastically reduced miscoding rejects, with no compromise in print speed, and significantly improved printing costs for Becton Dickinson.”