Why the PL-622 Is A Great Beer Bottle Labeling Machine

Are you a fan of increasing productivity?

Even if you pride yourself on being a small craft brewer, you still want to make the best product possible, right? Discerning customers can tell when any aspect of your product has been done haphazardly. You see, people don’t like having to make lots of decisions, so we tend to “judge books by their covers” and make snap judgments based on surface-level details. So when your latest small-batch IPA sits in beer bottles with crooked, torn, peeling, upside down, unattractive labels, what does that say about the beer itself?

Even with high levels of collaboration in the industry among breweries like Prairie, Sierra Nevada, Stone, and others, it’s still highly competitive. Beers need to leave your brewery faster while simultaneously looking as sharp and professionally made as possible. That’s why it’s essential to abandon hand-labeling and invest in labeling equipment like the Pack Leader PL-622 Front and Back beer bottle labeling machine. Let’s go over why this labeler is a real game-changer for your brewery.

The PL-622 is Fast

How much time do you think it takes to apply a label to a beer bottle? Do you think you could do it in 20 seconds? 10? 5? Let’s take a look at a list of steps and see what it takes:

1. Put your bottle down on a flat surface.
2. Locate the seam in the glass.
3. Peel the label from the corner.
4. Line up the label with the seam.
5. Press the edge of the label to affix it to the bottle. Don’t wrinkle or tear it!
6. Start applying the rest of the label around the bottle without getting air bubbles or adhering it crooked.
7. Twist the bottle as you apply and ensure that the two ends of the label meet up.

There. How fast do you think you can do that process? Here’s what the labeling process looks like for the Pack Leader USA PL-622 beer bottle labeling machine:

1. Put bottles in and hit start.

And then your bottles get labeled. If you’ve set up the PL-622 to be fully in line and run automatically, then you can ignore step one. 

So, how fast is the PL-622? The PL-622 can label 30 containers every minute. That’s a label every 2 seconds.

The PL-622 is Consistent

Take a look at those hand-labeling steps again. Let’s ignore speed for a second. Do you think you could apply that label in the exact same place every time? Perhaps if you had an hour for each label and used a jeweler’s magnifying loupe. With the PL-622, every label is precisely placed. The ultimate test for this is to take random bottles and place them next to each other on a shelf. Are all the labels at the same height? Are they all vertical? Remember, this is what the customer is going to see!

The PL-622 Will Save You Money

Compare the cost of paying an employee to label a bottle every 30 seconds vs. buying a machine that can do it far faster. That level of productivity is worth the investment in labeling equipment. And here’s the thing, we’re not suggesting that you get rid of your employee at all because they’ll easily be able to operate a PL-622. Now that employee will be responsible for a drastic increase in labeled beer bottles which will more than pay for the investment!

The PL-622 Will Never Take a Break

Employees take vacations. Employees go to lunch. Employees get sick. When your star labeling person is gone, is there anyone who can fill in? With a Pack Leader USA PL-622, you can have multiple employees trained to use its simple controls. The built-in touchscreen even has tutorials on the machine’s various functions. Plus, reloading labels and making adjustments is something anyone can do! 

The PL-622 is Flexible

If you need to do multiple runs on the same packaging line, perhaps if you’re running your award-winning 22oz stouts through and then your new 12oz seasonal ales, the PL-622 can store multiple production runs in its memory. The speed at which it runs can also be finely tuned to the machines in front of and behind it so it never causes a bottleneck to form on the line. Of course, it’s on wheels so if it needs to go elsewhere in the line, that’s not a problem, either!

And let’s say you want to do wrap around labels instead of just front and back labels. The PL-622 can be expanded to feature a wrap around station. Rather than getting another piece of labeling equipment, you can just expand your PL-622 beer bottle labeling machine. 

The PL-622 is Robust

Pack Leader USA labeling machines are built to last out of 304 stainless steel and aircraft-grade aluminum. You can expect excellent resistance to wear and rust. Plus, we’ve made our labeling equipment modular for increased expandability and easier maintenance. Need to replace a part? Not only are all major serviceable parts easy to access, but you can also slot the new one in and expect your machine to work like new.

The PL-622 Has Excellent Support

Really, all of our machines have excellent support. Our tech crews are on standby 24/7 to answer questions and walk you through any problems you have. If there’s an issue that can’t be solved that way, we’ll send a tech your way to fix it themselves. Also, we offer training on our PL-622 for new hires and refreshers for long-time employees.  

Schedule a Labeling Equipment Consultation

We love helping businesses build their brands through crisp, clean, well-applied labels. Consumers care about package appearance, and you can rely on Pack Leader USA to make that appearance as appealing as can be. But we get that you may still have questions and want to know if a PL-622 labeler is for you! Schedule a free labeling consultation and we’ll meet with you to go over how a Pack Leader USA PL-622 labeler can transform your craft brewery’s packaging line.

Resources:

• What Label Type is Right for Your Craft Beer?
• Manual Vs. Automatic Bottle Labeling Machines for Craft Beer
• Is Your Beer Packaging Line Layout Working Against You?