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A government funded organisation providing control samples for measurement of international biological standards has installed a new labelling machine - manufactured by Sessions of York. The modified Basic 100 unit is being used by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) to apply labels to a range of five different containers for distribution to pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and government laboratories throughout the world. Choice of the Sessions Basic 100, which incorporates a laser operated measuring device and a top labelling facility, for this application was prompted by experience with a Sessions RC3O labeller which still provides sterling service.

The Production Supervisor for NIBSC says: "Our organisation is engaged in preparation of international standards for the control testing of biological medicines. These are distributed to pharmaceutical companies, government laboratories and health authorities around the world. The only way of measuring the activity of a biological sample, such as a vaccine, is by comparing it with a known reference material. We produce the biological reference standards against which everybody tests their own materials.

"Most of the samples we produce are contained in 5ml vials which are labelled individually by the Basic 100 labeller. Occasionally, whenever infectious or hazardous samples are to be transported, the vials are placed into secondary packaging for security. These tins are labelled with a yellow sticker on the lid using the top labelling facility on the Basic 100. The laser operated measuring device checks the open neck aperture of each ampoule for distortion or out of specification measurement and rejects any failures. The presence of a label on the vial is also monitored by the Sessions machine."

The Basic 100 unit used by NIBSC is a stand-alone labelling system. The product is manually loaded onto the machine's infeed tray loading station for labelling and removed at the outfeed. A rotary table infeed facility is also incorporated.

NIBSC continues: "We selected the Sessions unit because it matched our needs, and from the experience of the Sessions RC30 ampoule labeller which we've operated for a number of years."

A low cost automatic applicator, the Sessions Basic 100 can label cylindrical bottles at up to 12,000 products per hour. It can handle containers as small as 1 5mm in height and from 15mm to 100mm in width. Designed to be user friendly, the robustly built labeller is highly economical in terms of both space and time. Its small overall dimensions enable installation in production and packaging lines where space is limited or, alternatively, it can operate as a stand-alone unit.