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high five tour for wounded warrior family support mustang club of kc

Raab Assists Wounded Warriors Family Support High Five Tour

Our company president Mark Raab was able to help out families of U.S. military veterans through a unique experience this past summer. As a member of the Mustang Club of Greater Kansas City, Mark had the pleasure of accompanying the flagship car for the Wounded Warriors Family Support organization’s High Five Tour. WWFS’s annual High Five Tour picks a special vehicle to adorn in themed livery and tour throughout the country. The tour raises awareness and funds for families of military veterans who were wounded or killed in the line of duty.

Last year’s vehicle was a special 2017 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 edition wrapped in Stars & Stripes graphics and sporting a purple heart medal on its hood as a badge of pride. The vehicle symbolizes Power, Freedom, and Independence — all qualities our veterans help provide to the United States, and qualities the WWFS hopes to give back to veterans and their families through their donations.

Learn more about Mark’s special experience, and how WWFS makes a real difference in the lives of veterans and their families by reading on.

service technician making onsite production evaluation

Why Modern Production Equipment Solutions Demand Personalized Service

Modern production has evolved to the point where each manufacturing facility is a highly specialized environment. Maximum output is the aim, and American manufacturers are doing more with less than ever before. Adjusted for inflation, the GDP per capita in the U.S. rose 300% from 1960 to 2017. Durable goods manufacturers have also raised output per worker by 166% since 1987.

These changes have as much to do with tenacity as they do technology. Manufacturers demand more of their facilities, and any downtimes or inefficiencies amplify wasted costs. Production equipment must therefore always be 100% tailor-fit to its environment. The number of workers, the process line environment, and even the exterior environment of the facility must all be taken into account.

The growing need for unique production equipment solutions that fit their unique environment has prompted Raab Sales to become problem-solving experts. Our consultations take into account complex factors that a less service-oriented equipment distributor would overlook. By strategizing with our clients and determining optimal solutions to fit their needs, we ensure that their specialized production is more reliable and efficient than ever.

Read on for an example of how one technician’s innovation was able to assist a particular customer with their unique challenge, helping them get more out of their equipment and avoid downtimes.

Raab Sales has excellent customer service

Three Ways Raab Customer Service Helps You Do More, Faster

Speed is everything in manufacturing. Even a slight slowdown can cause a ripple effect that affects everyone in the company. Maximum output during the production schedule is considered the norm, not a nice-to-have.

In this must-keep-up world of production, manufacturers cannot afford to have equipment that slows them down with maintenance issues, unreliability, inflexibility, slow output, and unwieldy or too-frequent consumable replacement. They need a production equipment distribution company that can not only supply equipment that fixes all of these pain points, but does so at the speed of modern business.

Case sealer efficiency

Case Study: Pet Food Company Adopts a Better Case Sealer

When a pet food company’s current packaging line equipment could no longer handle their needs, they turned to Raab Sales for our stellar production equipment distribution services.

As so often happens, a change requested by the higher-ups created a challenge for the company’s production facility. The case sealer the facility used at the time was incompatible with the requested change, so they had to procure new equipment. With a demand for high output — and strong expectations for quality in their product — all throughout the supply chain, the production facility had to find packaging equipment that could meet their current output rate while accommodating the new packaging request in order to facilitate the brand refresh.

Learn more about how Raab Sales helped the pet food company find the perfect breed of packaging equipment suited to their pedigree by reading on.

Case study customer service

Case Study: Raab to the Rescue

During the course of regular business, we do not typically encounter situations where the outcome could cost a client tens of thousands of dollars in just a few hours. These situations also usually do not happen the day after our nation’s birthday, when many people are out on long vacations that can make coordinating with accounts much more difficult.

Yet, when these situations arise, having them handled calmly and efficiently can feel like nothing short of a miracle. This was the case when one of our clients phoned in on July 5th with a serious crisis. The situation had the potential to seriously affect their production and earnings as the result of a production facility shutdown. 

Variable label data

Variable Data Printing, Digital Labels, and the Future of Mass Personalization

Consumers have entered a futuristic age of product labeling, and they don’t even see it. Then again, not seeing it is the point.

New labeling technology from companies like Digimarc and HP embeds digitally scannable marks onto labels that are all but invisible to the naked eye. These marks can provide product ID with deeper functionality than UPC barcodes, including enabling supply chain management at the item level.

Matthews eMark ECO Laser

Matthews Releases eMark ECO Laser – Perfect for Contract Packagers

A new CO2 laser product from Matthews provides the flexibility that small and medium contract packaging companies need to satisfy their diverse portfolios of clients. Compact, efficient, and with a coding system that requires no ink or thermal materials, the new Matthews eMark ECO Laser coding line offers a low cost-of-ownership along with many convenient features.

The system’s 10-watt, CO2-based delivery system makes it perfect for coding paper-based packaging and labels. Laser coding systems are well-known for their fast throughput and highly legible, accurate permanent markings that have no risk of smearing or striping. An inkless delivery system also increases throw distances while completely eliminating the processing line interruptions that come from exchanging cartridges.

fertilizer case study

Raab Case Study: Helping a Fertilizer Company Grow Their Production Capacity

Sometimes, having the right equipment on just one production line can create a profound ripple effect that ends up benefiting an entire company.

This was the case with a fertilizer manufacturer company in Missouri that was having issues with a coding and marking line in their packaging plant. Their existing thermal inkjet printing systems would create bottlenecks in production while contributing greatly to the number of defective packaging. In addition, a complete lack of user interface caused the company to rely heavily upon service calls, which increased costs and dragged out downtimes as line supervisors waited for a technician.

Replacing the company’s coding system with a continuous inkjet printing system from Raab Sales helped to alleviate all of these pain points while increasing production speed and helping lower costs — all from a simple purchase. Learn more about how our specialized package marking systems helped our client and how they could help you by reading on.

Foxjet Launches New 384e Pro Series Printhead for Package Marking, Labeling, Coding

Foxjet has once again outdone themselves as the makers of some of the best printhead technology for packaging, labeling, and coding.

Their widely popular 384 series has evolved, leading to the new 384e “enhanced” version of the product. Every Foxjet 384e Pro Series printhead shares almost identical dimensions with the older version of the product, allowing process lines to change over to the newer, more-efficient printheads without having to replace brackets or alter their process line design.

You can learn more about the features and advantages the 384e series adds on as well as the great things the original 384 printheads offered by reading on.

Squid CoPilot 128

Squid CoPilot 128 Pitches Perfect Price Point for Hi-Resolution Printing

Manufacturers looking for the perfect solution to a production line requiring high-resolution printing up to 1.8 cm (0.7”) high can find it in the Squid Ink CoPilot 128 model. It offers a range of advanced features and scalable capabilities at a competitive price point, making it an amazingly versatile system that can meet a wide range of production needs.

Reiner JetStamp 790MP Offers Ultimate Flexibility for Coding, Stamping Needs

If you have ever wanted a powerful, portable, and lightweight option for coding on a wide variety of product surfaces, then Reiner’s JetStamp 790MP series is the perfect product range for you. Each one offers handheld stamping of text up to two lines and 42 mm across on a variety of surfaces, including wood, cardboard, paper, metal, plastic, and more. Inks dry quickly, ensuring your coding stays legible and professional-looking with no smudges.

Best of all, Reiner JetStamp 790MP products are incredibly easy to use, making it the perfect workhorse for low-volume production lines, special orders, correcting mistakes, or any other situation where a process-line-affixed printhead will not suffice.

Learn more about what Reiner’s hand stamping products can offer by considering the following benefits ...

4 Benefits of Working With Raab Sales — What Makes Us Different

Raab Sales connects you with top name brand manufacturing equipment, supplies, and services while delivering a locally-oriented and customer-focused experience. Our products cover a wide range of marking, coding, and labeling solutions as well as repair and supply restocking.

Since 1958, we have been making a difference that helps businesses in the heartland run. In Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, we have earned a reputation for truly working as a partner with our clientele while providing them with the best-fit solutions that help reduce costs and achieve efficiency in the process.

Our ultimate goal is complete satisfaction for every customer, which is why we go out of our way to ensure their expectations are being met and that they have the absolute best available products for their budget and unique process. (processes?)

You can learn more about what makes us different from other inkjet coding, labeling, and marking equipment distributors by reading below about the four benefits you will obtain when you partner with us.

print and apply TTO industrial labeling

The Evolution of Labeling Technology

We take labels for granted when we go to the store and buy hundreds of consumer packaged goods every month, but how many of us stop and think how those labels got there? Perhaps more importantly, how many of us consider the ways in which these packages and labels have evolved? 

To answer these questions, we went out and did some research to see if we could track how industrial labeling equipment — and the technology behind it — evolved over the years. What we found is that innovation and adoption happened constantly, making it difficult to come up with a clear story on how label printing has progressed from then to now. In fact, many companies still use some of the most ancient technologies to this day! 

Yet, a few pieces of printing technology did stand out, so here are the labeling technologies that we think have pushed the manufacturing industry forward the most over hundreds of years. 

difference between TTO and laser marking

The Difference Between Laser and Thermal Printers

Laser marking and thermal transfer overprinting technology are two digital print coding methods that have enabled incredible efficiencies on process lines. The type of printing system you choose will vary based on the type of material on the product you are manufacturing and your own constraints for process and budget. 

You can learn more about how each technology works and what the best use might be by reading our short, helpful guide below. 

product packaging effects buying decisions

How Product Packaging Affects Buying Decisions

In our consumer age, a products’ packaging often defines the success of its entire line. Products sit on a shelf alongside many — sometimes dozens — of competitors. Consumers make product purchase decisions in around seven seconds. They also weigh around a third of their purchase decision on the packaging alone. 

Packaging must therefore allow a consumer to rapidly differentiate between products. This requirement can mean making a package that objectively stands out from others by way of brighter colors or more eye-catching designs, but it can also mean packaging that communicates values to resonate more with that consumer’s niche tastes. For instance, a consumer’s eye might be drawn to the only brown, drab product on a shelf if it reminds them of old-timey products they once enjoyed. 

You can learn more about consumer psychology and how packaging can make or break a product line by considering the points below. 

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Four Tips for Improving Your Process Line Operation

Your process line is the heart of your operation, pumping out inventory that helps lead to life-sustaining revenues. If your process line has inefficiencies or, worse, outright problems, then your entire organization suffers.

Fortunately, there are plenty of people out there who have encountered the same problems and developed highly precise tactics for solving them. Using this wisdom, you can identify the main issues in your process line and correct them. To help you get started, consider these four tips for improving your process line operation.

pharma serialization

What the U.S. DSCSA Deadlines Mean for Pharma

We live in an age where our medical community has extraordinary capabilities, but as operations scale and expectations increase, pharmaceutical manufacturing practices fall under more scrutiny than ever. While these new oversights and regulations introduce more transparency and accountability into the pharmaceutical supply chain, they also carry with them the tremendous costs of compliance.

In particular, mandates passed under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) come into effect in November 2017, just a few months away. These mandates require drug manufacturers to begin providing serialized item-level traceability for every single product shipped, allowing any single defective product to be traced back to its individual production facility, lot number, and manufacture date. These changes are expected to be implemented in full by 2023, putting pressure on pharmaceutical companies and their processing units to adopt the technology needed to uphold compliance.

As a result of these major shifts, which include a revision to GS1 US guidelines, pharma manufacturers will need to make significant investments on printing, serialization, scanning, and packaging technology so that operations can continue to keep production rates high and overhead low.

Innovations in Food Packaging

The Latest Innovations in Food Packaging Technology

Most consumers would seem to think that food production has become more low-tech as we drift away from highly processed ingredients and production methods that seem “unnatural,” but the truth is that technology has enabled our food to become simpler while still delivering modern industrial conveniences.

The reason that most people do not recognize these innovations lies in the fact that they are practically invisible. New packaging and food packing processes allow food to be fresher while generating less waste and increasing recyclability. Ideas are set to only get more ambitious on the horizon, including packaging that — instead of getting thrown away — gets cooked right along with the food!

See how the future is now with these four groundbreaking innovations in food packaging technology, all of which are set to become major disruptions on the horizon.

Maximize uptime in food and beverage industry.

How to Maximize Uptime on Your Product Process Line

While the human touch will always guide manufacturing success, these days, it is the strength of your automated equipment that will be the number one factor in maximizing uptime. By using the latest, most-advanced process line equipment available, your process line can maintain continuous output while dramatically reducing the incidence of unplanned shutdowns.

Features like intuitive control interfaces eliminate the need for unnecessary production halts, while today’s most sophisticated coding and scanning technology can help you laser-target problems in the production line down to single production lanes and stations.

In other words, investing in the latest and most reputable equipment will make your production operation smarter than ever, preventing most problems before they occur and putting multiple safeguards in place so that the issues that do arise can be diagnosed and corrected as seamlessly as possible.

Automation in Pharmacy Production

How Automation Can Maximize Your ROI

Automation is not the future of industrialized production at scale; it’s the present. Currently, automation drives unprecedented levels of productivity among the world’s biggest brand names and most popular product lines.

As producers move towards more automation, they are increasingly realizing that each component benefits from the next one put in place. Implementing variable data printing controller systems, for instance, can bring about better quality control when coupled with scanning and coding devices. In this way, every piece fits together to form an automated ecosystem that runs efficiently while giving humans perfect control and oversight throughout the entire production process.

When this level of automation is realized, companies can truly begin to scale production while attaining unheard-of levels of ROI. To learn more about why end-to-end automation provides the best return on investment, consider the following benefits complementary automation systems can provide: