Re: Labels - How do you control the number of product labels printed, scrapped and us
We print the exact number of labels needed, plus one. The extra one goes on the back of the first page of the production work order package, with the production supervisor signoff that the label content has been checked.
We've determined over time that the infrequent cost to us of having to go back and print one or more additional labels to make up for spoilage, is much less than the constant cost we used to have for controlling (and assuring documented destruction of) overprint quantities.
We make some serialized products (durable equipment of various types), and many non-serialized but batch-coded products (disposables and short-life products). Serialized products are much more complicated for us, because we determine serial numbers in advance...thus each unit in product has a serial number well in advance of when it's married up to its labeling. In any case, serialization on labels is never our only, or primary, means of controlling label print quantities.