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GIVES 100% PRODUCTION YIELD:
Q. Why remove tablets and
capsules from blisterpacks?
A. On every blisterpacking line, a certain quantity
of the blisterpacks produced will be rejected during or after production
for the following reasons:
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Frequently, during blisterpacking, the product
filler jams momentarily leaving a pocket empty. The machine
detects this and rejects the blister after sealing |
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Poor print registration |
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Faulty batch number |
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Wrong expiry date |
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Wrong foil has been used |
The recovered product can immediately be returned
to the hopper and repackaged into a good blister.
Q. Other than improving production yield,
what are the other reasons for deblistering?
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Assist inventory management and marketing: It
is possible to take regular stock of one blister size, deblister
it, and immediately repack it into small sample blisters. This
gives Marketing much greater flexibility in accessing markets
quickly and can also help to reduce inventory to a minimum. |
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Waste Disposal Management: Separating the waste
packaging from the product will substantially reduce your waste
disposal costs. |
Q. What are the alternatives to deblistering?
- Disposing of the waste packs intact, losing
the value of the contained product and incurring maximum waste
disposal costs.
- Separating the packs and product and disposing
of them separately.
Q. Why not just improve the performance of your blisterpacking
line?
A. It does not make sense to spend time trying
to get a full 100% yield from an expensive blisterpacker which may
only be manufactured to an optimum specification of 95% yield. Taking
into consideration the time and costs involved in modifying the
machine to yield the last 5%, it is much simpler and more sensible
to incorporate a separate process using a PRESS-OUT deblistering
machine.
Also, no matter how efficient the blisterpacking
line, each time the machine is started up for a new batch, an initial
trial run is made with live product producing many rejects. The
higher the speed output of the blisterpacker, the more rejects will
be produced in the test run. Even well packaged blisters produced
in a test run cannot be marketed as they do not form part of the
validated production batch. These set-up rejects are unavoidable,
and as they create considerable amounts of rejects, deblistering
is still a very worthwhile procedure to deal with set-up rejects
alone.
PRODUCT FRIENDLY:
Q. How can you be sure that
deblistering does not damage or contaminate the recovered product?
A. In the Press-Out Standard special guides
ensure that the blisters pass between
2 rollers with channels which accurately match the size of
the tablets. The top roller applies pressure and gently eases the
tablet through the foil of the pocket without detaching it from
the packs. As the force applied by the rollers is the force
required to burst the foil the product is undamaged. The foil remains attached to the
pack, so the recovered product is free from aluminum pieces. In
the Press-Out Universal no force is applied to the product so the
risk of damage to fragile tablets is eliminated.
DEBLISTERING DIFFERENT TYPES OF BLISTERPACK:
Q. What if the tablets are different colors
or sizes?
A. SEPHA's PRESS-OUT machines deblister
the different products via separated channels and collect them
in separate collection bins.
Q. What if the rows are staggered?
A. Where the products are not in distinct rows
the PRESS-OUT UNIVERSAL can be used. The UNIVERSAL empties different
colored products through separate channels to prevent contamination.
Q. What if the blisters are curled?
A. The straighter the blisters, the less likelihood
of problems in the automatic feed system. However, if the samples
sent to us at the time of the order are badly curled then this is
taken into account during manufacture of the change parts and tested
thoroughly prior to dispatch. The Press-Out Universal
automatically eliminates the effects of the curl.
Q. Can the PRESS-OUT machine de-dust?
A. Where a product is dusty or hazardous we
can offer a totally integrated dust extraction system.
Q. What if the blisterpack is perforated?
A. Perforations weaken the inherent rigidity
of a blisterpack, but provided the pack is strong enough to be fed
through the automatic feed system there are generally no problems.
Q. What if the tablets are soft or friable?
A. In general, tablets which are strong enough
to be emptied by hand without damage are also emptied by PRESS-OUT
machines in perfect condition.
Q. Can PRESS-OUT machines
deblister capsules too?
A. The action of the PRESS-OUT Standard is so gentle
that capsules are not damaged unless they have been made brittle
through poor storage or overheated during blisterpacking.
The Press-Out Universal is ideal for capsules; it does not dent or
damage them as no force is applied directly to the capsule.
Q. Can PRESS-OUT machines deblister child-resistant
blisters?
A. Any pack which has to be specially manipulated
before being opened can be deblistered using the PRESS-OUT UNIVERSAL.
This machine uses a revolutionary, patented design to feed and transport the
blisters. It places a horse-shoe cut in the base of the pack ensuring
that the product is not damaged. The pack is then immediately emptied
automatically and the product is kept separate from the waste.
Q. What if blisters are longer or wider than
the average?
A. The PRESS-OUT STANDARD handles blisters up
to 115mm wide. A WIDE model handles blisters
up to 165mm wide. In principle we can adapt any of our machines
to suit customer requirements.
RECYCLE PACKAGING:
Q. Can you dispose of the waste foil with
regular paper trash?
A. Yes. In fact, many companies achieve vast
savings through this application alone. It is very expensive to
pay for incineration or disposal of active product and, of course,
if the filled blister is incinerated the company is paying high
rates for the incineration of large air spaces and packaging materials
unnecessarily.
INDUSTRIAL STANDARD:
Q. How long has SEPHA been
making PRESS-OUT machines?
A. PRESS-OUT was conceived by our industrial
pharmacist, Ernest Parker BSc, MPSNI, MRPharmS (President of SEPHA)
in the late 70s when deblistering was non-existent. Since then SEPHA
have developed and manufactured a complete range of PRESS-OUT machines
for use worldwide and are unrivalled in quality and versatility.
SEPHA has a full range of deblistering machines to cope with virtually
every type of blisterpack and all equipped with automatic feed.
SEPHA machines are in use in leading pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Many companies have tried to imitate our deblistering machines.
Be sure to use only a SEPHA PRESS-OUT with the lifetime guarantee.
IMPROVED OPERATOR MOTIVATION:
Q. Is it not cheaper for
staff to press out the blisters by hand?
A. Recovery by hand of 50,000 blisters costs
about $16,650 in labor costs alone. The job is painful for operators,
can lead to repetitive strain injury, is extremely de-motivating,
and is a wasteful use of human resources.
Where it is not possible to justify a fully
automatic machine we can offer the hand-operated PRESS-OUT MANUAL
machine. This is fully adjustable for any size of push-thru pack
up to 170mm without the need for change parts. With it, it is possible
to deblister at speeds of up to 30 blisters per minute.
Q. Can it run faster?
A. The PRESS-OUT STANDARD is a variable speed
machine and runs at up to 60 blisters per minute. The PRESS-OUT
UNIVERSAL is also a variable speed machine and runs at up to 50
blisters per minute. The most economical rate of operation for both
machines is 30 blisters per minute as higher operating rates usually
require extra workers to keep the magazine filled with blisters.
Q. Can it deblister alu/alu blisters?
A. For double aluminum foil blisters we use
a specially shaped guide plate to ensure the accurate guidance of
the blister through the rollers resulting in perfect separation.
Press-Out Universal is especially suited to alu/alu blisters as it
gives 100% clearance with zero carryover of product to waste.
Q. Can deblistering be used for Clinical
Trials?
A. Yes. The PRESS-OUT MANUAL hand-operated machine
has fully adjustable tooling, perfect for small batches of many
different types of blisterpacks, or we can provide adjustable change
parts for the automatic PRESS-OUT STANDARD. Both options give the
user complete flexibility in dealing with a range of blisterpacks.
Q. Can I singularize H.U.D.
packs?
A. The PRESS-OUT UNIVERSAL automatically cuts
accurate perforations in Hospital Unit Dose packs and dispenses
the cut pieces to a transport band for further processing.
GMP FRIENDLY:
Q. Can PRESS-OUT machines work on a bench
top?
A. Both the STANDARD and the MANUAL models can
be run on a bench top. A fully cGMP, stainless steel workstation
is available and recommended as it does not take up valuable bench
space. The workstation has an inbuilt drawer for collecting the
recovered product and a separate container within the cupboard for
the waste packaging. The workstation means the PRESS-OUT can be wheeled
from station to station or stored out of the work area.
The UNIVERSAL model is supplied with an integral
stainless steel workstation.
Q. Can contamination get into the product
drawer?
A. There is no possibility of contamination
getting into the collection drawer from the workstation surface
due to the funnel construction.
USER FRIENDLY:
Q. What is changeover time for different
batches?
A. All changeovers are carried out without the
use of handtools. The MANUAL can be set up in 1-2 minutes.
Changeover time for the STANDARD usually takes 3-5 minutes. The
UNIVERSAL takes a maximum of about 5 minutes, and the tooling is fitted with quick release mechanisms.
Q. What services do the PRESS-OUT machines
require?
A. The STANDARD machine requires only single
phase electricity at whatever voltage the customer normally uses.
The UNIVERSAL model requires additionally 90psi (6 Bar) air pressure.
Q. Does Sepha provide training?
A. We supply a detailed instruction manual with
the machine. We also supply optional on-site training which is accompanied
with an instructional video showing the customer's products running
on the machine and covering all the operations required for smooth
running. The video is valuable as it ensures that anyone can operate
the machine even after a change of personnel. Of course, any difficulties
which cannot immediately be remedied by the customer can be referred
to SEPHA and we will be happy to assist.
Q. The machine looks very simple. Does it
need a lot of servicing?
A. PRESS-OUT machines are designed to satisfy
GMP requirements and to reduce the input of maintenance staff. All
machinery components have been chosen for their reliability and
long life. For example, we use proxistors instead of micro-switches
and the motors are totally enclosed and non-ventilated. All components
are available worldwide.
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