Case Study: British American Tobacco achieves 100% barcode readability with Datalogic Matrix 400™

Ink-jet printed codes on carton? cameras from Datalogic read them all

British American Tobacco (BAT) Niemeyer, the tobacco factory in Groningen, needed a more reliable way to identify “Non Branded Master Cases” after replacing 150 pre-printed carton types with just 15–20 blank box sizes. The challenge was reading ink-jet printed 1D barcodes on brown carton surfaces where contrast was low, ink bleeding was common, and dusty conditions could affect print quality. Datalogic’s Matrix 400™ camera was selected as the best fit after testing showed laser scanners were not sufficient.

Datalogic implemented Matrix 400™ cameras at multiple scan points on the case packers and finished-product line, replacing about 25 scanners in total. The result was 100% reading performance, even with dirty print heads and low-contrast codes, plus clear Green Spot™ visual feedback for operators. BAT Niemeyer reported less downtime and a highly reliable production-line component thanks to Datalogic.

British American Tobacco