A biological sample testing laboratory needed to check blood samples for COVID-19 anti-bodies during the 2020 – 2021 pandemic.
To make this happen, huge quantities of blood samples had to be serologically tested and stored in tubes in freezers and then for up to 10 years in liquid nitrogen as a backup. With huge and growing numbers of infected people, the process had to be fast and efficient.
One of the challenges the laboratory needed to address quickly, was sample labeling. Their current label printer was failing them and absorbed too much time because it had to be calibrated manually.
Solution: Auto-calibration and software integration
Together with a specialized distributor, Brady proposed the BradyPrinter i3300 Industrial Label Printer together with B-492 labels. The printer recognizes the label material on insertion, immediately auto-calibrates, and is ready to deliver perfect prints, all within 20 seconds. This significantly reduced time spent by scientists on label printing, time much better spent on testing blood samples in the fight against the pandemic.
Additionally, respecting anti-viral social distancing measures, a call was set up to integrate the printer with the customer’s existing software systems. This resulted in automated label printing, within an existing process scientists were already familiar with.
On top of this, the B-492 ‘FreezerBondz’ label that could now be printed almost automatically, isn’t just any label. It perfectly fits tubes, it can resist common laboratory chemicals and the label stays legible and attached in liquid nitrogen storage temperatures at -196°C when printed with the BradyPrinter i3300.
Results: Fast, first-time-right label printing
Scientists in the biological sample testing laboratory can now quickly print and apply a reliable label on a tube blood sample. With printer auto-calibration, they no longer need to spend time on printer settings and re-printing labels.
