CONSTRAINT NETWORK APPROACH TO THE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF LABELS IN A HIGH-VARIETY LABEL-PRINTING ENVIRONMENT

This paper presents a constraint network approach to the design and ma nufacture of high-variety labels. The existing approach to label print ing in the industry is essentially a sequential approach. In this appr oach, layout sheet utilization is optimized based on label attributes only. Production then attempts to meet delivery date of the labels by first processing high-priority labels from the layout sheet, and other s later. This results in huge work-in-process inventory and high produ ction cost. In this paper, we propose a constraint network approach to the design and manufacture of labels on layout sheets. Mathematical m odels of the various manufacturing stages are considered in the design process. Thus the emerging optimal layout design minimizes the work-i n-process inventory and production cost, and maximizes production effi ciency. The algorithm is an application of artificial intelligence tec hniques in a system domain. An example application of the algorithm re sults in an efficient production schedule and greater product delivery performance.