Labeling Cans 149 



Importance of Inspection. — The above description of inspec- 

 tion refers to sweetened condensed milk. This work is neglected 

 in many factories, though it is very important. It may save 

 labels and boxes, as well as much unnecessary labor in unpacking 

 cases with leaky cans, and washing, relabeling and repacking 

 them in new, clean cases. 



In the case of evaporated milk (unsweetened, sterilized) all 

 cans coming from the incubating room should be individually 

 shaken by hand. All cans showing no signs of bulging, and the 

 contents of which shake with the characteristic sound and be- 

 havior of a liquid, pass inspection. If the ends of the cans are 

 bulging or the contents do not respond to the shaking with the 

 characteristic sound of normal milk, they are rejected, as the 

 evaporated milk in them has either undergone gaseous or curd- 

 ling fermentation, and is spoiled. 



LABELING 



Labeling Machines. — In the early days of the milk condens- 

 ing industry, the labeling of the cans was done by hand, involving 

 much time and considerable expense. Today, especially con- 

 structed labeling machines are almost exclusively used for this 

 purpose. The efficiency of these machines is such, that they 

 have become a permanent fixture in practically every condensery 

 selling canned goods. They are adjustable to various sizes of 

 cans and can be operated by hand, motor, or belt power. 



Principle of Labeling Machines. — The cans are placed into 

 a chute from which they roll into the machine by gravity. They 

 are caught by two endless belts which draw them through the 

 machine. They first pass over the paste box, which contains an 

 automatically revolving wheel covered with a thick layer of felt. 

 The felt is saturated with paste or glue from the paste box. Each 

 can comes in contact with the paste wheel and receives a touch 

 of paste. Then the cans pass over the label box containing a 

 stack of labels, face down. Each can picks up one label which 

 is automatically wrapped around the can as it runs through the 

 machine. The label box is equipped with an automatic feeder 

 which pushes the labels up as fast as they are being used. The 



