Pharmaceutical packaging decoration sits at the intersection of FDA-regulated production discipline, multi-SKU SKU mix, and the compliance overhead that no other packaging segment carries. EPS engineers cells that handle the variable-data UDI and serialization the regulatory environment demands, with 100% inline inspection feeding into the customer's filling line and validated ink chemistry that survives the sterilization process.
Pharmaceutical packaging spans three distinct regulatory tiers. Primary packaging — the container in direct contact with the drug — includes vials, bottles, pre-filled syringes, blister pack foils, and inhaler housings. The decoration chemistry for primary packaging requires Class VI ink validation; the inspection profile demands 100% verification feeding into the filling line. Secondary packaging — the carton, label, leaflet — carries the brand, dosing, and regulatory information that the patient sees. Tertiary packaging handles distribution: case codes, lot tracking, country-of-origin marking, anti-counterfeit serialization.
EPS engineers decoration cells across all three tiers. For pharmaceutical closures, the ClosurePrint System (XD-108 single-pass with hopper feed, flame pretreatment, inline inspection, post-print blow-off) is the platform — see the Caps & Closures application page for that deep dive. For pharmaceutical bottles and vials, BottleJet cylindrical inkjet handles direct decoration with full 360° wrap. For multi-SKU short-run pharma packaging, multi-pass UV inkjet absorbs the changeover that hard-tooled processes can’t.
Different containers, different regulatory profiles, same EPS engineering discipline.
Child-resistant closures supplying pharmacy chains, hospitals, and pharmaceutical fillers. ClosurePrint System handles the high-volume multi-SKU pharma closure program with 100% inline inspection and post-print blow-off. See the dedicated Caps & Closures application page for the full deep dive.
See Caps & Closures → →Direct cylindrical inkjet decoration on glass and PET pharmaceutical bottles and vials. BottleJet handles round containers with full 360° wrap, plasma pretreatment, and variable data for lot codes and UDI.
Scale markings, dosage indicators, brand identification, and anti-counterfeit serialization on glass and plastic pre-filled syringes. Pad printing for glass; multi-pass UV inkjet for plastic with vision verification at line rate.
See the Syringes & Vials application → →Lidding foil decoration with brand graphics, lot codes, and expiration dating. Wide-format flatbed printers handle short-run pharma blister packs with full variable data per blister.
Pen injectors, auto-injectors, inhalers, and drug delivery device housings. Multi-pass UV inkjet for variable data and short-run pharmaceutical device decoration with validated ink chemistry.
Secondary and tertiary pharma packaging — cartons, labels, case codes, country-of-origin marking, anti-counterfeit serialization. Single-pass and multi-pass options selectable by SKU profile.
EPS has deployed pharmaceutical packaging decoration cells for a leading global manufacturer of child-resistant closures supplying pharmacy chain, hospital, and pharmaceutical-filler channels. The ClosurePrint System — built on the XD-108 single-pass print engine — integrates bulk feed, waterfall orientation, flame pretreatment, single-pass print + LED-UV cure, 100% inline inspection, and post-print blow-off into one continuous footprint. The decoration cell hands off into the customer's pharmaceutical filling line with no intermediate conditioning step. See the ClosurePrint case study for the full process walkthrough.
Real customer cells — full process walkthroughs.
Six line functions in one footprint. Bulk-in to inspected-and-cleaned-out — XD-108 single-pass + flame pretreat + LED-UV cure + 100% inspection. Displaces direct offset on multi-SKU pharma closure programs.
XRV rotary pad-print line decorates syringe barrels with 360° graduations at clean-room-compatible production speed. Bulk-in to decorated-out — operator handling removed as the bottleneck.
Pick the cell that matches your container geometry, SKU mix, and regulatory profile.
The pharmaceutical closure platform. Hopper feed, waterfall singulation, flame pretreatment, single-pass print + LED-UV cure, 100% inline inspection, post-print blow-off — all in one continuous footprint. For multi-SKU pharma closure programs.
Explore single-pass →
Direct cylindrical inkjet for pharmaceutical bottles, vials, and round containers. Full 360° wrap, plasma pretreatment, variable data for lot codes and UDI. Glass and PET substrates.
Explore single-pass →
Production-grade multi-pass UV inkjet for pharma device housings, blister pack lidding, and short-run variable-data decoration. SKU flexibility without per-SKU tooling for the drug delivery device segment.
Explore Multi-Pass →What EPS sells to a pharma packaging customer that equipment-only vendors don't.
EPS sells qualified cells, not just equipment. ISO 10993 biocompatibility testing + IQ/OQ/PQ documentation included. Class VI ink chemistry validated for the substrate AND the sterilization process. Competitors sell equipment; EPS hands the customer a validation package their quality system can adopt.
Variable-data printing for serialization, lot codes, UDI compliance, and anti-counterfeit marks at production line rates. Eliminates the secondary labeling step that adds cost and a failure point in pharma packaging.
Every decorated part verified before it leaves the cell. Failed parts diverted before they reach the filling line. Sample-based QA is not viable in a 24/7 FDA-regulated production environment.
Pretreatment, print, cure, and conditioning stages engineered to ship directly into the customer's cleanroom environment. Post-print blow-off conditions parts for downstream pharmaceutical filling without an intermediate clean step.
EPS has shipped 3,500+ pad systems and 100+ single-pass DTO systems across pharmaceutical, medical device, and packaging applications. The installed-base learning that doesn't transfer to new vendors goes into every new pharma cell.
Tell us about your container family, substrate, SKU mix, regulatory profile, and sterilization process. We'll show you which cell architecture fits and what the validation path looks like.