Coating is a crucial part of the tablet manufacturing process. In the past, pharmaceutical companies would gather various ingredients and mix them to create tablet coating solutions. Unfortunately, this traditional approach can be time-consuming and prone to mistakes.

To tackle these challenges, film coating tablet manufacturers developed innovative, ready-mix, pre-formulated coating. In this blog, we will explain these coating in depth and understand how this simple solution can reduce your tablet production costs. 

What Are Ready-Mix Film Coating for Tablets?

Ready-to-use premix coating materials are pre-formulated tablet coating solutions that contain a blend of required components: polymers, plasticisers, colourants, and other excipients. For the tablet manufacturing process, simply add water or solvent and begin coating.

So, How Do Ready-Mix Systems Help Cut Costs?

Ready-mix tablet coating systems were developed by film coating manufacturers to simplify formulation and reduce production steps. They’ve been a game changer for manufacturers, especially in high-volume generic production, helping them save a lot on operational costs.

• Reduced Preparation Time: Unlike traditional methods that require weighing and mixing multiple ingredients, these coating significantly reduce production time.
  
• Fewer Errors: When you’re manually weighing and mixing, there’s always a chance for human mistakes, such as using the wrong amount, not mixing well enough, or even contamination, which can ruin a batch. With ready-mix formulations, you can avoid these mistakes and eliminate coating defects such as peeling, cracking, or colour mismatch.
  
• Optimised Coating Performance: Ready-mix coating are consistent in composition. Hence, there is less batch variability, fewer batch rejections, less downtime, and reduced overall downtime. Moreover, the dispersion time is shorter.
  
• Lower Labour Cost: Tablet coating solution reduces the need for manual weighing or blending. One operator can prepare the coating solution quickly, cutting down manpower hours.
  
• Inventory Savings: Since there is one coating to manage instead of 5-6 raw materials, it simplifies sourcing, storage and quality checks. 

Moreover, these coating are already backed by documentation and certifications, which reduces the compliance burden and speeds up the audit process.

Isn’t Ready-Mix More Expensive Per Kilo?

Yes, the upfront cost of ready-mix systems is often higher. However, when you add up all the benefits, such as saved time, reduced labour, lower energy use, and fewer batch reductions, these coating are cost-effective. 

Film coating tablet manufacturers have invested in research to develop such tablet coating systems, making tablet production easier, more efficient, and cost-effective.

Conclusion:

Pharma plants looking to scale operations or improve efficiency should consider switching to ready-mix coating systems. The upfront cost may be higher, but you will surely see some significant savings over time. 

Novo Excipients, one of India’s leading manufacturers of tablet coating, is developing advanced excipient solutions to meet the evolving needs of the global pharmaceutical industry.

Explore how ready-mix tablet coating can simplify your production and make it cost-effective. 

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