The cannabis sector is growing, and pre-rolls have taken center stage in consumer demand. As businesses try to scale to meet this increasing demand, it becomes difficult to capture the artisanal quality associated with premium pre-rolls. RollPros, an innovator of cannabis processing equipment, has a solution in the form of their joint roller, aptly named the Blackbird. The machine is said to integrate the consistency and efficiency of automation with the human experience found in the art of hand-rolling joints, enabling businesses to provide a consistent and high-quality product at volume. This article looks at how a joint roller like the Blackbird is able to provide that artisanal texture while serving an increasingly expanding market.
Production of Quality with a Joint Roller
Hand-rolled joints have long been widely accepted as an artisanal product and perceived to include a human experience that signifies care and quality. The largest drawback of hand-rolled joints is that they simply cannot scale effectively within the constraints of the current cannabis marketplace. The Blackbird joint roller addresses this challenge. Rather than using traditional cone-filling machines that simply use a machine to pack ground flower into a pre-made cone, the Blackbird rolling machine uses patented technology called TruRoll™ to roll a joint from a raw paper bobbin, replicating the human act of rolling the joint by gently and precisely delivering the raw paper to the end result with human-like motion.
This technique safeguards the authenticity of the cannabis flower. This protects the plant’s desirable components, such as cannabinoids and terpenes. By mitigating the vibration or excessive drying often involved with cone-filling methods, the Blackbird provides a consistent and smoother smoking experience. For businesses, this method helps produce a pre-roll that feels ‘hand-crafted’ versus rolling over 750 joints an hour, or a total of 5,000 joints in an eight-hour shift.
The Balance between Scale and Artisanship
The cannabis industry is expected to continue expanding at an accelerated rate, mainly due to pre-rolls, which are recognized as the fastest-growing segment in cannabis due to their convenience and high consumer preferences. Scaling production of cannabis products frequently comes at the expense of quality; part of the problem is that manual processes can be next to impossible to scale without a consistent labor force, and manual processes have an inherent level of unpredictability. While many automated solutions exist in the market, most of the solutions that achieve a high speed or precision come at the cost of that nuanced touch that consumers prefer. The Blackbird joint roller provides operators with modularity to grow with their demand while providing a first-rate product experience for customers.
The system allows craft cultivators to publicize their premium genetics while handling a variety of grind consistencies and wet flower. For example, a small dispensary can make pre-rolls at a boutique level based on niche orders, while larger companies can create a high yield, all while recreating a hand-rolled look. This level of versatility enables businesses and companies to compete in the competitive marketplace to maintain the artisanal identity of the brand.
Better Customization for Your Brand Identity
With increased competition in this industry, brand differentiation is important. The Blackbird joint roller accommodates this because every aspect of a pre-roll can be customized, from the paper to the filter tips. Unlike systems that only use pre-formed cones, this machine uses raw paper bobbins, which allows brands to choose anything from natural to rice or organic hemp paper and even different colors. Businesses can also order bobbins with a custom print that reflects their logo or aesthetic to create brand loyalty.
Customization extends to crutch tips that can be branded to produce a mixed look. For example, as example, a craft grower may prefer some organic hemp paper and custom S-shaped crutch tips to produce a signature pre-roll that emphasizes the Artisan style. The customization/application method improves the user experience, and the concept produces an artisan-like feeling that each joint is made with care and not a commodity.
Advantages of Using a Joint Roller
The Blackbird joint roller increases the multiplicity of benefits for businesses to maintain the feeling of artisan-ness with the pace and demands of the market.
Artisan-ess
TruRoll™ logging the marijuana simulates the quality of the hand-rolled joint and increases the premium smoking experience.
High Output
The roller will reliably make 750 pretwisted joints per hour without needing labor. This makes it easier to respond to product demand in business while maintaining style and efficiency.
Cost-Effective
The Blackbird joint roller is productive in their own way. It uses raw paper bobbins instead of pre-cut crutch tips, and marketing costs will be less than 80% per run.
Branding
It is also not only a user experience improvement for the customers, but both customizable options and the branded S-wrap offer a different pre-roll option that no other marketed brands mimic.
Sustainability
Together with the joint tube, they both minimize the waste of material or energy.
These are compelling advantages of the Blackbird that present the bizarre challenge of fusing the artisan with modern efficiency as a method of cost-effective practice for homes, which can be demanding on a model of efficiency.
Cutting Labor While Improving Quality
The manual process of rolling joints requires a skilled labor force that can be expensive and time-consuming. Four to six workers can produce 1,500 to 2,200 pre-rolls in an 8-hour shift, often producing inconsistent quality. In comparison, the Blackbird is operated by a single person and can consistently create up to 5,000 quality pre-rolls in the same shift. This efficiency allows personnel to work on other things, such as quality assurance or other customer services, while maintaining a high-quality standard for each joint.
The design of the machine makes it easy to use, and the barrier to entry is low, meaning you do not need to be a highly technical operator to operate the machine; you need a basic problem-solving ability, such as tinkering with a car. This makes it a desirable solution for small businesses and craft growers who want to maintain their craft without employing a large, specific workforce.
Supporting Sustainability in Craft Production
Consumers are continually evaluating sustainability in their purchasing decisions, considering businesses that are aligned with sustainable priorities to gain a competitive advantage. The Blackbird joint roller supports sustainability by utilizing raw paper bobbins, which allow systems to produce 45,000 cones per roll, as opposed to the traditional pre-formed cone packaging that adds more storage and shipping costs and creates unnecessary waste. Overall, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is minimized by the waste materials during natural production.
Furthermore, the unit operates with an energy-efficient process using less energy than traditional methods, reducing the overall footprint of the machine. It enables craft producers to provide artisanal pre-rolls which appear attractive to environment-conscious consumers while lowering the operational costs. The net result is a win-win of a quality product that appeals to quality and social responsibility.
Meeting Consumer Expectations in a Competitive Landscape
Cannabis consumers today are keenly aware of their needs and are looking for pre-rolls with a regular, enjoyable experience. Consumers can quickly become frustrated with poorly filled or unevenly burning joints (cases often found when using cone-filling machines), leading to poor experiences, dissatisfaction, and even potential damage to a brand. The Blackbird’s unique portability and radial compaction mechanism provide even density along the length of the pre-roll, allowing for a consistent burn as compared to the care of hand-rolled joints. The customer experience is consistent, establishing trust for continued sales and student loyalty.
Herbal Dispatch is an example of a company that has migrated to the Blackbird, producing strains such as Tranquil Elephantizer and Platinum Kush Breath, along with empirical benefits from its consumers for quality and trust. Meeting consumer expectations while scaling production is important in an industry that is relying on pre-rolls to grow.
Future-Proofing Artisanal Production
As the cannabis industry moves forward, businesses also need to adapt to new regulations, consumer habits, and technology. The Blackbird joint roller has been designed with this future in mind, with its modular components that can be upgraded as needs change. It can integrate with smart factory systems, which can combine with other automated equipment to form a continuous production line.
This way of thinking to build a joint roller will ensure that craft producers can be competitive while keeping their artisanal identity. Whether it be simply different types of paper or adding new infusions, the Blackbird allows producers to be creative while providing the artisanal appearance associated with a premium pre-roll.
Why the Blackbird Is the Future of Craft Pre-Rolls
RollPros’ Blackbird joint roller elevates what is possible in pre-roll production by combining the artisan experience of a hand-rolled hemp joint with the efficiencies of automated production. Its ability to maximize flower quality while allowing for customization, and most importantly, drastically reducing costs, makes it a valuable asset for any size business. The Blackbird allows both small-craft growers and larger businesses to produce marketable pre-rolls that stand out above the competition.
Through this technology, organizations can retain the artisan quality customers expect and address the challenges of a growing segment. The Blackbird is not only a machine but also a partner in producing high-quality pre-rolls at scale that satisfy customers and elevate brands.
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