Event Date: September 23–24, 2026
Location: O’Hara Technologies Inc., Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
O’Hara Technologies is proud to host the Tablet Coating School alongside Colorcon®, bringing together formulation science and equipment engineering expertise to help pharmaceutical professionals solve real production challenges. This complimentary, two-day, in-person event is designed for anyone working with film-coated tablets — from process engineers troubleshooting defects to procurement managers evaluating their next coating platform.
Coating variability, inconsistent process control, and scale-up bottlenecks are some of the most common — and most costly — challenges in oral solid dosage manufacturing. The Tablet Coating School was built specifically to address them, combining technical classroom instruction with direct, hands-on equipment time so attendees leave with practical skills they can apply immediately back on their own production floor.
What You’ll Learn at the Tablet Coating School
Across two full days, attendees will explore both the science and the equipment side of modern tablet coating, including:
- Continuous Coating Technology – live demonstrations on O’Hara’s FCC 250, including its operational advantages over traditional batch processing.
- Batch Coating Systems – hands-on dispersion preparation, spray gun balancing, and spray pattern optimization.
- Coating Formulation Fundamentals – film coating theory, tablet design principles, and immediate release coating systems.
- Scale-Up & Troubleshooting – delayed release coating systems and resolving the most common coating defects.
- Regulatory & Cleaning Compliance – wash-in-place (WIP) design criteria under cGMP and 21 CFR Part 211.
Whether your background is in R&D, production, or quality assurance, the curriculum is structured so both newer team members and experienced operators get real value from the sessions.
Why Attend This Tablet Coating School
Continuous Coating Technology
Unlike traditional batch coating, where a fixed tablet load is processed start-to-finish in a single drum, continuous coating feeds tablets through the system in a steady, uninterrupted stream; allowing production to scale up or down without re-validating an entirely new batch size. At the Tablet Coating School, attendees will see this in action on O’Hara’s FCC platform, with a live run covering:
- How continuous processing changes the coating equation – tablets move through defined process zones (loading, coating, drying) simultaneously rather than sequentially, which shortens overall production time and reduces the variability that comes from batch-to-batch handling.
- Operational advantages over batch processing – a single continuous coater can replace multiple batch units, consolidating equipment footprint while improving throughput consistency — directly relevant for sites looking to scale without expanding floor space or headcount.
- Wash-in-place (WIP) integration – continuous systems are designed for in-place cleaning between runs, which the Day 2 lab sessions cover in detail, including cleaning cycle parameters and what regulators expect to see documented under cGMP and 21 CFR Part 211.
- Where continuous coating fits your roadmap – not every line needs to convert immediately; attendees will get a practical framework for evaluating when continuous coating makes sense for a given product, volume, and facility, versus where batch coating remains the better fit.
This isn’t a sales demonstration, it’s hands-on time with a working continuous coater, run by the same team that engineers and supports it, so attendees can ask the operational questions that matter most to their own facility. Further to this,
- Learn how O’Hara’s batch and continuous coating systems fit seamlessly into your existing production workflow.
- Connect directly with Colorcon and O’Hara subject matter experts to discuss scalable, efficient, and compliant coating solutions tailored to your operation.
- Get genuine hands-on lab experience, not just observation, with dispersion preparation, spray pattern optimization, and continuous coater operation.
- Walk away with troubleshooting frameworks you can use the same week you return to your facility.
- Build a direct relationship with the O’Hara and Colorcon technical teams for ongoing support.
Day 1: September 23: Foundations & Continuous Tablet Coating
Classroom Sessions: Introduction to film coating (why coat), tablet design, fundamentals of coating formulation, the continuous coating process, coating equipment and spray guns, mixing and dispersion preparation, coating process parameters, and immediate release coating systems.
Laboratory Sessions: A live continuous coater run on O’Hara’s FCC, hands-on operation and process observation, dispersion preparation, and spray gun techniques covering balancing and spray pattern optimization.
Day 2: September 24: Scale-Up, Troubleshooting & Compliance
Classroom Sessions: Scale-up strategy, delayed release coating systems, defect troubleshooting, a continuous coating demonstration highlighting its operational advantages over batch processing, and wash-in-place (WIP) procedures.
Laboratory Sessions: A hands-on overview of WIP design criteria, cleaning cycle parameters, and regulatory expectations under cGMP and 21 CFR Part 211.
Who Should Attend
This tablet coating school is built for pharmaceutical manufacturing professionals across roles, including:
- Production Directors and Production Managers
- Process Engineers and R&D Leads
- Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs professionals
- Procurement Managers evaluating coating equipment investments
- Formulation scientists working with film-coated tablets
Reserve Your Seat
This Tablet Coating School is completely free to attend, but seats are limited and registration is by application only. If solving coating variability, reducing rework, or scaling your operation with confidence is on your roadmap this year, this is a direct opportunity to work hands-on with the equipment and the experts who build it.
For questions, reach out to our team directly at info@oharatech.com.
