Packaging

Everything a question of labelling

Wednesday 20. April 2011 - Multifunctional labels at the Interpack 2011 (hall 14, booth C 14)

Labels in the 21st century are multifunctional, are a decoration, packaging component and provider of information all in one. They provide a product with personality and recognition value, while fulfilling tasks of a huge range of people: They contribute to the battle against theft and product piracy, optimise entire logistics processes by radio with integrated RFID chips and strengthen consumer safety with printed time-temperature indicators (TTI) for temperature-controlled foods. Technical complexity and decoration are always connected with one another. Reason enough to take a closer look at the often underestimated service providers below.
Securing wine and spirits with radio tags: An alternative to capsule protection and displaying in glass cabinets
According to a study by the EHI Retail Institut, high-quality wines and spirits are among the most frequently stolen products in the retail food industry. To help sellers in the battle against their rising inventory difference, Bizerba has developed an electronic radio tag for securing bottles. An RF transponder (radio frequency) is attached inconspicuously beneath the decorative label. If a customer leaves the shop without having the transponder deactivated at the till, then an alarm signal is triggered.
“Many sellers have started to lock their high-priced drinks in display cabinets or protect them using an electronic capsule on the bottle necks. However, the latter solution in particular not only causes more work, but also considerably affects the marketing appearance of the product,” says Marc Büttgenbach, Sales Director Labels and Consumables at Bizerba. Accordingly, the demand for thief-proof labels with RF technology is increasing among manufacturers of high-quality spirits.
The procedure can be used for all labels that are larger than the RF module. During the production process, the RF module is fitted under the label. The customer can apply the label with his or her facilities as usual and does not need to adapt the production process or train personnel. In comparison with classic wet glue labels, the RF labels are also more adhesive and do not produce any unhygienic lubricating film.
There is a risk of order losses: Suppliers must secure products
“Many of our customers are suppliers and have repeatedly reported that they are threatened with order losses if their products are not designed to be thief-proof. Because if an end consumer steals the product, the seller of the spirits is left sitting on the damage and holds the suppliers accountable,” says Büttgenbach. The first customers are already in the test phase for this new system solution.
RFID-able official seal labels protect against brand and product piracy
Brand and product piracy is a serious threat for companies, as the following figures show: In 2010, the German customs authorities stopped 2.4 million counterfeit products to the value of almost €100 million on the borders. It is not only clothes which are imitated. Food and medication also are. Product piracy has become an issue which affects the whole population.
“More and more frequently, it happens that distributors illegally repack goods or put products of lower quality in alleged original boxes. So that manufacturers can protect their own brand from such illegal activities, Bizerba has developed a forgery-proof original seal, the TE label,” explains Büttgenbach. The abbreviation TE stands for temper evident, for seal labels, which cannot be removed from their base without it being noticed.
“The synthetic paper is made of several extremely thin layers. The resulting band frays when it is removed, as a particularly strong adhesive is used in our own laminate production processes.” The users of TE labels include international manufacturers of high-quality food, from Argentinean steak to high-quality confectionary. However, products such as CDs, perfumes and technical equipment can also be effectively secured.
RFID radio technology also supports the protection procedure. Electronic chips beneath the label, so-called transponders, save the exact product code. “Before the seller accepts the product, he can check this code in the database and check whether the manufacturer has actually produced the product or whether it is a plagiarism.”
Documents interrupted cold chains: The TTI system label
The TTI system label makes it possible to reliably check the cold chain from production, to the refrigerator of the end consumer. It is activated during labelling with UV lighting and appears in a dark blue at the beginning. On its journey towards the end consumer, the label reacts to temperature deviations by changing colour. The longer the product has been stored somewhere too warm, the more quickly the colour turns into white. And this signalises to the distributor and end consumer that the product is already inedible – even if the best before date has not yet expired.
“The participants of the transport chain, for example the shipping company, can now no longer sweep it under the table when fresh products have inadvertently been stood in the glaring sun for half an hour with an open HGV door. The label documents such malpractice, so that the seller can reject the delivered products if needed,” explains Büttgenbach. A UV filter prevents manipulation by repeat recharging.
For producers, TTI labels are a cost-effective quality-assurance tool, particularly to protect highly-sensitive products like mince, for which even slight deviations in the target temperature can lead to considerably damage. And, in addition, the consumer gets a system, which consistently enhances the best before date and also shows any vulnerabilities in their own product handling, for example storage in a fridge that is too warm.
Consolidates all information, while stabilising the packaging: The C-Wrap label
Traditionally, packaging is labelled with price, information and decorative labels on the top, bottom and side. An alternative procedure, the so-called C-Wrap label, makes it possible to show all the content on just one label, which surrounds the product, for example a ready meal or salad, on three sides, thus forming a “C”. As a full-wrap, it can also surround all four sides. “Using software to design the labels, the manufacturer himself can decide what content to put in what positions. In the shop, the customer can then read the most important data, for example the price or any possible allergens contained, on the side of the product packaging without having to take the package from the shelf.”
To satisfy the growing market demand, Bizerba has developed an application procedure, which makes it possible to use C-Wrap labels with the fully automated labeller of the GLM-I series, thus making it possible to use them industrially.