DataLase reveals alternative pharma labelling technique
cost-effective replacement for print-and-apply labels for outer
case secondary pharma packaging.
According to the UK-based firm, there has been a strong demand from the market for an alternative to print-and-apply labels because they are at the end of their development cycle - no new innovations are really coming through - and they can also be inefficient production-wise due to the ribbons and cartridges required.
The new DataLase Casemark Tape offers "a number of unique benefits to the market," Steve Kelly, CEO of DataLase, told In-PharmaTechnologist.com.
"As the tape does not have any backing paper nor require any inks, ribbons or other costly consumables, the technique is much simpler, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than traditional print-and-apply labels."
"As a rough estimation, this new printing method could potentially offer total savings of up to 30 per cent compared to print-and-apply methods," he said.
In addition, DataLase said that the "apply-and-print" technique allows data to be "printed" on the tape after it has been applied to the case, unlike traditional thermal labelling techniques, which require labels to be pre-printed and then matched to the correct carton late in the production cycle.
Furthermore, the coated tape works by producing a colour change from white to black on exposure to a low power CO2 laser, also made by Datalase, which, unlike thermally printed labels, requires little maintenance and no replacing of print heads due to wear and tear, said the firm.
"The solution offers 99.9 per cent up time compared to around 97 per cent for some print-and-apply systems and this is a significant enough improvement to make a different in customers' printing production efficiencies," said Kelly.
Kelly also pointed out that the new tape includes added brand protection features, as the information printed by the laser is actually encased underneath the surface of the polypropylene tape material, as opposed to print-and-apply labels which contain the information on the surface, which could potentially be tampered with.
"It is virtually impossible to remove the image from the tape, even with chemicals or solvents," said Kelly.
"If the tape is removed from the carton after imaging has occurred, the image is automatically transferred to the box, leaving a permanent image as evidence."
The new product will be available worldwide as of the first quarter of 2007.
Meanwhile, Datalase has also signed its biggest non-exclusive licensing agreement to date with the world's number one print manufacturer, Sun Chemical.
Under the deal, the company will use Datalase technology to customise its inks to sell to its global customers for use with Datalase's Packmark primary labelling solution.
The ink will be applied to packaging substrates at either the printing or converting stages and once exposed to a CO2 laser, are used to write data such as date codes or bar codes onto pharma packaging materials.
