Labelling Blog

Once again, an internationally renowned business bets on ALTECH to solve its labelling problems. We are talking about the Danish company Jacobsen, the producer of the famous tea biscuits that are shipped from Denmark to all the corners of the world. For the start-up of its new production plant, the company has asked ALTECH to study the application of three self-adhesive labels on their cylindrical containers in enamelled and embossed tin: a promotional label on top of the lid, a partially wrapping label with a picture on the body of the container and a bottom label of different formats bearing the ingredients and the bar code. The box range is incredibly wide, as the diameter ranges from min. 110 to max. 300 mm and the height from min. 40 mm. to max. 230 mm. For productive reasons, the customer has requested two labelling lines with an actual output rate of 75 boxes/min. each and the use of double labelling heads to avoid stopping a line to replace the label rolls (non-stop function)....

Pernod Ricard and Chivas Brothers recently unveiled Scapa, a 16-Year-Old single-malt whisky to replace the 14-year-old favorite. The design of the bottle is inspired by the beauty and colors of the landscape of Orkney Island. The smooth and sweet scotch is packaged in a 750 mL glass bottle featuring refined cut and stack labeling . SOURCE

PepsiCo's Aquafina, the nation's best selling brand of bottled water, is launching the, Eco-Fina Bottle, the lightest half-liter bottle of any nationally distributed bottled water brand in the market. The Eco-Fina Bottle is the latest evolution of Aquafina's ongoing efforts, which began in 2002, to develop the lightest and one of the most environmentally-frien dly bottles in the market. The Eco-Fina Bottle will be available in 24-packs and begins shipping to retail outlets nationwide this April. At a weight of just 10.9 grams, the Eco-Fina Bottle is made with 50 percent less plastic than the half-liter Aquafina bottles produced in 2002, eliminating an estimated 75 million pounds of plastic annually. In addition to light weighting the half-liter bottle, Aquafina is driving additional environmental benefits by producing the Eco-Fina Bottle right at Aquafina purification centers where filling occurs and by eliminating cardboard base pads from Eco-Fina Bottle 24-packs, which wi...

Flint Group Flexographic Products has expanded the equipment product range for processing flexo printing plates by adding the new nyloflex® Combi F II, now meeting the demand for all formats from 100 x 100 mm to 1320 x 2032 mm. nyloflex® Combi F II is an all-in-one plate making device that includes an exposure unit for back, main and post exposure, a batch washer, a dryer and light finisher. All plate making steps can be made with this one equipment, which subsequently saves space and cost significantly. Additionally the special design of the nyloflex® Combi F II allows efficient and user-friendly operation due to individually stored programs and automatic control functions. The device is equipped with four separately timed drying drawers and an efficient exhaust system. During washout the flexo plate is fixed by a self-adhesive plate and therefore it can be fully utilised reducing material waste in contrast to fixing by punches. As the nyloflex® Combi F II is suitable for all plate s...

In view of creating new categories of equipment where the performance evolves with the ability to ensure an ecologically sustainable development, OCME has conceived a new series of low consumption thermo-shrinking tunnels dedicated to Vega series shrink-wrap packers with speed from 30 to 60 cycles/minute. The idea behind the project is to adjust the tunnel temperature and the speed of the tunnel conveyor according to the real production of the line and minimize the heat loss. Improvements of the project: * Temperature detector of the mesh conveyor * Cooling fans with servo motors * Closing/opening doors at the infeed/outfeed of the tunnel * Thermal power adjustable in real time compared to the production capacity * Mesh conveyor speed adjustable in real time compared to the production capacity * Possibility of «retro-fit» For info contact: Giorgio Bertinelli Phone: +39-335-8109213 e-mail: g.bertinelli@ocme.it Skype: brtgrg_58

Plastic Suppliers announced today their latest innovation targeted at sustainability while dispelling the myth that Polylactic Acid (PLA)cannot be recycled. In conjunction with brand owner ConAgra Foods, recycled PLA (R*PLA) is now commercially available for tamper evident band applications under the brand name EarthFirst R*PLA. This plant based material, utilizing NatureWorks Ingeo™ polymer, already had the best environmental footprint of all products available to the shrink label film industry before this technology breakthrough. Some of EarthFirst R*PLA’s key benefits are: · Made from plants, an annually renewable resource. · Made from more than 50% post industrial content means more than half the material that would traditionally be sent to landfill is now being diverted into value added end product. · It produces less greenhouse gases based on NatureWorks’ Ingeo eco profile data. · The initial launch of this product will reduce carbon dioxide equivalents of approximately 592,000 p...

CCL Industries Inc. a producer of label solutions for the consumer packaging and healthcare markets, announced today that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire the shares of Ferroprint Western Cape (Pty) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferroprint (Pty) Ltd., based in Durban, South Africa. Ferroprint Western Cape (Pty) Ltd. will immediately change its trading name to "CCL Label" while its former parent company will continue to trade as "Ferroprint." The acquired business has a focused factory near Cape Town in the wine growing region of Stellenbosch, South Africa. For the last 12 months estimated revenues were $3.3 million. The debtcash free purchase price will be $2.7 million representing the approximate value of tangible assets of the acquired company. Final closing is expected to be completed before the end of March. Geoffrey Martin, President and CEO of CCL Industries commented, "South Africa is a strategic market for our global beverage business w...

The Seal-It Division of Printpack is printing and converting Earthfirst® PLA shrink film labels for Body Glove Water Filtration Systems, manufactured by 3M and distributed by Water, Inc. The label is part of Water Inc’s commitment to producing sustainable packaging. The Body Glove water filters are the latest addition to the ECO products for eco-friendly consumers. The package was designed to build the product line with as many environmental considerations as possible. The cartridges, tapered in design, makes a paper label difficult to fully wrap around the recyclable filter housing, therefore, the printed full sleeve shrink label was the ideal label since it conforms to the shape of each cartridge. The four labels for four different sized cartridges was printed by Seal-It, a Division of Printpack are rotogravure printed in 7-9 colors on PLA film. Each label covers the entire filter from top to bottom and has a 360-degree image area with room for a complex graphic design that sets it a...

Getting ready for CLP-Regulation based on the GHS The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers adopted the new Regulation on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures ("CLP") which aligns existing EU legislation to the United Nations Globally Harmonised System (GHS) on December 2008. This new Regulation contributes to the GHS aim that the same hazards will be described and labelled in the same way all around the world. Using internationally agreed classification criteria and labelling elements, will facilitate trade and contribute towards global efforts to protect humans and the environment from hazardous effects of chemicals. The new act will complement the REACH Regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals. The Conference The conference aims to inform authorities, industry and other stakeholders about the new provisions for classification, labelling and packaging in the EU, placing them in the global...

ConAgra Foods announced today that it is the first company to utilize a new shrink film that contains more than 50 percent post-industrial recycled material, reducing landfill waste, greenhouse gases, and energy consumption. The new technology is a recycled Polylactic Acid (PLA). The new shrink film will be used for tamper evident seals on ConAgra Foods’ table spreads – Fleischmann’s®, Blue Bonnet® and Parkay® - and for printed shrink labels for multi-packs of the company’s Reddi-Wip® whipped topping and PAM® cooking spray. The new material has several advantages over traditional shrink films: * It is manufactured using corn, a renewable resource. Traditional shrink films are petroleum-based. * It contains more than 50 percent post-industrial recycled content, meaning that more than half the material that would traditionally be sent to landfills is now being diverted into a value-added end product. * It produces less greenhouse gases than traditional shrink films; this me...

November may be the month to celebrate the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau wines, but March has Constar International Inc. (OTC: CNSTQ.PK) celebrating the fruity vintage. That's because the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) has recognized a PET bottle with the company's MonOxbar™ barrier technology as a top Beverage Package of 2008 with an Ameristar Award. The winning bottle was produced for Boisset Family Estates' 2008 Beaujolais Nouveau wines, which are bottled in France and air-freighted to wine enthusiasts around the world, including those in the United States. Constar's MonOxbar barrier technology allows the sensitive wine to be packaged in lightweight PET plastic rather than glass, saving fuel, cutting freight costs and reducing the carbon footprint, while protecting the subtle nuances in flavor, aroma, and color for which Beaujolais Nouveau is known. The Boisset Family Estates' Beaujolais Nouveau was one of five beverage packages to win an Ame...

Planet Green Bottle Vancouver, Canada, and its strategic partner Wells Plastics from UK, have introduce an additive that converts PET bottles in a oxobiodegradable material This additive, which allows the biodegradation of PET packaging in 10 to 15 years, was introduced in Nova Pack Symposium held in Fort Lauderdale on February 13 and 12. Andrew Barclay, Director of Wells Research was the only scientist who presented an oxo-biodegradable solution as an alternative for 76% of PET bottles are not recycled in the year. These bottles of biodegradable pet are scheduled to degradate its molecules after a reasonable time to ensure that the product contains remains safe. SOURCE Translated from the original Source

Virgil’s now offers their popular flavors in diet varieties. Diet Black Cherry Cream, Diet Cream Soda, Diet Real Cola and Diet Root Beer are the newest additions to their line. They are sweetened with natural stevia and xylitol. The diet drinks can be found in 12 oz. glass bottles with nostalgic cut and stack labeling . SOURCE

An innovative dry-decontamination system sterilizes the PET preform instead of the bottles and without using water Used in a combi-machine -a single piece of equipment for blow molding, filling and cpping- Predis guarantees total food safety and helps enhance the quality and the shelf life of the product. SOURCE

A 'need to improve productivity and reduce waste' were given as the prime reasons for one of France's leading label converters, Berson SA, investing in Martin Automatic equipment for two of its latest Gallus production lines. The Martin machines, two MBSF (F for filmic capability) automatic non-stop unwinds, and an automatic non-stop LRD rewind have been fitted to a Gallus EM 410 and Gallus RCS 330 presses at the company’s modern plant at Cebazat in the central Auvergne region of France. The decision to automate two of Berson’s label lines was made partly from first hand experience of what an automatic unwind could offer in the way of greater efficiency, and also because of the close working relationship between Gil Ferrari, Technical Manager for the Autajon Groupe (Berson’s parent company), and the Gallus sales representative for France. With 10 Gallus label presses installed at Berson a degree of standardisation in the ancillary equipment fitted is desirable, so not only ...

Fakuma was an absolute hit once again last year. Up to 40,000 people visited 1,448 stands. Five of our partner companies were exhibiting the capabilities of In Mould Labeling. Wittmann-Battenfeld opted for a 300ml pot with IML all round and a rectangular tub with a 5-sided IML label. Ilsemann and Netstal attracted a great deal of attention with respectively a single portion ice cream tub and a beverage cup. Polymac-Yushin and Netstal jointly exhibited the capabilities of barrier IML. All good reasons to look out eagerly for the next edition of Fakuma in October 2009! SOURCE

The latest innovation from Schober USA, the RFID-TI COMBI, is designed to insert/apply wet and dry RIFD inlays in registration at high speed onto a continuously driven release liner. A dual reader verifies the transponder or finished RFID labels to ensure total production monitoring with a zero scrap rate. Designed specifically for the production of Smart Labels, the RFID-TI COMBI is ideal for automatic product tracking, inventory management, logistic control, and other industrial and commercial applications. Each unit is equipped with a special mode for anti-theft tags and labels (EAS). This new technology inserts UHF and HF inlays under die-cut blank or pre-printed labels and validates the finished product. Control and monitoring is accomplished through the new pendant station which houses an industrial PC. Additional features, which make this a cost-effective RFID solution, include a new tag dispenser with web tension relief, strategically placed start/stop buttons, greater in...

Engineered and built in Germany, RotoControl globally provides modular high-speed machines for inspection, cutting and rewinding label applications. Marco Aengenvoort, Managing Director, today announced the launch of RotoControl GmbH providing high-speed inspection, cutting and rewinding finishing machines for the label industry. RotoControl offers sophisticated Servo Drive Technology (S-Drive) machines assuring 100% stable control of the entire web with multiple options in the RSI line as well as smaller basic RSC models, all enabling maximum web control for the most delicate film and foil materials. RotoControl provides customers complete systems that offer consistent performance, low maintenance, lower tension/higher speeds, easy job set up and operation, and online phone support from expert technicians. "More productivity. More quality. “Marco Aengenvoort states it simply. “Our machines are a result of integrated development meeting the needs of our customers looking for ...

Packaging innovator Chadwicks has launched an eco-friendly, recyclable shrink sleeve specially designed for pots. Assuming the role of both label and cardboard sleeve, the new product has the potential to reduce packaging weight by up to 70%, costs by 30% and CO2 emissions due to reduced transport weight. Chadwicks’ Innovation Team will be driving unique projects to create tailor made, innovative packaging solutions based on individual customer briefs and initiatives. With the majority of food manufacturers that are using cups still employing conventional cardboard sleeves, labelling or direct printing, this alternative packaging application will bring the UK in line with the rest of Europe, where the technique is widespread. Particularly practical for multipack or duo products, the pots are stacked lid-to-lid and the shrink sleeve is applied to the product using a hot melt adhesive. Individual pots can then be separated via a specially designed horizontal perforation where the ...

The large German discount supermarket chain ALDI SÜD is now offering its German customers shopping bags made of BASF’s biodegradable plastic Ecovio®. These bags are manufactured for ALDI by the VICTOR Güthoff & Partner Group , head­quartered in Kerpen, Germany. The plastic Ecovio consists of Ecoflex® and of polylactic acid (PLA), which is obtained from corn, a renewable raw material. Chemically speaking, Ecoflex is a petro­chemical-based polyester. And yet, thanks to its special molecular structure, it can be digested by microbes under precisely defined conditions: it is completely biodegradable according to European standard EN 13432. Whereas Ecoflex makes the bag flexible, tear-resistant, waterproof and suitable for printing – giving it the properties of a classic plastic – the stiff PLA contributes the renewable raw material. The combination of Ecovio and Ecoflex allows film manufacturers such as VICTOR to produce plastic bags and other film products with tailor-made properties ...

Dubai based Taghleef Industries (Ti), one of the leading film manufacturers worldwide, and Brückner have set yet another remarkable milestone within the BOPP film industry: In Sohar, Oman, Ti`s latest high-performance 8.7 m wide BOPP line is running at a constant speed of 505 m/min with a film thickness of 20 µm. n times when other film producers are reluctant to invest in innovative production facilities, Ti is clearly demonstrating their strong commitment to continuous technological progress, producing finest film quality on state-of-the-art equipment. The Oman line is one of the most powerful of its kind with an approximate output of five tons per hour. The tremendous success of the ambitious project again proves Brückner`s sovereign expertise, not only in terms of film stretching technology but also regarding turnkey experience. Brückner supplied the entire package for the new BOPP production facility: plant layout, utilities, resin storage facilities, peripheral equipment, finis...

Makedoniki , leading Greek producer of jams and fruit preserves, has selected a barrier container from RPC Bebo Nederland to enable the company to gain a competitive advantage by becoming the first in Greece to launch a preservative-free jam in plastics packaging. Founded in 1970, Makedoniki offers a variety of branded, private label and foodservice solutions for the Greek food market and also exports to seven countries worldwide. The company has recently launched a 55% fruit jam in four flavours – strawberry, cherry, peach and apricot – and needed a durable container suitable for export that could be hot filled to preserve the products. Preferring the safety, lightweighting and cost-efficiency of plastics over glass, Makedoniki turned to RPC Bebo Nederland for its expertise in multi-layer PP/EVOH/PP barrier construction, which provides a long ambient shelf-life. Additional benefits are provided by a convenient recloseable lid and the choice of a large 410ml container size, which en...

The General Line Packaging Group, a division of O.BERK has introduced the new 240ml Flute Round Bottle with a 24/410 finish in PET. This bottle has a round base and stands approximately 7 inches. he major advantages of this package over glass include no breakage and lighter weight, while still keeping its major benefit of clarity. These bottles are for cold-filled beverages, sauces, oils, food additives, and other liquid products where store shelf presence is important. The Flute Round bottle offers the freedom to select custom colors, labeling, and silk-screen printing. SOURCE :