Labelling Blog

Axon, a division of Pro Mach and a leading manufacturer of fully automated, heat-shrink labeling, tamper evident banding, and stretch sleeving equipment, has developed patented technology that triples the average throughput of shrink-sleeve labeling of cans, boxes, and other odd-shaped packaging from an industry average of 100 units per minute to 300 per minute, depending on the system. "For a number of years, applicator manufacturers have been able to supply machines that shrink sleeve odd-shaped packaging at relatively low speeds," said Adam Duncan, engineering supervisor, Axon. "This new patented technology means that many more packaged goods will be able to incorporate the advantages of shrink sleeve labeling because of the breakthrough in increased speed and throughput." The new patented technology is available on Axon EZ-200SL and EZ-400SL full-body sleeving applicators. In addition to the new patented capability on select models, all EZ-Series applicators now...

The smartGPS Beta version amazed the flexo world at Drupa 2008, and in the months following the exhibition, it was tested both at customer sites under production conditions and at the FISCHER & KRECKE facilities with customer’s printing forms, adapters, and sleeves. In January 2009 it was released for production: FISCHER & KRECKE’s smartGPS (Graphic Positioning System) now represents a new milestone in flexo printing technology. smartGPS sets a fundamentally new standard when it comes to registration and impression setting to the point that it is even hard to find an appropriate technical term to describe the technology. What is commonly understood by impression setting does not accurately describe this new breakthrough, because smartGPS does not perform the set-up in the press. Both a traditional manual adjustment or an automatic optical based system perform the set-up process in the press. smartGPS does the job ‘offline’ at the plate mounting stage with almost no additional t...

RPC Verpackungen Kutenholz is producing PET bottles in different designs, colours and sizes for Schwarzkopf & Henkel Production Europe. Schwarzkopf & Henkel has relaunched its famous Gliss Kur brand and for this RPC Kutenholz has built three new toolings for PET bottles. The bottles, blow moulded in 250, 300 and 400 ml sizes, stand out because of their high transparency and brilliance. The bottles for the Gliss Kur range are filled in Germany and Russia and contain three different products: “Oil Nutritive” for longer hair at risk from split ends, “Nutri Protect” for dry and stressed hair, as well as “Total Repair 19 Weightless” for fine and strained hair. The new Gliss Kur range was introduced worldwide. “The new Gliss Kur PET bottles contribute strongly to the success of the products in the market,” comments Kevin Mignon, Packaging Engineer at SHPE in Düsseldorf.

KWH Plast released a new film called Cast-IML last year. Cast-IML is a solid PP-film with a smooth surface especially intended for the injection molded PP-products. The film is available in two versions – white Cast-IML-W and transparent Cast-IML-T. The scratch resistance is excellent and the material itself withstands water and humidity as well as mechanical abuse. Cast-IML has a smooth surface with a good printability and a good on press behaviour. The printed film also has a stable performance during the In Mold process. These are properties that are crucial for the success of a label film used for in mold labelling. In mold decoration means decoration of molded plastic parts during the molding process. Besides the capital investments in the molding equipment there are no extra costs for attachment of the label. There is no need for any additional labelling equipment or staff and it’s easy to change labels without interrupting the production. All surfaces of a container can be labe...

An innovation project has paved the way to BASF’s success in using a conventional stretch blow-molding machine to create the lightest half-liter polystyrene bottle ever: it weighs a mere 7.5 grams. This project gave BASF the opportunity to see how extremely lightweight bottles for dairy products can be made of polystyrene using stretch blow-molding methods. After all, less weight always translates into lower costs and less consumption of resources. Since polystyrene has a lower density than PET, it can be used to produce bottles that weigh less but have the same wall thickness. Owing to the special properties of this plastic, BASF recommends the new polystyrene type (PS BX 3580) specifically for containers used for milk products. This is an approach that will be consistently pursued together with customers. SOURCE

The company behind Volvic and Evian water has committed to buying recycled plastic in amounts equivalent to as many plastic water bottles it sells in the U.K. Danone Waters U.K. says it will purchase 5,000 tonnes of recycled plastic in the first year of its commitment, eventually moving up to 12,000 tonnes in 2011. By buying more recycled plastic instead of virgin PET, Danone estimates it will save £250,000 ($360,000) in its first year of the program and spend that money instead on other environmental initiatives. Danone will purchase the plastic from waste hauler Greenstar, which will be collecting bottles through U.K. and ship them to the Artenius TurkPET factory in Dijon, France where they will be processed and mixed with virgin PET to make Evian and Volvic bottles. Danone says the Greenstar trucks would be making the trips anyway, and will now be moving plastic for recycling instead of nothing. Evian and Volvic bottles currently contain 25 percent recycled content, and Danone wants...

From early 2007 through 2008, NatureWorks LLC, maker of Ingeo™ natural plastic resin, and the packaging and recycling industry made significant strides toward the adoption of bottles made from renewable resources rather than imported oil. “In late 2006, NatureWorks pledged to responsibly and transparently introduce Ingeo™ natural plastic water, dairy, juice, and other bottles into the market,” said Marc Verbruggen, NatureWorks president and CEO. “Our twin goals were to work with brand owners on carefully phased bottle introductions and on a parallel track to develop a deeper environmental and technical understanding of end-of-life scenarios for bottles made from renewable resources rather than oil. Both of these efforts saw significant advances throughout 2007 and 2008.” Key milestones during this 24-month period included a grant from the state of California for a bioresin recycling pilot project, the first national rollout of water bottles made from NatureWorks’ Ingeo™ natural plastic...

GERNEP - manufacturer of labelling machines located in Southern Germany - which is already well established in the beverage as well as in the food and non-food market, will present at “Anuga FoodTec 2009” recent technologies of rotary labelling systems for the food industry. GERNEP is well prepared for the increasing demand for self adhesive labelling. The labelling machine LABETTA SK is predestined to meet the requirements of all sectors of labelling industry. Appropriate servo drives located on the dispenser transfers the labels precise and above all smooth onto the container, even in container recess or increased label fields. It enables processing of innovative and exclusive label designs as well as no-label-look and water resistant plastic labels. Compared to wet glue labelling systems changeover times are obviously shorter, similar to the cleaning and maintenance work. For wet glue labelling GERNEP provides the labelling machine LABETTA. An important advantage of the wet glue...

Coca-Cola Bottling System has benefited from the expertise of Sidel’s worldwide network for the manufacture of approximately 2,000 blow molds for its new On-the-Go bottle. With the 2008 opening of two new Packaging and Tooling Centers (PTC) in Guadalajara (Mexico) and Beijing (China) in 2008, Sidel has enhanced its local service capability and its customer proximity for new packaging development and blow mold manufacture. SOURCE The launch by Coca-Cola’s of the new On-the-Go (OTG) bottle shape, replacing the traditional contour bottle for small formats (0.4 liter, 0.5 liter and 0,6 liter), started in late 2007 in China, before being extended to Europe in 2008 and now to North and South America. Sidel’s unique, worldwide network of six PTCs has enabled it to handle the major order from Coca-Cola Bottling System for nearly 2,000 OTG molds in one year. Worldwide Network Coca-Cola Bottling System was looking for a world-class partner that can manage complex projects thanks to its network ...

Hammer Packaging, a 400-man strong company based in the Rochester, NY area recently installed their second Variable Sleeve Offset Press (VSOP). The company uses leading-edge technology to produce high-quality printed labels and package decoration for the global beverage, food, horticulture and household products industries. Core products include cut & stack labels, in-mold labels, shrink sleeve labels, roll-on shrink-on labels, roll-fed labels and pressure sensitive labels. Jim Hammer, president of Hammer Packaging, proudly stands by his second Drent Goebel VSOP (Variable Sleeve Offset Printing) press that prints in nine colors offset. Itis the first installed VSOP press that gives the opportunity to cure with EB, (Hot Aircuring) UV, or a combination of both. The unique installed VSFP (Variable SleeveFlexo printing) unit provides both possibilities of either Hot Air or UV curing. The unit isa high speed flexo printing group, specially designed for integration in a VSOP offsetmachin...