Updates on the added-value sector of functional printing for labels and packaging, by Finat
Packaging has been a prime driver in the development of
printed electronics, from RFID to QR codes and other digitally ‘readable’ data.
The printing expertise, specialist materials, and conductive inks required to reliably
create these ‘intelligent’ functions have long been a specialty of the label
production chain – an extended value chain which is supported by a single
umbrella organisation in Europe, FINAT, the international association for the
self-adhesive label industry. Proactive participation in educating and
supporting its member companies as well as the industry in general in
newly-developing territories such as the printed electronics arena is an
ongoing focus for FINAT, as innovation continues apace. A recent members-only
expert webinar on printed electronics provided a valuable update on existing
applications and potential opportunities for printers in the narrow-web flexo
market – not just in packaging or labels.
New directions for
label printers
Presented by Chris Jones of Novalia, a conductive print and
capacitive touch specialists based in the UK, the webinar encouraged label
industry delegates to think ‘out of the box’. “By combining extant mainstream
equipment, consumables, and expertise, they can create state-of-the-art printed
electronics that, in addition to scannability, bring the dimensions of touch,
sound and vision into play to add real additional functionality or even ‘must
have’ desirability to a product or its packaging,” explains Mr. Jones. “Today,
as well as printed circuit boards and transistors, print can deliver a variety
of other mainstream applications – including lighting, LEDs, photovoltaics, and
even skincare patches, and features strongly in automotive, aviation,
architectural and military applications and in pharmaceuticals and healthcare,
toys, music, and of course brand protection and anti-counterfeiting.”
The world of the
smartphone
In a world where the majority of the population has a
smartphone, the opportunities to link up such instruments to interact, via
printed electronics, with what would appear to be simple printed posters or
other items is now attracting more and more interest internationally. Outdoor
advertising and displays are good examples. As part of the launch for their new
Flavour Shots herbs and spices range, Schwartz used a ‘sonic poster’ featuring
Novalia’s capacitive touch technology. The paper poster, when touched, plays
music wirelessly through a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone or tablet. Touching the
artwork on different spots triggers musical chords that are meant to add an
extra level of engagement with the new Schwartz products. It is conductive inks
that turn the surface area of the paper into an interactive interface. Adding
new dimensions such as sound or movement to display print is certainly an
innovative way to enhance a consumer’s perception of, and interest in, a
product.
Added-value packaging
There are also creative examples from the extended world of
packaging Mr. Jones illustrates: “For example, a box of tissues that featured a
playable piano keyboard on the side of the packaging, and multiple-pack
secondary packaging for beers and cigarettes that also carried special printed
‘touch’ and ‘connectivity’ features. What consumer could resist the added value
of such packaging?”
On a more serious note, pharmaceutical and healthcare
applications add user-friendliness to alert a patient to the need to take his
blister-packed medication – and enable the pharmacist/dispenser to check,
thanks to a microprocessor in the pack, that the drugs were in fact taken at
the right time in the right quantities.
The winning features
of flexo print
For volume production of printed electronics, narrow-web
label printers are particularly well positioned as providers. “While screen and
gravure have their place in certain application areas,” Mr. Jones explains,
“flexo has proved itself the most attractive print process for the job. Its
combination of good print speeds and ease of repeatability; the high,
consistent application weight of wet ink that flexo achieves; and the good
range of available flexible, inexpensive substrates (paper, PP, PET),
constitute an ideal combination. The conductive pigments themselves represent
an additional consideration for the flexo printer – both in practical and cost
terms – and, additionally, drying the ink is a key factor. Currently,
evaporative solvent and water-based drying provide the desired characteristics.
UV ink curing remains a challenge, because at this time it does not pack the
ink particles together sufficiently. The process of printing conductive inks
embraces, in summation, anilox specification, production speed, drying, and
press consumables – all of which can affect the ‘sheet resistance’ of the
conductive inks – the characteristic which is at the heart of a good result.”
Innovation beckons
the brand owner!
“There is certainly a considerable and growing interest from
narrow-web label printers in extending the range of specialist capabilities
they can offer to brand owners. Their skills base and pressroom equipment can
enable them to deliver printed items incorporating printed electronics in a
variety of creative forms that go well beyond traditional functional/industrial
applications and conventional label print,” Mr. Jones concludes.
Finat, founded in Paris in 1958 with headquarters in The
Hague (The Netherlands), is the worldwide association for manufacturers of
self-adhesive labels and related products and services. With more than 500
members in over 50 countries around the world, Finat has much to offer to label
converters and all suppliers to the labelling industry in terms of information
exchange and in terms of international networking.
