UPM Raflatac's intelligent label
solution, RafMore by UPM Raflatac, is now available faster and more securely
than ever thanks to a groundbreaking integration between Xeikon's digital
printing presses and Magic Add's Internet of Packaging platform.
Magic Add’s IoP platform, which
powers UPM Raflatac’s RafMore smart labels, can now send unique IDs to Xeikon
digital printers directly from the cloud. Xeikon can automatically and securely
print RafMore smart labels with unique digital identities in the form of any
standard, machine-readable code with shorter turnarounds and in greater
quantities than ever possible before.
“Even if you need several
million labels, you can just choose to add unique IDs to them during the normal
printing process. Integrating Magic Add’s unique ID generation into Xeikon’s
X-800 work flow enables new applications and reduces the time because there’s
no need for manual integration,” says Jeroen Van Bauwel, Director of Product
Management at Xeikon.
“This makes smart packaging much
faster and easier for brand owners, especially if they want to try smart labels
for the first time,” says Ari Salonen, CEO of Magic Add.
Using smart labels to give
products unique digital identities brings a variety of benefits without adding
much to label unit cost. UPM Raflatac’s RafMore smart labels can be used to
track product origin, authenticate products and fight counterfeiting, make
product recalls as narrow as possible, show consumers sustainability
credentials, and more. In return for offering users more product information
and supply chain transparency, brands gain valuable market insight data based
on real-time consumer usage.
Xeikon will unveil the new
integration at upcoming Labelexpo Europe 2019 in Brussels. They will distribute
a demo at their booth (Hall 5 C28) featuring RafMore smart labels with unique
IDs pulled directly from Magic Add’s IoP platform. In addition to showcasing
the digitally printed smart labels, the demo will provide a real-world example
of the power of smart packaging. The demos contain samples of fully
origin-tracked coffee from a pilot conducted by Magic Add, UPM Raflatac,
Paulig, coffee partner Volcafe, and farmer outreach programme Volcafe Way.
Using RafMore smart labels,
Paulig’s coffee was tracked starting at the point of harvest in Guatemala,
through roasting and packaging. The pilot aims to increase transparency by
showing consumers exactly where their coffee came from, that it was grown and
harvested sustainably, and where it has traveled along the supply chain. “This
is a holistic demo of both the value of smart packaging and how easy it is for
brands to introduce it to their products,” says Sami Poukka, Vice President for
Global Business and Segment Development at UPM Raflatac.
