U.S. Food Labels Diversify to Promote Digital Printing Applications

The continued growth of the US food industry has made food labels continue to be the fastest growing and most competitive label market segment. The subdivision of food types promotes the increase in the number of labels, and the increase in the use of promotional labels is a favorable factor for the development of the label industry. However, the increasing number of regulations formulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also a major challenge for label companies. . In the future, successful food label manufacturers must have diversified production capabilities covering digital presses and flexo printers to meet long-term market demand.

The food label industry will grow significantly Despite the cumbersome regulations promulgated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there are many directly or indirectly related provisions for substrates, inks, coatings, and adhesives used for food label printing, but food labels It is one of the few branch industries that can withstand the effects of the economic downturn.

According to the “2011 US Label, Trademark Manufacturers Institute (TLMI) Index and Trend Report” compiled by a US company, the outlook for the US food processing industry is optimistic. In fact, the report predicts that in 2012, the amount of food processing in the United States will increase by 2.3% compared with 2011. With the renewed continuous growth of the food processing industry, it is expected that the demand and supply of food packaging in society will also be apparent in the middle of 2012. With growth, related industries should be prepared for growth in this area. In addition, the report also pointed out that the economic growth in the United States and around the world will help the growth of the food processing industry in 2012.

More frozen foods increase the demand for cold labels and adhesives, and with the increase in foods cooked in microwave ovens, the market’s demand for labels that can be firmly held on the packaging in both refrigerators and microwave ovens is gradually increasing. increase. As food manufacturers continue to create new products to meet this increasingly fast-paced world, the label industry will continue to create products and materials to meet their needs.

Food Category Subdivision Promotes Digital Printing Applications According to analysis, one of the reasons for promoting the growth of the food industry is the continuous subdivision of food categories. For example, many years ago, consumers had to buy carbonated beverages to buy beverages, but now they need to choose from a variety of different flavors, including daily, healthy and weight-reduced, and caffeine-free. Undoubtedly, this is a good thing for food label manufacturers, but at the same time they also face some challenges.

Tim McDonough, president of Flexo Graphics, said that the breakdown of food categories requires food label manufacturers to look at their equipment. Macdonald analysis said that the increase in the number of commodity inventories has triggered the industry's debate on digital printing and flexo printing. If an ordinary color printing plate is required and the printing plate has to be replaced multiple times, and the quantity required is small enough, then it is more cost-effective to use digital printing. But either way, a high-quality front-end system for managing multiple commodity inventory units is necessary, and prepress operations and ERP systems all require the management of multiple commodity inventory units.

Greg Jackson, President of American Columbine Label Company, said that 45% of its company's business is related to food. He also believes that the increase in the food labeling business is a driving force for manufacturers to turn to digital printing. In the early days, using traditional methods to print increased business was not cost-effective, but there is no such problem with digital printing, which is more suitable for increasing business printing.

Jackson said that in the era of digital printing, the classification may be a breakthrough proposition. Due to the use of traditional methods of printing to take into account the amount of printing, printing plates and color conversion, the cost of producing multiple types of labels is relatively expensive, and the running time is also long and may not be competitive. Therefore, classification has a great influence on the transformation of printing methods.

Hamilton's label solution company uses the HP Indigo press to print food labels. The company’s marketing director Kathy Popovich emphasized that digital printing technology has a great advantage in the field of food label printing and has a Great influence has been achieved by printing a unique signature pattern for each commodity stock unit. She believes that many colleagues do not realize this. She said: "Our digital presses can print as many merchandise inventory units as possible, and technically, each label can be unique. As long as the labels are the same, they can easily provide seasonal food companies with Regional and retailer specific programs."

Increased demand for promotional labels The strong economy will lead to an increase in consumer spending, especially for food consumption, but savings have been a big habit for consumers in the past few years. According to the report of the Marketing Promotion Association Voucher Committee in 2008, 97% of U.S. consumers use coupons in supermarkets, and the country has provided US$350 billion worth of packaged food through coupons throughout the year.

The owner of the Aksem Label Group, Keelon Delahunte, said that promotions are heating up in the food market. Many food processors also hope that we can provide more professional services. The use of promotional coupons has been relatively stable in recent years. In recent days, food processors have suddenly increased the use of such promotional coupons in order to stimulate demand. However, the popularity of promotional vouchers also opens the door for counterfeiters to copy coupons. Therefore, in addition to traditional labels, some label manufacturers have also added special patented anti-counterfeiting solutions for promotional labels.

Like the average consumer, food producer budgets are further reduced during the recession and they need to save as much as possible. According to the label manufacturers, in the past seven or eight years, the elasticity of packaging costs has been significantly increased in all industries. The food industry may be the last industry customer who has started to demand a reduction in the printing price.

Macdonald said: "Our food industry customers, like those of other industries, are also looking for opportunities to maximize their value for their business. With rising raw material prices, not all customers can achieve fiscal year budgets. One of the trends leading to this is that they merge multiple tags into one, so that wherever they buy it can be used."

In response, Eric Knoop, director of business development for innovative label solutions, said digital presses can greatly offset costs. Historically, due to the operating modes of traditional printing presses, printing plates, rollers, mixed inks, and typesetting adjustments are required, making it possible to demonstrate price efficiency only when the print volume is large. With digital printing, there is no need for plates, and in a matter of minutes it is possible to replace the printing of jobs. Knoop believes that this has helped to fulfill the needs of food companies, especially in response to changing regulations, to better manage inventory, reduce residue and reduce carbon footprint.

FDA regulations affect the impact of food labels Numerous raw material regulations that have a direct or indirect impact on food in the United States are countless, but they are very important. Regulatory and technical personnel said that the absence of regulations or technical supervision would be costly, and the testing of ink safety in these regulations, especially ink migration, is of vital importance. The test must be accurate to the printing application process, and it is critical under specific production parameters (temperature, humidity, printing speed, etc.) because the ink reacts differently under different substrates and printing conditions. The migration test must also simulate the storage conditions and conditions of the consumer's food preparation, and use different test methods under different food cooking conditions. At the same time, the success of the migration test depends on the cooperation between the ink supplier and the label manufacturer, as well as the ink supplier and the manufacturer. The cooperation of the latter two is done through a third-party laboratory.

However, Kevin Fakram, the legal director of INX International Ink Company, believes that the challenge of ensuring the success of testing and food labeling security lies in the cooperation of brand owners, printers or standard manufacturers, ink suppliers and raw material suppliers. Continuity and understanding; Providing appropriate products for printers and customers requires communication throughout the entire supply chain. The reasons for the high cost of safe food inks are the selection of raw material chemicals, production, and verification of process control needed throughout the supply chain.

In addition, Dray Hunt said that even if a company does not produce labels that have direct contact with food, FDA regulations are also a major factor. These regulations have an impact on the artistic design of the label, such as the size of the list of ingredients.

Although FDA regulations have quickly become the “blight” of US label manufacturers, they will also provide effective guidance for the international market. An Italian manufacturer stated that the US FDA regulations proved to be very effective when selecting low migration adhesives or neutral papers, especially papers with low mineral content; Europe and Italy have no such regulations, so these regulations help us The best combination of paper and ink adhesives was selected.

With the increase in food allergies and food intolerance, the US FDA has stepped up regulations on ingredients this year. The technical director of a printing company in the United States, Kool, said that due to these requirements, many companies changed the direct printing on packaging to printing on labels. In recent years, more and more sales promotion coupons have been printed on food packaging.