Sustainable packaging and label printing - from product marking to late stage customization

REA Elektronik will be showcasing its comprehensive coding and marking solutions at drupa 2024 - digital and flexible, sustainable and reliable.

Mühltal, April 24, 2024 - Today, packaging is increasingly carrying individual print content: Expiry dates, serial numbers, promotional or raffle codes. At drupa 2024, REA Elektronik, a specialist in industrial coding and marking, labeling technology and code verification, will be demonstrating how printers, contract packers and manufacturers who do their own packaging can continue to use their static systems and still print serialized content.

Flexibility is essential in today's world of goods. Print runs are decreasing and large orders are being called off in batches as required. At the same time, the demand for individualized and personalized print products is increasing. Static gravure, flexo and offset printing systems are reaching their limits. As an alternative to purchasing expensive digital printing machines, REA Coding and Marking Solutions can be used to supplement static printing with serialized content immediately or in a downstream step.

The new REA JET UP Inkjet Printer, which REA Elektronik is presenting at drupa 2024, is made precisely for these applications. UP stands for Universal Print, as this all-rounder enables contact-free printing on a wide variety of surfaces, such as paper, cardboard, coated and finished surfaces - at three times the speed of other systems. Its REA-patented, fast-drying inks have been developed for high-resolution direct printing on smooth surfaces and range from oil and light solvent-based to UV-curing for demanding surfaces.

Late Stage Customization

This makes the REA JET UP the ideal partner for the individualization of neutral packaging in late stage customization. For example, when it is installed on the sealing machine for the colored printed carton and applies individual content about a specific type or the target country of the product at certain points. The Customization Suite software for the precise development of print content will be on display at the REA booth: Its Promotion Module enables the marking of database-supported promotion codes or gaming codes; the Numbering Module was developed for demanding numbering tasks and enables individual counter printing across multiple benefits.

Self-adhesive labels are increasingly being provided with backside numbering for the pharmaceutical and luxury goods industries in order to monitor their consumption and control their inventory. At drupa, REA will be showcasing the cooperation between two REA JET Systems for this purpose: the new REA JET UP applies label content to the front of the rollstock using fast-drying ink, while the REA JET HR 2.0 marks the backside of each label with continuous numbering. The best example of this is that users do not have to change when switching between different REA JET Systems, as they are all operated with the REA JET TITAN software. The REA JET Universal Controller or the REA JET Touch Controller with touch display are available for this purpose.

Not only the printing systems in the REA JET product line, but also the print and apply systems from REA LABEL offer individual solutions for coding and marking tasks. For example, the REA LABEL ColorJet 2 color label printer for industrial use in production, logistics and automation: In high-quality 1:1 full color printing, it produces individual labels or series of small and medium quantities in the highest resolution of up to 1,200 dpi and with a print width of up to 21 centimeters. This makes it a cost-effective and practical alternative to external print shops.

And finally, REA VERIFIER's mobile or inline verification systems support the optimization of the print quality of 1D and 2D Codes and provide certainty about readability and compliance with legal quality specifications. On show at drupa: The REA VERIFIER VeriMax for inline inspection and the REA VeriCube for stationary code verification.

Visit REA Elektronik at drupa, from May 28 to June 7 in Duesseldorf: Hall 3, Stand D60