Analysis of the development of domestic label market
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The label can be said to be a bright spot in the printing industry in recent years. It has developed rapidly, especially the self-adhesive label. It has formed a complete industrial chain in China, and the status of label printing in the market has gradually been valued by people. From a global perspective, North America and Europe are the most developed regions, while Asia has the fastest growth rate, with China being the fastest growing country.
Nowadays, the competition is very fierce. Foreign label printing companies focus on developing some new label printing technologies to capture some new profit growth opportunities. The consideration is to improve the packaging functionality of labels, including reducing label costs and expanding the scale of enterprises.
The current development trend of the label market can be summarized as follows:
(1) Among various types of labels, shrink labels have the fastest growth rate.
(2) Although paper labels are still the mainstream of labels, the growth of film labels is very rapid. For example, medium and high-grade daily-use products use film labels, mainly because the film labels have excellent water and moisture resistance, high temperature resistance, wear resistance and tear resistance.
(3) There are more and more materials and forms, and more and more label products are printed by reel.
(4) The application of flexographic printing technology is gradually increasing, and many flexographic printing presses adopt a combination printing method to install a rotary screen printing unit, a hot stamping or a cold stamping unit.
(5) Small batch orders, quick job changes and fast delivery have become the main requirements of end users.
(6) RFID tags have the functions of product tracking, control, etc., and are therefore receiving more and more attention.
(7) Digital printing technology has joined the ranks of label printing.
Sticker
In North America, self-adhesive labels have been widely used in food, beverage, clothing and other fields.
In the label market, self-adhesive labels dominate. In Europe, self-adhesive labels account for about 45%. Currently used in daily chemical, pharmaceutical, supermarket logistics, electronics, tires, lubricants industry.
The development of self-adhesive labels in China is faster, with an annual growth rate of around 20%, which is much higher than the average growth rate of 7% to 9% of the national economy, and far higher than the 5% to 6% of the European and American countries' self-adhesive label market. The average annual growth rate. Despite the phenomenal growth rate, compared with the mature self-adhesive label market in developed countries, China's annual per capita self-adhesive label usage is only 0.55 m2 to 0.66 m2, compared to the average of 10 square meters per year in Europe and America. The amount (the annual average of 17rn2~18.m2 in the United States), China's self-adhesive label market has a lot of room for growth and development potential.
In Europe and the United States, flexographic printing is widely used in self-adhesive labels, while domestic printing is still dominated by letterpress printing. The main reason is that domestic consumers have higher requirements for the printing of labels, and there are many types of specifications.
China's self-adhesive label industry has its own characteristics, that is, there are many small and medium-sized factories, and there are few large-scale special printing factories; there are many primary equipments and low-grade equipment in the printing factory; the development of the self-adhesive label market is uneven, and the coastal areas are developed. The central region is developing and the remote areas are relatively backward. According to the specific situation of China, the self-adhesive label industry will continue to develop in many aspects, that is, label printing factories with different business scopes and processing types have their own development space.
Shrink label
The shrink label market is experiencing rapid growth, and its market share is expanding. It is expected that the annual growth rate will remain between 7% and 10%, far exceeding the annual growth rate of 4% to 5% in the general label market, and its development potential is huge. The main application area for shrink labels is the beverage industry, and the growth in the food, health care and personal care industries is also strong.
Shrink labels are highly adaptable and can be used on plastic, wood, paper, metal, glass, ceramic and other packaging containers. Commonly used film materials for shrink labels are PVC, PET, PETG, OPS, OPP, etc. They have their own characteristics in terms of shrinkage characteristics, environmental protection, etc., and should be considered for the specific application of the product when selecting. For example, PET materials are environmentally friendly and play an important role in the European market where recycling is highly valued.
From the printing process point of view, the current shrink film labels are still mainly gravure printing, and the flexographic printing market share is small. In addition, offset printing and digital printing also have a range of applications to meet the specific needs of customers.
There are four main types of inks used for shrink label printing: solvent based inks, water based inks, cationic UV inks, and free radical UV'' inks. From the current application situation, solvent-based inks have the largest market share, followed by water-based inks and free-radical UV inks. This is mainly because the main customers in the current shrink label market are large companies, and their requirements are often long-running in large quantities. For the time being, solvent-based gravure inks are best suited for long-run printing, making solvent-based inks the best choice for the shrink label market. However, with the development of the shrink label market, some small customers have shown great interest in this. The increase in small-volume and short-run activities has led to an increase in demand for water-based inks and free-radical UV inks. The cationic UV ink is less expensive in application in the field of shrink film because of its higher price and more troublesome printing.
Shrink label printing inks need to have strong adhesion, flexibility, and considerable heat resistance, and the pigments in the ink cannot be discolored or faded at high temperatures. In the selection, the performance index of the coefficient of friction COF, shrinkage, adhesion, chemical residue and migration is mainly considered.
In-mold label
The structure of the in-mold label is different from that of the commonly used self-adhesive label. The back of the label has a solid adhesive. The adhesive melts at a certain temperature and adheres to the surface of the attached container to achieve the purpose of label application.
In-mold labels were first used in injection molding containers, and later developed into blow molding containers, and are widely used in container packaging of various plastic materials, such as HDPE, PP, PET, PS, and the like. In North America, in-mold labels are used primarily for blow molded containers, while in Europe they are used for injection molded containers.
In Europe and the United States, the proportion of in-mold labels in container labels is 12%-15%, mainly used in nursing products, daily chemicals, food, beverages, lubricants, medicine and other industries. In China, the in-mold label has entered the scale development in recent years, but its development speed is quite amazing. Moreover, from the application field, it is currently concentrated in the lubricating oil and daily chemical industries.
At present, the common in-mold label brands on the market include Japan YUPO, American Avery and Beijing Honghe Weiye.
The use of in-mold labels has the following advantages:
(1) Since the container molding and labeling are completed at one time, the production process is simplified and the production efficiency is improved.
(2) The label and the container are integrated to avoid the phenomenon of lifting, wrinkling and de-labeling during the previous labeling, and also avoid collision, scratching and pollution during production and transportation, so that the label always maintains a good appearance. .
(3) It can improve the anti-counterfeiting ability of products.
(4) The in-mold label material and the plastic container adopt the same material, and can be uniformly treated during recycling, which is beneficial to environmental protection.
Of course, in-mold labels also have their shortcomings: special molds are needed, and in-mold labeling robots need to be purchased, resulting in higher cost of in-mold labeling process; printing process is more difficult than self-adhesive labels, and the rejection rate is high, and if printing or There is a problem with the labeling, which will result in double waste of containers and labels.
In the future, in-mold label materials will be developed in the direction of low-cost, easy-to-recycle thin materials. In addition, in order to meet the needs of market segmentation, the variety of in-mold label materials will also tend to be diversified.
RFID tag
RFID tags are developed on the basis of electronic technology. The amount of information stored is huge, the contactless reading and writing is flexible and fast, and the environment adaptability is strong. According to F&S's analysis and forecast of the global RFID tag application market: by 2009, the global RFID market will soar from $2 billion in 2003 to $10 billion.
The application field of RFID tags continues to expand and quickly penetrate into various fields. The trial and practical application of RFID tags in the fields of logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, commercial retail, commodity anti-counterfeiting, transportation, national defense and military are gradually being carried out. For example, global retail giant Wal-Mart requires its suppliers to attach RFID tags to their products.
The scale of RFID tags in the field of logistics is larger than other markets. If RFID technology can be closely linked to the electronic supply chain, it is likely to replace bar code scanning technology. But this is not the only market, and the development of emerging markets is equally important for the development of RFID tags. In the long run, some investments should be made outside the logistics sector, such as product-grade RFID tags for anti-counterfeiting of medical supplies, air baggage and book management, livestock farming management, and even prison inmate management.
China started late in this respect, and the RFID tag market is still in its infancy, and there is a considerable gap between the application of RFID and the international market. For example, the frequency of RFID tags has been basically determined in Europe, North America and some parts of Asia, but China has not yet approved it. Moreover, the domestic market has problems such as weak basic R&D strength, insufficient participation of enterprises in standardization, and mostly wait-and-see attitudes of domestic enterprises.
At present, RFID technology faces three major obstacles: standard barriers, cost barriers and technical barriers.
(1) Standard barriers. To apply RFlD, it is necessary to develop a unified and open technical standard. However, there are many standards at the same time in the market. For example, EPCglobal, UID, AIMglobal, ISO and other series of standard systems have been formed, and many countries and regions are developing suitable standards. Your own corresponding standards.
In November 2005, the "China RFID Industry Alliance Inaugural Meeting and Global RFID China Summit" was held in Beijing, and the China RFID Industry Alliance was officially established, and the China RFID Standardization Working Group was officially launched. Since China is becoming the "manufacturing center" of the world and many products are exported to the international market, we cannot expect the international market to support China's RFID label standards. Therefore, in the process of formulating China's RFID standards, it should be fully considered. Interoperability with international standards.
(2) Cost barriers. Whether in China, Europe, or Japan, one of the key issues in promoting the use of RFID tags is to reduce their costs. At present, the price of each electronic label is almost 45 cents, and the ideal price is 10 cents. This is likely to be applied to the entire package of goods on a large scale. Only when the price drops below 3 cents is it possible to apply. For single-packaged consumer goods.
Two important elements in an RFID tag are the chip and the antenna. The size of the chip involves the cost of the RFID tag. The use of conductive ink printed antennas instead of corroded copper antennas and the use of lower cost paper bases is a major innovation in reducing the cost of RFID tag manufacturing. In addition, the way the chip and antenna are connected will also affect its cost.
(3) Technical barriers. For example, the RFID tag's readable rate problem, model matching problem, and data processing problem.
Of course, there are other issues. For example, the impact of RFID tags on the human body and the environment, the recycling and utilization of RFID tags, and many consumers are worried about the use of RFID tags, personal privacy will be violated and so on.
Technological breakthroughs and gradual price reductions will certainly promote the booming RFID technology and the widespread use of RFID tags. If label printing companies want to maintain their competitiveness, they must have the ability to produce RFID tags. Label printing companies must also do a few key preparations: establish good partnerships with key members of the RFID industry chain; conduct technical training on RFID and train specialized experts or engineers.
The year 2005 is a year in which RFID technology has grown up in conflicts and contradictions. People inside and outside the industry have mixed opinions on the development and future of RFID. Although many industries have begun to pay attention to RFID technology, such as anti-counterfeiting, quality inspection, logistics, warehousing management, railways, customs, containers, etc., but due to the high cost of RFID technology, the large-scale application of RFID technology is still "lei" The voice is loud and the rain is small. However, what we must see is that RFID technology has indeed begun to play its role in China: Hong Kong airport baggage handling perfect experience RFID, Shanghai taxi plan to install RFID tag system at the end of this year, China's railway system fully adopts RFID dispatch system. . . . . . More and more industries are beginning to pay attention to RFID technology, and expect industrialization of technology to reduce the cost of PFID.
Digital label
In the past few years, the label market has undergone significant changes, the market and consumers need smaller batches of products, shorter lead times, and greater personalization. Traditional printing is difficult to meet in terms of time and cost. Kind of demand. As a complement to traditional printing methods, digital printing offers greater flexibility and cost-effectiveness, as well as variable data printing, where printed labels are no longer in stock in the warehouse. Moreover, with the gradual improvement of the performance of digital printing presses, the range of printing materials used has become increasingly widespread, and digital printing has been increasingly used in the field of packaging and printing. Digital printing technology first entered the field of packaging and printing for variable data printing and short-run label printing.
A digital labeling solution with variable data printing enables label printing companies to quickly deliver short-run labels at low cost, enabling both long and short versions, expanding the reach of the business, and providing print customers with a low-cost solution for printing. , to meet the multi-faceted needs of customers. Sexual printing meets the needs of users in the market segmentation of products: anti-counterfeiting printing, can provide customers with a safer full-service, further enhancing the market competitiveness of enterprises.