Label printing and ink analysis (on)
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Labels can be said to be a bright spot in the printing industry in recent years, especially the self-adhesive labels, which have formed a complete industrial chain in China, and the status of label printing in the market has gradually been valued by people.
For now, the biggest problem with label printing is the small batch demand for label printing, multi-variety trends and environmental issues. In fact, these problems not only occur in the label printing industry, but also a common problem facing the printing industry. However, the label industry must respond accordingly. For the requirements of small batches and multiple varieties, some printing companies have proposed the following schemes: introducing printing presses that are easy to change plates; constructing an in-plant management system from order taking, printing to delivery. The introduction of computer control equipment in the prepress printing process is a proper way to adapt to the time.
First, the status quo of the label printing market
According to the opinions of many people in the printing industry, the domestic label market has the following characteristics: paper labels are still the mainstream of labels, but the growth of film labels is very rapid. For example, medium-to-high-end daily-use products use film labels. The film type label has excellent water and moisture resistance, high temperature resistance, abrasion resistance and tear resistance.
Relatively speaking, shrink labels have the fastest growth among various types of labels. The materials and forms used in the labels are also increasingly diversified, and more and more label products are printed in a roll format. 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. Small batch orders, quick job changes and fast delivery have become major requirements for end users. As a new product with high-tech content, RFID tags have functions such as product tracking and control, which also indicates that label printing has entered the field of digital printing.
The main label types and application ranges, we can refer to the table below. A brief overview of the current mainstream labels on the market will be given later.
1. self-adhesive labels.
Self-adhesive labels, also known as self-adhesive labels, timely stickers, instant stickers, etc., are paper, film or special materials for the fabric, the back is coated with adhesive, coated with silicon protective paper as a composite material, and After being processed by printing and die cutting, it becomes a finished label. When it is applied, it can be peeled off from the base paper and attached to the surface of various substrates with a single push. It can also be automatically labeled on the production line using a labeling machine.
In China's label market, self-adhesive labels occupy a dominant position, with an annual growth rate of around 20%, but compared with developed countries, there is still a lot of room for growth and development potential. Our self-adhesive label industry has its own characteristics, that is, there are fewer small and medium-sized factories and large specialized printing factories; there are many primary equipments and low-grade equipment in the printing factory; the development of the self-adhesive label market is unbalanced, and the coastal areas are developed. The region is developing and the remote areas are relatively backward.
2. Shrink the label.
The shrink label market is experiencing rapid growth, and its market share continues to expand, far exceeding the annual growth rate of the general label market. 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.
The commonly used film materials for shrink labels are mainly PVC, PE, PET, 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 label is 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.
3. In-mold label.
The structure of the in-mold label is different from that of the commonly used self-adhesive label. Its back has a solid adhesive which melts at a certain temperature and adheres to the surface of the container to be attached. 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, and the like.
In North America, in-mold labels are mainly used for blow molded containers, while in Europe, they are mostly used for injection molding containers. The proportion of in-mold labels in container labels is 12% to 15%, which is mainly used in care products, daily chemicals, Food, beverage, lubricants, pharmaceuticals and other industries. In China, in-mold labeling has begun to enter into large-scale development in recent years, but the development speed is quite amazing. At present, it is mainly concentrated in the lubricating oil and daily chemical industries.
4. RFID tags.
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 professional analysis and forecast of the global RFID tag application market: by 2009, the global RFID market will surge from $2 billion in 2003 to $10 billion.
At the same time, 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. If RFID technology can be closely linked to the electronics supply chain, it is likely to replace barcode scanning technology. In the long run, outside the logistics field, product-grade RFID tags can be used for anti-counterfeiting, air baggage and book management in medical supplies.
China's RFID tag market started late, and there is a considerable gap between it and foreign countries. The most direct problem of RFID tag frequency has been basically determined in many foreign countries, but China has not yet approved it. Moreover, there are many problems in the domestic market, such as weak basic R&D strength, insufficient participation of enterprises in standardization, and a large number of domestic companies holding a wait-and-see attitude.
At present, there are three major obstacles to the entire RFID technology: standard barriers, cost barriers and technical barriers. Standard barrier refers to the need to develop a unified and open technical standard to apply RFID. However, there are many standards on the market at the same time. In addition, many countries and regions are formulating corresponding standards for themselves; cost barrier refers to The application field has always been very sensitive to the increase of cost. How to promote the application, the cost can also be said to be the dominant factor; technical obstacles, such as the readable rate of RFID tags, model matching, data processing, are all thorny issues that need to be solved.
5. digital labels.
In the past few years, the label market has undergone significant changes, and the market and consumers need smaller quantities of products, shorter lead times, and greater personalization. Traditional printing is difficult to meet this demand in terms of time and cost. As a complement to traditional printing methods, digital printing offers greater flexibility and cost-effectiveness, as well as variable data printing and printed labels. The accumulation of backlogs in the warehouse no longer appears. 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.
Digital labeling solutions with variable data printing capabilities enable label printing companies the ability to quickly deliver short-run labels at low cost, enabling both long and short versions to provide print customers with a low-cost solution for printing. Satisfy the multi-faceted needs of customers, personalized printing meets the needs of users in the market segmentation of the product, anti-counterfeiting printing function provides customers with a safer full-service, further enhancing the market competitiveness of enterprises.