Board issues
Technological advances and looming regulations
mean that there has never been a better time
for the pharmaceutical segment to embrace digital
print for its packaging. MM Karton reveals
how its products – established and new –
are a boon for any drug maker.
MM Karton’s board qualities have a great
reputation
and are used for numerous applications and
products. Now, one of its assets has become
particularly important in the pharmaceutical industry,
a
business field that is known for its complex demands.
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Excellent Top from Baiersbronn
is known for its great printability due
to a special fine coating. This makes it
attractive for the pharmaceutical industry
and for applying 2D matrix codes on packaging.
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Hot foil stamping, spot varnishing, die-cutting,
creasing and embossing – and perhaps adding
Braille for blind and partially sighted consumers
– are typical requirements for cartonboards
used for pharmaceutical products. The legal framework
against counterfeiting has also been tightened
and there are calls for new packaging features.
Apart from good rigidity and thickness, great
printability is essential to fulfil these high
expectations: MM Karton is ready for this.
Printing 2D matrix codes
The codes printed by an inkjet on packing lines
must be dried
and smear-resistant in less than half a second.
This makes it
ideal to fulfil the new legal regulations regarding
2D matrix
codes and offers pharmaceutical companies the
option to add
additional information via smartphones, scanners
or websites.
Matrix codes also support better traceability.
The MM Karton qualities Excellent Top 2D, MCM
2D and
Supra 2D with optimised coating have been tested
according to ISO 15415 and shown top performance,
meeting the standard with ease. With the implementation
of a Europe-wide standard planned for 2012, this
characteristic becomes mandatory.
Excellent Top is available in grammages between
230g/m²
and 450g/m², MCM between 280g/m² and
450g/m², and
Supra between 250g/m² and 500g/m².
The established properties of MM Karton –
quality,
reliability, competence and packaging safety –
and the internal
multi-mill concept allows the production of qualities
at the
same standards in different locations, ensuring
a permanent
and stable supply chain for these first-class
products.
New quality ready for a sustainable future
To second a further development in the digital
world,
MM Karton offers a new board grade: MM Digicarton.
Customer friendly, sustainable and ahead of the
competition,
it is the worldwide first FBB quality that has
been
homologated for digital print.
In the same way that 2D matrix codes integrate
the offline
world closer to online media, MM Digicarton connects
online
closer to the print world. This quality creates
a new base for
personalised and differentiated products at high
cost
efficiency, without minimum order quantities or
long
preparation time. When it comes to the pharmaceutical
industry, it enables the convenient implementation
of
multiple languages and simplifies the application
of relevant
consumer information for clinical trials. Together
with the
matrix code, this could serve as an additional
security tool
against product piracy. MM Digicarton is available
in the
grammage range of 230g/m², 250g/m² and
275g/m².
Print-on-demand and just-in-time have become
symbols of
extremely efficient solutions. Short print-on-demand
print runs
bring – in addition to cost, time and stock
savings – the
advantage of high sustainability by reducing waste
during the
production process to almost nothing. With digital
print, the
preparation process can be reduced to three steps.
Files can
be modified, saved, and transferred directly to
the printer. MM
Digicarton has received a 100% top rating for
its compatibility
with Hewlett Packard’s HP Indigo WS6000 printing
unit.
Cartonboard packaging saves resources
Cartonboard is the only packaging solution that
is recyclable
and compostable, and it is made from renewable
or
recycled sources with low carbon dioxide emission
values.
MM Digicarton is FSC and PEFC-certified, just
like all other
MMK qualities.
The high annual growth rate for digital printed
products
confirms the trend that more and more customers
are being
convinced about the compelling benefits of using
digital
print. According to Pira International, the digital
print market
for the pharmaceutical segment is expected to
grow
worldwide to $1.34 billion by 2015.
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