issue 1 2017

processing & packaging 47
Thermal Transfer Overprinting (TTO):
An interview with Videojet
In this Q&A, Drew Weightman, Global Business Unit Manager for Thermal Transfer Overprinters
(TTO) at Videojet Technologies, looks at the challenges manufacturers face with regard to coding
and marking onto flexible packaging and the areas in which TTO can help to improve efficiency and
code quality
Q: Have you identified any
emerging trends with regard to
flexible packaging formats?
Flexible packaging is a dynamic
space now with a couple of
expanding trends. First, we see
producers, particularly food
producers, continuing to shift from
rigid to flexible packaging formats,
unlocking many of the cost and
sustainability benefits that have
become well known. However, we
also see a shift within flexible
packaging, as current users reveal
some really exciting innovations
beyond generic flexible wrapping.
Innovations in shelf-ready flexible
packaging such as stand up
pouches are particularly
interesting. Features such as clear
windows that enable visibility
directly to the contents inside, and
seal strips that enable reclosure of
the packaging for multi-use are
just a couple of examples. These
enhancements to flexible
packaging are leading it to play the
primary role for producers to meet
accelerating consumer desires to
identify with the origin and
authenticity of their food choices.
This enables the consumer to
identify with the packaging in a
way that they couldn’t in other
formats - such as a rigid box. In
rigid packaging, the product inside
is hidden. A can for soup is a good
example of this. There’s a real
barrier between customer and
product. The reason shelf ready
flexible packaging is becoming
more popular is that it enables
customers to experience the
products in a way that was not
possible before – in terms of
seeing the product, feeling the
weight and interacting with it in
general.
The reasons to utilise flexible
packaging are becoming widely
recognised. However, many
producers don’t realise that this
shift opens new coding
possibilities as well.
Q: Is TTO the best technology to
use for this form of packaging?
As soon as you move from a rigid
package to a flexible option, TTO
becomes the natural choice for
coding and marking. It’s by far the
most reliable method for marking
flexible packaging and brings a
very high level of print quality. In
many cases a brand owner has
spent tremendous time and energy
in creating a polished, authentic,
shelf ready flexible package
design. Placing a crude hot
stamped code on that package
would be contrary to all of that
effort.
TTO is also the obvious choice for
production efficiency reasons. Old
analogue technologies such as hot
stamp or roller coders typically use
metal stamps that may be held in a
heated block. The type of these
stamps needs to be manually
www.foodmagazine.eu.com issue one | 2017