LABELS AND LABELLING - Onecoms.co.uk

Barcode technology
delivers proven traceability
RFID has been a hot topic for
some time, with considerable
rhetoric that has been designed
to talk up the technology and
its, as yet, largely unproven
benefits. What has not been
discussed, however, is the fact
that for many food and beverage
manufacturers and packaging
companies there is still a lot of
life left in the humble barcode
and that existing systems offer
a proven and cost effective,
although perhaps less sexy,
method of stock and product
management.
In many cases, an RFID tag will
just be holding a simple tracking
or serial number to identify a
particular item, with no use being
made of the read-write capability
of the tag, making the amount of
data stored no different to that of
a ‘traditional’ 1D barcode.
On the other hand, 2D matrix
barcodes, such as PDF417, QR Code
and Datamatrix are able to hold
many hundreds of characters of
information. These conventional
barcodes have already proven
themselves capable of enabling
efficient stock management, while
a new generation of GS1 DataBar
codes are expanding the potential
of the system still further, offering
sophisticated traceability and product
specific labelling opportunities.
In particular, the GS1 DataBar
codes are set to become the industry
standard for labelling in the food
retail sector. These barcodes can
be printed on extremely small labels,
making them ideal for small or
irregularly shaped food items
and can support Global Trade
Identification Numbers (GTIN)
for variable data such as batch,
expiration date, serial number,
price, monetary value, size and
weight. This in itself significantly
reduces the potential for out
of date products reaching the
consumer, eliminating the risk of
the bad press and consumer
complaints that are so often
associated with such an incident.
It is also worth noting that care
is needed when scanning multiple
units using RFID technology. Non
line of sight scanning is one of the
great advantages of RFID in its
simplest form but there are still
many issues with low read rates,
depending on the products being
scanned. High water content or
areas of metal affect the read rates
dramatically so a check needs to be
put in place to ensure that all items
on a pallet of products are detected.
Perhaps as importantly, although
RFID can represent an important
step forward in technology, its
supposed benefits are currently
only available at a cost; for example,
the cost of RFID hardware is four
times that of comparable barcode
equipment, while the cost of
applying an RFID label is eight
times higher. In most cases, the
latest barcode technologies are
considerably quicker and simpler
to implement, using a wide range
of readily available hardware and
software. Furthermore, many
established suppliers have a long
track record of supporting equipment
and have the expertise to deliver
this at competitive prices.
For example, the latest generation
of simple to use and robust label
printers from leading manufacturers,
such as Citizen, offer a number
of benefits, including robust
constructions that offer long
dependable service lives, maximising
your return on investment.
Additionally, the versatility of these
new printers makes customisation
possible at a minimal cost. Just
as importantly, they are simple and
fast to use ensuring maximum
productivity in even the busiest
of commercial environments.
For instance, a vertically opening
design makes it easy to access the
inside of the printer for media and
ribbon loading, while keeping the
dimensions of the unit to an
absolute minimum. This innovative
design means that both media and
ribbons can be changed in seconds,
with virtually no risk of tangling or
jamming.
Equally important, is the ability
of these printers to accommodate
different types and sizes of media
as the latest generation of barcodes
can be printed on extremely small
labels and on plastic substrates as
well as paper. While you may only
need to print standard sized labels
on paper at the moment, having
the capacity to print other kinds of
labels makes it simple to diversify
your operations at minimum cost
labels and labelling
Mark Beauchamp, European Marketing Manager for Citizen Systems Europe,
discusses the relative merits of the latest competing methods of product
tracking and traceability in the food sector.
at any point in the future. To increase
the efficiency of printing systems
still further, inline validation systems
are now available, which can check
and validate the labels as they are
produced, quickly alerting users to
any problems.
It’s hardly surprising that many
companies, while being attracted
to the idea of innovation and the
prospect of better stock control or
product traceability, have been slow
to change to RFID systems. Indeed,
recent surveys have shown that, for
example, only 17% of food
companies have started to
implement RFID strategies. With
barcode technology continuing to
offer considerable benefits to food
manufacturing, processing and
packaging companies across
the world, it appears that it will
remain the industry standard
for the foreseeable future. ■
FMCG News 29