PFFC - January 2009 - (Page 38)

TECHNICAL REPORT BRAND SECURITY The views and opinions expressed in Technical Reports are those of the author(s), not those of the editors of PFFC. Please address comments to the author(s). e-Pedigrees Converters must be prepared to face hard questions from pharmaceutical customers about mass serialization to safeguard the drug supply chain. By Bob Neagle, Videojet Technologies Inc. Creating ariable data marking and coding isn’t a foreign concept to most package converters. For years, many have been placing variable data on packaging materials for on-pack promotions their customers offer, typically using small character inkjet printers for rigid packaging or thermal transfer overprinters for flexible packaging. Today, an increasing number of pharmaceutical customers are asking about mass serialization capabilities to help them create an individual product’s electronic supply chain history, or e-pedigree, which also is being investigat- V ed by other markets, including perishable foods and personal care products. The reason is simple: compliance with regulations designed to safeguard the drug supply chain. Perhaps the best known e-pedigree law is that of California, which recently extended its compliance deadline from 2011 to 2015. The largest pharmaceutical manufacturers lobbied for this change on the grounds that they need the extra time to deploy mass serialization solutions across the typical multiple production lines that will be affected. The change has prompted those manufacturers to investigate immediately the most efficient and cost-effective ways to approach this challenge. Increasingly, those manufacturers are turning to their converter partners for assistance in mass serialization, because it can be an easier route to compliance than reconfiguring their own facilities. A pharmaceutical packaging line must permit variations—everything from how a product flows to how it is packaged to the amount of production lanes it utilizes. This makes it more challenging to accommodate the components necessary to achieve mass serialization because of the constant variations. Conversely, a converter typically is processing labels and/or cartons, using respective in-line or off-line processes. Because it is the type of environment that rarely changes, it is much easier to integrate a mass serialization solution. Even though the California e-pedigree deadline is six years away, converters should expect imminent questions about this topic, if they haven’t already. However, converters need not be alarmed when those questions arise. Comprehensive solutions geared specifically for converters’ processes are available now. These solutions permit a converter to operate at optimum line speeds while simultaneously avoiding code duplication. This image shows a closeup of a two-dimensional DataMatrix code and other human-readable information that can be printed on either a label or a carton by a converter to facilitate a mass serialization infrastructure on behalf of a customer. 38 | JANUARY 2009 WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM http://WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PFFC - January 2009

PFFC - January 2009 Contents First Glance Calendar of Events From the Editor Web Lines Process Management News Clips Narrow Web & Label Reporter Narrow Web & Label What’s New Products In-Mold Labels Cover: Ink Trends Economic Outlook Brand Security Show Preview What’s New Products Services Directory Classified Marketplace Equipment Buyers & Sellers Advertisers Index Experience Speaks

PFFC - January 2009

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