Print Labels Market Trend – Ensuring Greater Transparency

Print Labels are an integral part of the global economy and are inseparable from the packing industry. The diverse food and beverage consumption trends along with the growing market for bottled drinking water, which presently continues to grow in developed economies, strong growth in pharmaceutical products as well as the rising e-pharma market, a meteoric rise in consumer electronics, the steady growth of personal care products, growing trends of purchasing over eCommerce, the need for product differentiation, succinct yet informative dissemination of product information as well as complementing the packaging aesthetics to preserve brand identity are few of the prime factors that are anticipated to drive the print labels industry.

Pharmaceutical Products, Imports  (World)

Source: International Trade Centre

In Thousands of Dollars

The pharma industry has been sustaining itself by investing heavily in R&D endeavors and strong substantiated marketing campaigns. Nevertheless, currently, it is faced with the opportunities to bring about solutions to respond to the increasing instances of chronic diseases. Further, the performance related to the pharmacoeconomic aspects of different medicines is becoming increasingly convenient for various players in the healthcare space due to the superabundance of data derived from electronic medical records leading to a plausible insistence of pricing that is based on the respective outcomes. Further opportunities have presented itself with obscured boundaries between various types of healthcare along with an evident expansion of the self-medication sector. With the advent of pre-emptive measures governments too are steering their focus on prevention than treatment. The emerging economies are contributing even more to the growth of pharmaceutical products. Further with stratospheric growth in processing power, tangible progression in genomics and genetics, and improved and efficacious means of data management, have been successfully reinforcing the scientific foundations on which the entire pharmaceutical industry is built upon.

With a deluge of data and the cutting-edge analytics have has proved enormously beneficial for pharmaceutical companies resulting in path-breaking gene therapies, out of which some have already received FDA approval and some in the pipeline that is facilitating the growth of the pharmaceutical industry. Further with recent situation pandemic where the global pharmaceutical space has engaged in cross-country cooperation as well as the elimination of obstructive aspects hindering the free trade earlier are also expected to result in the growth of pharmaceutical-related trade driving the growth of the market. Now, like everything else pharmaceutical too necessitates a robust packaging that requires correct labeling with faster turnaround time. In view of the above the pharmaceutical industry, among others, is poised to hold a significant market share of the print label industry. Additionally, the current situation which the global economy has succumbed to due to the pandemic has required many players to adapt and come up with solutions to sustain their respective businesses. For instance, a member of a global contract pharmaceutical development and manufacturing organization, the Almac Group, Almac Clinical Services in June 2020, had reportedly launched an improved Label Approval Solution. The system is compliant and validated to manage clinical labels more effectively form protocol to print.

The Film Substrate to Hold a Healthy Share in the Print Label Pertaining to Pharmaceuticals

Besides when it comes to print labels meant for pharmaceutical applications regularity requirement and functionality govern the niche sectors than aesthetic necessities. The labels pertaining to the medical application are required to include essential info of the products legibly and also allow room for data like the batch number and expiration date that are variable along with additional functionalities that can support a range of healthcare personnel in drug administration. From the perspective of substrates, the paper has been the most common substrate. Nevertheless, a steady rise in adoption of film substrates is being witnessed with regards to the medical application as more products are being commercially available packaged in signages and vials, due the ability of films to provide more clarity along with better performance. To this end, it was announced in May 2020 that Argentinian packaging holding Envases Group has reportedly acquired a multi-substrate press called the Nilpeter FA-22 to grow its leading status in the South American region. The FA-line reportedly provides tight register tolerance and offers printing on multiple substrates like flexible packaging films, metallic film, polymer films, among others. Earlier in June 2018, it was reported that Toppan USA will start manufacturing and sales of GL-EY barrier film which was already available in Asia intended for packaging heavy items and medical and pharmaceutical goods.

Smart Labeling With Rfid Is Expected to Govern the Print Label Market

The concept of smart technology and its integration is being witnessed ubiquitously and the packaging industry is no different. In the healthcare industry smart labeling enable the hospital staff to partake in activities that are more patient-centric which otherwise would have been invested in manual inventorying of medical supplies. Further empowering the staff with the capability to track medical supplies with ease and prevent theft and abuse especially in case of controlled drugs. The specimen tracking facilitated by integrated RFID is known to reduce errors and can increase productivity. Further with regards to a controlled drug, the technology is reportedly capable of preventing theft and abuse. Further through better management of inventory which includes better visibility of expiry date carrying cost of high-value medication is reduced. To this, it was announced in March 2020 that a Germany-based global provider of innovative functional label solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, Schreiner MediPharm has reportedly collaborated with Kit Check a US-based provider of RFID tracking solutions to facilitate the introduction of  RFID-Labels that enables hospital pharmacies to effortlessly track and manage inventory.

Further in March 2020, it was announced that a global materials science company which specializes in designing and manufacturing of a variety of labeling and functional material Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY) whose reported sales in 2019 was $7.1 billion had completed the acquisition of Transponder business of Smartrac a leading innovator of RFID inlays and known for making effective, high-value and high-quality RFID products, commercially available or the purchase price of €225 million that is subjected to customary adjustment.