New labelling technique for pharma packaging

Gerresheimer has launched a new technique for labelling glass products for pharmaceutical companies.

The laser encoding technology gives syringes and vials an indelible identification and ensures that the primary packaging of glass can be traced at any time.

In the case of syringes, the code appears on the finger rest and in the case of vials on the upper edge for example. To the naked eye it is almost invisible and even under the magnifying glass it does not reveal any of its secrets available for example to the wholesale pharmacy trade and clinics is it possible to decipher the exact glass product which is involved and where, when and in which batch it was produced and for what species of drug it may have been specifically designed. This means that primary packaging, which perhaps looks identical but may actually have widely differing characteristics can be clearly identified at all times. If they wish, drug manufacturers may also stipulate individual identification data to be incorporated in the coding on the glass.

"What laser coding provides is like a finger print for the individual packaging unit," says Burkhard Lingenberg, director of marketing and communication for the Gerresheimer Group: "This ensures that it can be identified over its entire life cycle and means that, if necessary, conclusions can quickly be drawn about the origin and for example the expiry date of the medicine which it contains."

Any attempt to remove the markings would be detectable by the reader appliance in the course of origin checks. The laser bake-in technology has the additional advantage that no particles are released.

Meanwhile, Gerresheimer has launched its new process for multi-colour printing on syringes and glass packaging. Heat transfer printing is the new way to carry out multi- colour printing on pharma glass packaging.

The general advantages of direct printing over labeling is that only the printing ink comes into contact with the primary packaging. The screen printing process which has been customary in the past has a disadvantage however, it permits only monochrome, printing. Each additional colour would be disproportionately expensive because it would require for example an additional drying station to be interposed.