66 | Industrial labelsFirstly, the supply chain challenges we are seeing today mean it is crucial for a manufacturer or brand owner to really understand their inventories of fnished goods, WHIP, and raw materials. We see solutions become more prevalent to help automate track and trace. ‘Secondly, interactive technology can help brands better communicate and bring value to their customers. One example would be adding a digital component to a durable label for applications like appliances. A technician can scan the label and log a service record digitally, for example. That way, should there be an issue in the future with that appliance, it becomes very easy for a technician to quickly scan and see what has been done in the past to a specifc unit.’DTM Print’s Andreas Hoffman also thinks interactive labels will become an integral part of the industrial labeling segment. ‘Engineers are already going further with new label technologies by Industrial labels carry a range of messages including printing electronics onto the label,’ he adds. ‘Where the RFID chip warnings about dangers or compatibilityin the label was the beginning, they can now produce labels which send a message, light up, or sensor the environment to display a fexible best-before date depending on the outside temperature.’ “Interactive technology will play ‘Smart labels will also help massively with the sustainability angle,’ adds Skanem UK’s Paul Jones. ‘When Holy Grail is an essential role in certain parts implemented, it will identify the makeup of the container and the product inside. Therefore, it should segregate the packaging into of industrial labeling, including recyclable and non-recyclable ensuring only high-grade PCR is made and non-recyclable packaging disposed of correctly. For the asset tracking and identification track and trace side, RFID will really help this process.’ labels that display critical Stay ahead of the gameIndustrial labels can remove complexity from the supply chain, information for a part or product” minimize worker input – and therefore the risk of an error – and enable complete connectivity and traceability across supply chains, Some 3 billion tires are manufactured globally every year, and minimizing costs and maximizing effciency.RFID is increasingly being adopted by all leading manufacturers. ‘With more and more businesses depending on the traceability Michelin, for instance, has announced it will ft RFID sensor tags of products, people, and assets, the quality and accuracy of labels to all its tires by 2023, and countries such as China are looking to is increasingly vital, ensuring everything from stock management make its use mandatory. accuracy and real-time delivery tracking through to avoiding The tag is attached to the tires directly during vulcanization, customer penalties and potentially costly compliance-related fnes,’ enabling track and trace through the logistic chain to identify tires says Aztec Label’s Colin Le Gresley. ‘As the demand for “more and at warehouses and dealerships. Stock counts can be performed faster” continues to increase, the future success of label converters almost instantly, tire assembly and ftting errors can be reduced, hinges on their ability to meet the challenges of their customers and it becomes a powerful defense against counterfeiting. The – something which we do through our continued investment in AD Maxdura tag will also detail the exact materials used in the technology across our business.’manufacturing process, making it easier to reuse and providing Avery Dennison’s Matthew Palinkas sees a lot of opportunities details needed by recycling centers. in new industrial sectors such as the growing infrastructure around ‘The automotive industry is in the biggest upheaval in its more electric vehicle battery production. ‘This continued investment than 130-year history,’ says Lauri Hyytinen, market development opens new opportunities for labels, and we are working closely to manager, automotive at Avery Dennison Smartrac. ‘Avery Dennison understand the needs of these materials.’is working with all the leading tire manufacturers as they turn to Guy Boxhall, UK sales manager at DTM Print, thinks that despite RFID. The benefts are clear, not least in terms of safety and the the relatively slow take-up of NFC and RFID in the label sector, ability to fully track the life cycle of the 3 billion manufactured these technologies will gain considerable importance in the next each year. However, we have designed the AD Maxdura tire tag fve to ten years in areas like biometrics in banking security. to be future proof for a wide range of future uses, which Avery As the requirements of industrial end users continue to Dennison Smartrac is already working on with OEM partners in change, there will always be a need for labels to follow that the automotive industry, including logistics solutions and brand innovation process. Whether it is smarter labels or new chemical protection applications.’ resistance challenges, there is no doubt label suppliers will have Interactive technology will play an essential role in certain parts to adapt quickly. of industrial labeling, including asset tracking and identifcation ‘It is hard to say specifcally what the future will hold for such labels that display critical information for a part or product. As a broad segment, but one thing is clear: the demand for high labels become smarter, they will become more interactive in some performance and high-quality labels for this space is not slowing ways. It may not be as exciting as some potential opportunities down,’ concludes FLEXcon’s Ross Hodnett. for interacting with graphics in the outdoor advertising space, like augmented reality. However, there is still much to explore with interactive labels, such as displaying safety information to a More info about industrial labels, including a detailed machine user in real-time.breakdown of substrates and end-user market applications, States Avery Dennison’s Matthew Palinkas, ‘There are two reasons read our Label Academy article: www.labelsandlabeling.com/label-academy/article/focus-label-markets-industrial-labelswhy I believe this will become an integral part of industrial labeling. labelsandlabeling.com