A new system that enables RFID inlays to be incorporated within fibre based packaging substrate in “invisible” form during manufacture has been developed jointly by the Integrated Solutions Group of Domino Printing Sciences and a Canadian packaging, paper and tissue company. The HIDE-Pack technology was perfected at a corrugated container plant in Montréal, while a recycled liner mill undertook testing to ensure boxes containing an RFID inlay could be effectively recycled “using contaminant removal equipment commonly used in paper mills”.
Tony Walsh, European business development t manager at Domino’s ISG, explains: “The inlays become an integral part of the packaging. Layers of packaging adhesive encapsulate each inlay during the manufacture of the corrugated or cartonboard sheet in such a way that the tag will still operate even should the pack experience detrimental factors such as condensation during storage, and immersion in water. We plan licensing the technology to corrugated and cartonboard producers.”
Described as a “non invasive” technology that “minimally affects current manufacturing processes”, the HIDE-Pack system is said to be compatible with “a variety of package making equipment. Trials run at 6,000-18,000 units/hour on a flexo folder gluer “had no effect on productivity”, with a final package reject rate of “0.1 per cent or less”, it is claimed.
“The key to making RFID affordable is moving the technology back in the value chain into the manufacture of the package medium,” says Paul de Blois, HIDE-Pack vice president and general manager. “HIDE-Pack is an environmentally sustainable approach to RFID that reduces capital costs, improves productivity, maintains package recyclability and improves tag reliability.”
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