DataLase PACKMARK Tested by American Bakers Association for Laser Marking Polyethylene Bread Bags
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(WIDNES, CHESHIRE, May 30, 2006) - DataLase is excited to announce that its award winning DataLase® PACKMARK(TM) laser marking solution has been successfully trialled by the American Bakers Association (ABA) for the marking of variable information on polyethylene bread bags. In four field trials conducted in bakeries, time, date and expiration codes were laser marked on a blank white panel on the top and end of the bags.
The field trials were conducted as part of a project initiated by ABA in February 2005 in response to the pressure put on bakers and their suppliers by strict environmental and food safety regulations requiring an ever-increasing amount of readable information to appear on baked food packages. The initial tests for date and code marking involved 25 companies and results were very positive, confirming the suitability of DataLase® PACKMARK(TM) for this application. The success of the experiments additionally demonstrated that there is room for more applications involving the whole gamut of variable data such as security marking, special graphics, nutrition facts panels as well as ingredient and allergen information.
Using DataLase® PACKMARK(TM) enabled bread bags to be marked easily. Code quality was very consistent, even with the inconsistent height and shape of the product.
Traditionally, laser equipment is used in many bakeries for the coding and marking of boxes. The adoption of the DataLase® process for bag marking would significantly reduce maintenance by standardising on one marking method across a range of applications. Additionally, air emissions from many of the inks and inkjet fluids involved in current bag marking processes contain a sufficient amount of air pollutants to trigger burdensome US Environmental Protection Agency requirements. The use of DataLase® PACKMARK(TM) eliminates these emissions.
Requiring no ink or ribbons, DataLase® PACKMARK(TM) is environmentally friendly and virtually maintenance free. This groundbreaking process combines chemistry, substrate conversion and very low power laser energy for the high speed printing of variable information on primary packaging. Benefits include increased productivity and image stability for brand protection. DataLase® PACKMARK(TM) is equally suitable for any type of primary packaging substrate including flexible packaging, paper, board, plastics and metals.
Dr. Anne Giesecke, Vice President Policy Analysis for the American Bakers Association, comments: "DataLase® PACKMARK(TM) represents a significant step forward in meeting the increasing need for a greater amount of variable information to be applied to bread bags. That it achieves this in compliance with environmental laws and lower maintenance costs is positive."
More information about DataLase and DataLase® PACKMARK(TM) is available at www.datalase.com or by e-mail info@datalase.com.
