Greg Hrinya, Editor11.23.21
The advancement of filmic materials continues to be a strong trend in the label and package printing industry. Suppliers are innovating on a daily basis to keep up with the growing demand from label converters.
According to AWA Alexander Watson Associates, film labels comprise 28% of the total pressure sensitive labeling market, with an approximate 4.5% CAGR. Avery Dennison has prioritized its R&D efforts to meet that demand for new filmic products. The company sees significant usage in the beer/beverage, food, and health and personal care industries, among others.
Avery Dennison has tailored its R&D to design films that meet the latest customer trends. With sustainability and digital printing both top of mind for many converters, Avery Dennison recently unveiled its TC-2000 film topcoat to deliver anchorage and ink flow that enables stronger colors and bolder graphics with a wide range of printing techniques. The improved performance of the topcoat has been especially valuable with UV inkjet printing, where it enables label designers to confidently employ bold typefaces, gradients, seals and other eye-catching graphics.
“The new TC-2000 from Avery Dennison provides everything we look for when shopping for materials – anchorage, ink flow, and quality results,” states Matt Stein, Digital Printing demo room manager at Domino. “It performs brilliantly with the Domino N610i and Domino inks.”
TC-2000 builds on the success of Avery Dennison’s TC-1000 topcoat to enhance on-press efficiency gains and improve profit margins by eliminating the need to corona treat or prime in UV print platforms. It creates a strong bond between ink and film, allowing heavier inks to be laid down to achieve sharp images and bold looks.
“The versatility and high performance of TC-2000 allows converters to use the same film for flexo or digital printing, simplifying inventory management,” notes Anh Marella, films marketing director at Avery Dennison.
Clear films are quite popular, too, as they give the consumer a window into the contents they are purchasing. The “no label” look continues to be an attractive attribute to consumers who want to see the product in the container prior to making a final purchasing decision.
In addition to meeting demand for films that pop on the shelf, Avery Dennison has engineered products that meet brands’ environmental goals. “Brands are looking to design their packaging for recyclability, and the label plays an important role,” explains Chrissy Betsa, product manager of conformable films, Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials. “The label can help communicate to consumers how their product impacts the environment, educate the consumer on how to recycle their product and help enable the recycling of the container. Due to this, we have seen a shift in films to focus more on the sustainable factor.”
According to Betsa, a number of factors have helped facilitate this trend. Adhesives have been developed to enable recycling when adhered to PET bottles by cleanly separating from the PET flakes during the recycling process. Meanwhile, APR recognition for the HDPE recycling stream denotes that the label can stay with the bottle without contamination. Avery Dennison has also designed thinner film facestocks in all three categories (rigid, semi-squeeze, and full squeeze labeling) to reach a wide range of bottle or container shapes using less material.
To go along with TC-2000, Avery Dennison has also released a wide range of filmic products. Global MDO Next Generation Clear is the company’s semi-squeeze film known for enhanced print surface and better clarity. Avery Dennison’s CleanFlake adhesive is also popular, as it adheres the label to a PET bottle until the cohesive bond is broken at the recycler. Plus, Avery Dennison utilizes a recycled content liner that contains 30% recycled post-consumer waste (PCW) from PET bottles.
Avery Dennison’s newest products have been finely tuned to satisfy brands in the key market segments like beer/beverage and health and personal care.
“In beer and beverage, we tend to see more rigid film labels or facestocks with little to no conformability,” comments Betsa. “The containers usually range from glass to PET, with the majority being less complex in shape, therefore not needing a wide degree of squeeze to the label. A good beverage label should articulate the brand's message or brand statement. The label needs to ensure the brand stands out on the shelf whether that be through facestock, ink, graphics, embellishments, etc. Portability – being able to take it with you – is also a key characteristic and the label needs to hold up wherever it goes.”
Conformability (full versus semi squeeze) of a film label is a vital characteristic in the health and personal care space, especially as brands require labels for complex container shapes.
“Typically, in this market segment, we see a broad range of applications,” says Betsa. “This includes lotions, makeup, hair care, soaps, and more. Currently, we are seeing the most common uses for personal care labels relating directly to the pandemic. The increase in demand for needing a surplus of surface care, soap and sanitizer has led to significant growth in this segment.”
Betsa adds that Avery Dennison works diligently with customers to ensure they have the right label and/or adhesive for their application, which can present one of the biggest hurdles to success.
According to AWA Alexander Watson Associates, film labels comprise 28% of the total pressure sensitive labeling market, with an approximate 4.5% CAGR. Avery Dennison has prioritized its R&D efforts to meet that demand for new filmic products. The company sees significant usage in the beer/beverage, food, and health and personal care industries, among others.
Avery Dennison has tailored its R&D to design films that meet the latest customer trends. With sustainability and digital printing both top of mind for many converters, Avery Dennison recently unveiled its TC-2000 film topcoat to deliver anchorage and ink flow that enables stronger colors and bolder graphics with a wide range of printing techniques. The improved performance of the topcoat has been especially valuable with UV inkjet printing, where it enables label designers to confidently employ bold typefaces, gradients, seals and other eye-catching graphics.
“The new TC-2000 from Avery Dennison provides everything we look for when shopping for materials – anchorage, ink flow, and quality results,” states Matt Stein, Digital Printing demo room manager at Domino. “It performs brilliantly with the Domino N610i and Domino inks.”
TC-2000 builds on the success of Avery Dennison’s TC-1000 topcoat to enhance on-press efficiency gains and improve profit margins by eliminating the need to corona treat or prime in UV print platforms. It creates a strong bond between ink and film, allowing heavier inks to be laid down to achieve sharp images and bold looks.
“The versatility and high performance of TC-2000 allows converters to use the same film for flexo or digital printing, simplifying inventory management,” notes Anh Marella, films marketing director at Avery Dennison.
Clear films are quite popular, too, as they give the consumer a window into the contents they are purchasing. The “no label” look continues to be an attractive attribute to consumers who want to see the product in the container prior to making a final purchasing decision.
In addition to meeting demand for films that pop on the shelf, Avery Dennison has engineered products that meet brands’ environmental goals. “Brands are looking to design their packaging for recyclability, and the label plays an important role,” explains Chrissy Betsa, product manager of conformable films, Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials. “The label can help communicate to consumers how their product impacts the environment, educate the consumer on how to recycle their product and help enable the recycling of the container. Due to this, we have seen a shift in films to focus more on the sustainable factor.”
According to Betsa, a number of factors have helped facilitate this trend. Adhesives have been developed to enable recycling when adhered to PET bottles by cleanly separating from the PET flakes during the recycling process. Meanwhile, APR recognition for the HDPE recycling stream denotes that the label can stay with the bottle without contamination. Avery Dennison has also designed thinner film facestocks in all three categories (rigid, semi-squeeze, and full squeeze labeling) to reach a wide range of bottle or container shapes using less material.
To go along with TC-2000, Avery Dennison has also released a wide range of filmic products. Global MDO Next Generation Clear is the company’s semi-squeeze film known for enhanced print surface and better clarity. Avery Dennison’s CleanFlake adhesive is also popular, as it adheres the label to a PET bottle until the cohesive bond is broken at the recycler. Plus, Avery Dennison utilizes a recycled content liner that contains 30% recycled post-consumer waste (PCW) from PET bottles.
Avery Dennison’s newest products have been finely tuned to satisfy brands in the key market segments like beer/beverage and health and personal care.
“In beer and beverage, we tend to see more rigid film labels or facestocks with little to no conformability,” comments Betsa. “The containers usually range from glass to PET, with the majority being less complex in shape, therefore not needing a wide degree of squeeze to the label. A good beverage label should articulate the brand's message or brand statement. The label needs to ensure the brand stands out on the shelf whether that be through facestock, ink, graphics, embellishments, etc. Portability – being able to take it with you – is also a key characteristic and the label needs to hold up wherever it goes.”
Conformability (full versus semi squeeze) of a film label is a vital characteristic in the health and personal care space, especially as brands require labels for complex container shapes.
“Typically, in this market segment, we see a broad range of applications,” says Betsa. “This includes lotions, makeup, hair care, soaps, and more. Currently, we are seeing the most common uses for personal care labels relating directly to the pandemic. The increase in demand for needing a surplus of surface care, soap and sanitizer has led to significant growth in this segment.”
Betsa adds that Avery Dennison works diligently with customers to ensure they have the right label and/or adhesive for their application, which can present one of the biggest hurdles to success.
