John Penhallow02.26.24
Determining the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of label products involves grasping a bewildering array of standards, methodologies, and tools. FINAT, the European label association, reports that it has reached another milestone toward harmonizing and measuring CO2 accounting in the label sector.
With a commitment to encouraging good environmental practices, FINAT has launched a document that explains the methods, standards, and tools available for the calculation of PCF and LCA calculation in more detail. The full document, available to FINAT members and non-members, covers methodologies and standards, calculation tools, and databases. It comes, however, with a warning: “The brochure emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the variability in PCF measurements and the need for third-party auditing to prevent ‘green washing’ and build trust in the final calculation.”
If PCF is not your cup of tea, just note that FINAT’s annual European Label Forum is already looming on the label horizon. What’s more, the 2024 event will be in Athens, surely one of Europe’s most fascinating and historical cities.
The company, which opened in September 2020, just prior to the Covid pandemic, is based in a modest 18,000-square-foot plant. With a staff of 15, company sales exceeded €6.2m in 2023 and is showing a healthy growth rate of 20% year on year, working a flexi-shift pattern five days a week. Beginning life with two used presses, which Gert subsequently sold for a profit, production really got into gear with the installation of its first Mark Andy press in 2022.
That Mark Andy is an Evolution Series E3, an 8-color flexo line with a 430mm (17") web width. It was followed last year by two Mark Andy Evolution Series E5 presses. Both are 8-color presses with 430mm web widths, and all three have GEW LED/UV capability and are fitted with ABG Vectra turret rewinders. Additional features include Teknek web cleaning and Vetaphone corona treater.
Around 80% of the work at GT is produced for the food sector, with logistics and pharmaceuticals making up the balance. Currently, the company is printing predominantly on top-coated paper substrates, but Gert Talen sees a swing toward filmic with PP and PE for their recyclability properties.
“We are currently trialing water-wash adhesives that will save around 80% of recycling costs over the way the labels are currently produced,” says Talen.
Timo Donati, Mark Andy’s sales manager, adds, “The Benelux region is an important and fast-growing market for Mark Andy, where we have enjoyed great success with our flexo and hybrid presses in recent years. GT Etiketten is a great example of that, and we prize them highly as a customer.”
A rather different label supplier, also in the Netherlands, is NoviPrint, and it is also a small, young company. It makes shipping labels, essentially for auto-ID applications. Eric Springvloed founded the company just three years ago and aims to provide a full service with the labels and also with the scanners, terminals, ink ribbons and receipt rolls. He is said to be crazy about labels and about dogs, and he has gathered around him a team of 25 (humans) who are, “Just as crazy as I am – about labels and about our customers.”
When NoviPrint needed a higher-volume digital press to accommodate the recent surge in volume and shorter print runs, they chose to go with a Xeikon press for its outstanding versatility in both food and non-food sectors and its advanced workflow capabilities. Their Xeikon press is equipped to run with ICE toner. According to the manufacturer, this type of dry toner enables fusing at significantly lower temperatures, which makes it suitable for printing on heat-sensitive substrates, such as PE and direct thermal paper labels, which is a requirement for NoviPrint for their activities in the label market.
Triple-lamination and labels-on-labels are just routine functions for the new line, says Imoco’s general manager Luca Moretto. “With its one flexo and two screen units, hot-foil, semi-rotary diecutting and a Jet-D Screen for Braille and doming effects, there is nothing much that the Cartes line can’t do,” he says, adding, “So much so we are thinking of investing in another one.”
In Germany, which already recycles most of its PET bottles, the percentage of rPET in new bottles is only 45%. The reason for this discrepancy is probably that a lot of rPET goes into other industries equally anxious to burnish their ecological banners.
All4Labels is now about to become Europe’s exclusive provider of Actega’s “Signite” decoration technology. This technology for decorating glass containers, already used in North America, is said to be cheaper and less wasteful than clear-on-clear labeling while at the same time giving better design flexibility and improved recyclability compared with direct printing onto the product.
“Signite is an innovative technology which will open huge opportunities, even for markets that do not use labels today,” says Paloma Alonso, All4Labels’ CEO.
For careful budgeting, the Scandinavians again are at the top: Denmark and Norway are currently the only European countries running a budget surplus. For anyone thinking of investing in the label business, however, the main drawback of Scandinavia is its relatively small domestic label market.
These new labeling requirements have been approved by the European Parliament and have now received the blessing of the Council of Europe. They will come into force within the next year and should pave the way to healthier breakfasting habits. This is not the first time Europe has had new labeling regulations for food products: six years ago the “Nutriscore” grading method began to give each product a score from A (admirable) to E (execrable), to give consumers a better idea of food products containing high amounts of sugar, salt or unsaturated fats.
This system, adopted so far by six European countries, has just been further amended to cover all milk-based products and also breakfast cereals, most of which still apparently contain far too much sugar. Sorry, folks, but don’t let it spoil your breakfast.
With a commitment to encouraging good environmental practices, FINAT has launched a document that explains the methods, standards, and tools available for the calculation of PCF and LCA calculation in more detail. The full document, available to FINAT members and non-members, covers methodologies and standards, calculation tools, and databases. It comes, however, with a warning: “The brochure emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the variability in PCF measurements and the need for third-party auditing to prevent ‘green washing’ and build trust in the final calculation.”
If PCF is not your cup of tea, just note that FINAT’s annual European Label Forum is already looming on the label horizon. What’s more, the 2024 event will be in Athens, surely one of Europe’s most fascinating and historical cities.
Small is (sometimes) beautiful
In label magazines, big converters tend to hog the headlines, so here’s a success story about one which is not (yet) in anybody’s top 10. At Schoonebeek on the Dutch/German border, Gert Talen began life in the graphic arts industry as a flexo printer back in 1988. In 2020, together with his son and daughter, he set up GT Etiketten B.V., which has built a reputation for being a great solver of print problems, both in the Netherlands and over the border in Germany.The company, which opened in September 2020, just prior to the Covid pandemic, is based in a modest 18,000-square-foot plant. With a staff of 15, company sales exceeded €6.2m in 2023 and is showing a healthy growth rate of 20% year on year, working a flexi-shift pattern five days a week. Beginning life with two used presses, which Gert subsequently sold for a profit, production really got into gear with the installation of its first Mark Andy press in 2022.
That Mark Andy is an Evolution Series E3, an 8-color flexo line with a 430mm (17") web width. It was followed last year by two Mark Andy Evolution Series E5 presses. Both are 8-color presses with 430mm web widths, and all three have GEW LED/UV capability and are fitted with ABG Vectra turret rewinders. Additional features include Teknek web cleaning and Vetaphone corona treater.
Around 80% of the work at GT is produced for the food sector, with logistics and pharmaceuticals making up the balance. Currently, the company is printing predominantly on top-coated paper substrates, but Gert Talen sees a swing toward filmic with PP and PE for their recyclability properties.
“We are currently trialing water-wash adhesives that will save around 80% of recycling costs over the way the labels are currently produced,” says Talen.
Timo Donati, Mark Andy’s sales manager, adds, “The Benelux region is an important and fast-growing market for Mark Andy, where we have enjoyed great success with our flexo and hybrid presses in recent years. GT Etiketten is a great example of that, and we prize them highly as a customer.”
A rather different label supplier, also in the Netherlands, is NoviPrint, and it is also a small, young company. It makes shipping labels, essentially for auto-ID applications. Eric Springvloed founded the company just three years ago and aims to provide a full service with the labels and also with the scanners, terminals, ink ribbons and receipt rolls. He is said to be crazy about labels and about dogs, and he has gathered around him a team of 25 (humans) who are, “Just as crazy as I am – about labels and about our customers.”
When NoviPrint needed a higher-volume digital press to accommodate the recent surge in volume and shorter print runs, they chose to go with a Xeikon press for its outstanding versatility in both food and non-food sectors and its advanced workflow capabilities. Their Xeikon press is equipped to run with ICE toner. According to the manufacturer, this type of dry toner enables fusing at significantly lower temperatures, which makes it suitable for printing on heat-sensitive substrates, such as PE and direct thermal paper labels, which is a requirement for NoviPrint for their activities in the label market.
Simple solution for complex wine labels
Italy is one of Europe’s biggest wine producers, so it is not surprising that label converter Imoco in Veneto province counts wine labels as nearly 90% of its sales. Stuck for a way of removing small windows of substrate, the company decided to go for a do-everything finishing line made by fellow-Italian Cartes.Triple-lamination and labels-on-labels are just routine functions for the new line, says Imoco’s general manager Luca Moretto. “With its one flexo and two screen units, hot-foil, semi-rotary diecutting and a Jet-D Screen for Braille and doming effects, there is nothing much that the Cartes line can’t do,” he says, adding, “So much so we are thinking of investing in another one.”
PET to PET recycling
Germany and Austria are both planning to introduce compulsory deposits on one-way PET bottles. With this in mind, Recycling Österreich GesmbH has carried out major investments in storage silos and workshops. The company recycled over 32,000 tons of PET in 2023, equivalent to 1.3 billion bottles.In Germany, which already recycles most of its PET bottles, the percentage of rPET in new bottles is only 45%. The reason for this discrepancy is probably that a lot of rPET goes into other industries equally anxious to burnish their ecological banners.
Signite comes to Europe
All4Labels, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, is one of Europe’s leading label converters, with sales of around one billion euros and 6,000 employees. This probably puts it at number three in the world, after MCC and CCL.All4Labels is now about to become Europe’s exclusive provider of Actega’s “Signite” decoration technology. This technology for decorating glass containers, already used in North America, is said to be cheaper and less wasteful than clear-on-clear labeling while at the same time giving better design flexibility and improved recyclability compared with direct printing onto the product.
“Signite is an innovative technology which will open huge opportunities, even for markets that do not use labels today,” says Paloma Alonso, All4Labels’ CEO.
Doing business in Europe
Using a rich selection of criteria, the World Bank Group regularly updates its league table “Ease of Doing Business.” In its latest update, the top places once again go to the Scandinavian countries, with Denmark, Norway and Sweden winning first, third and fourth places, respectively. Their hat trick is only broken by the UK coming in at second place. At the bottom of the European league comes Greece and Malta.For careful budgeting, the Scandinavians again are at the top: Denmark and Norway are currently the only European countries running a budget surplus. For anyone thinking of investing in the label business, however, the main drawback of Scandinavia is its relatively small domestic label market.
Milk, honey etc…
The Powers that Be in Europe want to invite the EU’s 450 million consumers to something special for their breakfast. Honey labels will soon have to show the country or countries of origin, and surreptitiously adding sugar will be an offense. For jams, the minimum fruit content will go up from 350 to 450 grams per kilo, fruit juice labels will need to show the exact sugar content, and labeling requirements for milk will be simplified.These new labeling requirements have been approved by the European Parliament and have now received the blessing of the Council of Europe. They will come into force within the next year and should pave the way to healthier breakfasting habits. This is not the first time Europe has had new labeling regulations for food products: six years ago the “Nutriscore” grading method began to give each product a score from A (admirable) to E (execrable), to give consumers a better idea of food products containing high amounts of sugar, salt or unsaturated fats.
This system, adopted so far by six European countries, has just been further amended to cover all milk-based products and also breakfast cereals, most of which still apparently contain far too much sugar. Sorry, folks, but don’t let it spoil your breakfast.