UPM, Xeikon, Magic Add make smart labels smarter

Label substrate supplier UPM Raflatac has partnered with digital press manufacturer Xeikon and serialisation platform Magic Add to enhance its RafMore intelligent label solution.

Magic Add can now send IDs for RafMore labels directly to Xeikon presses from the cloud, where the labels can be printed with any standard, machine-readable code.

According to Jeroen Van Bauwel, director of product management at Xeikon, this enables smart labels to be printed in great quantities, with short turnaround times. “Even if you need several million labels, you can just choose to add IDs to them during the normal printing process. Integrating Magic Add’s ID generation into Xeikon’s X-800 work flow enables new applications and reduces the time because there’s no need for manual integration,” said Van Bauwel.

At Labelexpo Xeikon, UPM Raflatac, and Magic Add demonstrated the benefits of this integration with fully origin-tracked coffee samples, which were tracked starting at point of harvest in Guatemala all the way through roasting and packaging.

Sami Poukka, vice president for Global Business and Segment Development at UPM Raflatac, said the trial aimed to increase transparency by showing consumers exactly where their coffee came from and how it travelled along the supply chain.

“This is a holistic demo of both the value of smart packaging and how easy it is for brands to introduce it to their products,” said Poukka.

UPM Raflatac says that its RafMore smart labels can also authenticate products, fight counterfeiting, narrow product recalls, and show consumers sustainability credentials.