Packaging
Innovation vs. Imitation
Thursday 08. May 2008 - COPACO Group designs packaging solutions to protect the sales chain
As part of its initiative to boost product and brand protection, the COPACO Group is showcasing packaging solutions for coun-terfeit protection under the slogan “Innovation vs. Imitation – Concepts & So-lutions” at InnovationParc Packaging at Interpack 2008. In cooperation with its partners – the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and Aktion Pla-giarius e.V. – the Group will be giving live demonstrations and holding spe-cialist lectures to provide information on how to protect the sales chain against counterfeiters and brand piracy.
Interpack, the worlds leading industry trade fair, is thus taking up the pressing issue of the high numbers of counterfeit products still available on the market today. Headlines, such as “Forged USB sticks on the market – manufacturer recalls fakes”, “Poisonous fakes from China – the wrong toothpaste causes concern” or “Product pirates fake toothbrushes – how Dr. Best becomes Dr. Brush in China”, reveal how consumers are being confronted with forgeries even when shopping for everyday items at their local supermarket. Forgeries are increasingly becoming a direct threat to the health and life of consumers. In this way, product and brand protection are evolving into consumer protection.
When developing its security concepts, the COPACO Group makes sure that they impact on the entire sales chain – from the manufacturer to the consumer. This is the only way to ensure that the flow of goods is monitored from start to finish, mak-ing it possible to identify and confiscate forgeries faster and more effectively. In this context, IT-related concepts and printable electronics are increasingly being added to classic security features in printing applications. As an independent consultant, the COPACO Group offers state-of-the-art technology. In its joint R&D projects, the Group utilizes the bundled development and production know-how of its members.
MEDICAPROTEC from August Faller KG (Waldkirch, Binzen, Schopfheim) of-fers integral security concepts for folding cartons, packaging supplements and labels, primarily for the pharmaceutical and health care sectors.
Karl Knauer (Biberach/Baden) combines printing with web and cell phone tech-nology in its “Karl Knauer Ident 3.0 NFC” solution. Integrated alphanumerical or data matrix codes individualize packaging, enabling checks of a products origi-nality to be conducted via Internet or cell phone.
One specialist area of Limmatdruck/Zeiler (Spreitenbach, Köniz/Switzerland) is the integration of RFID chips into the packaging process.
rlc | packaging security from the rlc | packaging group (Hanover, Berlin, Poznan/Poland) is a consulting and security concept that encompasses printed security features and the integration of functional materials. Using the process of cold foil transfer, which is still in its infancy, rlc also opens up opportunities for increasing counterfeit protection in inline printing via the packaging design alone.
For some five years now, the COPACO Group has been focusing on customer-specific, turnkey security solutions that use the packaging as a means of product and brand protection. During this period, the Group has continued to expand its de-velopment and consulting services by bundling the expertise in the COPACO Prod-uct and Brand Protection action group and working together with Aktion Plagiarius e.V. and the VDMA. The Group is also the first packaging manufacturer to join the Organic Electronics Association (OE-A), the expert international working group of the VDMA.