labels and labelling Barcode technology


delivers proven traceability Mark Beauchamp, European Marketing Manager for Citizen Systems Europe, discusses the relative merits of the latest competing methods of product tracking and traceability in the food sector.


RFID has been a hot topic for some time, with considerable rhetoric that has been designed to talk up the technology and its, as yet, largely unproven benefits. What has not been discussed, however, is the fact that for many food and beverage manufacturers and packaging companies there is still a lot of life left in the humble barcode and that existing systems offer a proven and cost effective, although perhaps less sexy, method of stock and product management.


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n many cases, an RFID tag will just be holding a simple tracking or serial number to identify a particular item, with no use being made of the read-write capability of the tag, making the amount of data stored no different to that of a ‘traditional’ 1D barcode. On the other hand, 2D matrix


barcodes, such as PDF417, QR Code and Datamatrix are able to hold many hundreds of characters of information. These conventional barcodes have already proven themselves capable of enabling efficient stock management, while a new generation of GS1 DataBar codes are expanding the potential of the system still further, offering sophisticated traceability and product specific labelling opportunities. In particular, the GS1 DataBar


codes are set to become the industry standard for labelling in the food retail sector. These barcodes can


be printed on extremely small labels, making them ideal for small or irregularly shaped food items and can support Global Trade Identification Numbers (GTIN) for variable data such as batch, expiration date, serial number, price, monetary value, size and weight. This in itself significantly reduces the potential for out of date products reaching the consumer, eliminating the risk of the bad press and consumer complaints that are so often associated with such an incident. It is also worth noting that care is needed when scanning multiple units using RFID technology. Non line of sight scanning is one of the great advantages of RFID in its simplest form but there are still many issues with low read rates, depending on the products being scanned. High water content or areas of metal affect the read rates dramatically so a check needs to be put in place to ensure that all items on a pallet of products are detected. Perhaps as importantly, although RFID can represent an important step forward in technology, its supposed benefits are currently only available at a cost; for example, the cost of RFID hardware is four times that of comparable barcode equipment, while the cost of applying an RFID label is eight times higher. In most cases, the latest barcode technologies are considerably quicker and simpler to implement, using a wide range of readily available hardware and


software. Furthermore, many established suppliers have a long track record of supporting equipment and have the expertise to deliver this at competitive prices. For example, the latest generation of simple to use and robust label printers from leading manufacturers, such as Citizen, offer a number of benefits, including robust constructions that offer long dependable service lives, maximising your return on investment. Additionally, the versatility of these new printers makes customisation possible at a minimal cost. Just as importantly, they are simple and fast to use ensuring maximum productivity in even the busiest of commercial environments. For instance, a vertically opening design makes it easy to access the inside of the printer for media and ribbon loading, while keeping the dimensions of the unit to an absolute minimum. This innovative design means that both media and ribbons can be changed in seconds, with virtually no risk of tangling or jamming.


Equally important, is the ability of these printers to accommodate different types and sizes of media as the latest generation of barcodes can be printed on extremely small labels and on plastic substrates as well as paper. While you may only need to print standard sized labels on paper at the moment, having the capacity to print other kinds of labels makes it simple to diversify your operations at minimum cost


at any point in the future. To increase the efficiency of printing systems still further, inline validation systems are now available, which can check and validate the labels as they are produced, quickly alerting users to any problems. It’s hardly surprising that many companies, while being attracted to the idea of innovation and the prospect of better stock control or product traceability, have been slow to change to RFID systems. Indeed, recent surveys have shown that, for example, only 17% of food companies have started to implement RFID strategies. With barcode technology continuing to offer considerable benefits to food manufacturing, processing and packaging companies across the world, it appears that it will remain the industry standard for the foreseeable future. ■


FMCG News 29


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