Software & Controls


Why demand for colour labelling in the supply chain is on the rise


is easier to convey a flammable hazard by creating a picture of bright red flames than writing about the danger in different languages.


ADVANTAGES OVER PRE- PRINTED LABEL STOCK One would think that pre-printing label stock in large quantities is the best way to ensure that a business always has enough labels on hand. But what happens when the information on those labels becomes outdated or is no longer applicable? What if you need to quickly respond to a customer’s changing demands? There are substantial inefficiencies


By Josh Roffman, vice president product management, atLoftware


industries in order to meet evolving customer and corporate branding requirements. Also, new government regulations, which require the use of colour, are leading businesses to completely overhaul the way they identify and label products. These evolving mandates are


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further driving investments in colour labelling. With these impending changes it is becoming increasingly important to have a solution in place that allows companies to quickly and easily add colour to their labels and adjust to shifting circumstances. Therefore, as customers’ demands change companies must evolve their labelling strategies right alongside their products and processes to avoid any disruptions in their supply chain. Enterprise Labelling Solutions that


support colour label printing in an automated fashion have proven to be indispensable for doing business in today’s global supply chain. Implementing this type of approach offers the power and flexibility to support complex, global and high


28 November 2016


he need to support colour label printing is becoming more prevalent across all


volume labelling and allows companies to quickly and easily create colour labels. This improves usability and brand recognition and, most importantly safety, without all the effort, cost and waste associated with using pre-printed stock. A wide range of industries have


seen governments make a steady push to increase safety through the use of better warning labels. While long chunks of text or black-and- white images can be easily missed or ignored, colour labels stand out and demand attention. As such, new global rules are calling for coloured symbols on labels, which can more clearly indicate any crucial information that both handlers and customers in the supply chain need to know. A recent Top 5 Trends in Enterprise Labelling survey (which polled over 600 supply chain and IT professionals) by Loftware, one of the market leaders in Enterprise Labelling Solutions, showed that over 45 per cent of respondents identified regulatory demands as a business driver for colour labelling. Colour labels can also solve other,


less obvious problems associated with shipping dangerous goods. For instance, colour offers a clear advantage with language barriers. It


www.convertermag.co.uk


and significant costs associated with using pre-printed stock. When manufacturers rely on pre-printed labels, any type of change or label variation means existing labels must be switched out, resulting in lost time and reduced efficiencies. Using pre-printed stock for colour


labelling also requires companies to anticipate their needs and store vast amounts of labels. Some companies require up to 40,000 square feet of space simply to store label stock. There is also significant waste associated with stored labels when changes are made and the existing stock becomes obsolete. Being able to rapidly fix a problem with a label, without having to re-print an entire batch, is an important advantage for any business. Many industries are learning that this type of on- demand printing is a preferable solution to pre-printed stock.


MEETING CUSTOMER NEEDS Companies today are demanding that labels reflect the colours that are fundamental to that brand. If


your logo has a specific look and a particular resonance, you shouldn’t alter it. Instead, standardise it across all corporate labels and documents. This can also provide a simple anti- counterfeit measure; companies can work to combat counterfeiting with colour consistency – providing a key attribute for identifying a brand. Also, the use of colour labelling


has become critically important for grouping and identifying product and managing inventory for large global enterprises. These labels commonly contain colour codes and graphics that make it easier to distinguish between brands, sizes and product models.


DEMAND FOR SOFTWARE THAT CAN HANDLE COLOUR PRINTING Using an Enterprise Labelling Solution from a company like Loftware, which leverages native print drivers, offers unrivalled performance, allowing users to minimise network traffic and bandwidth. This approach simplifies printer deployments so customers can drive colour label printing without requiring an install of Windows drivers across multiple environments. This reduces maintenance and management of the printer network, increasing control and ensuring consistency. The right Enterprise Labelling


Solution offers extensive native colour print capabilities to support all types of colour printing across a global enterprise. This empowers companies to support high levels of variability to support all forms of customer requirements.


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