Materials choice tackles migration concerns

Migration is a major issue relating to labels ‘not yet fully appreciated by many people,’ says Frank Neumann, managing director of Gundlach Logo, one of Germany’s leading label converters.

Determined to address the subject head-on, Neumann takes special care not only when selecting suitable printing inks but also in the choice of self-adhesive materials.

He has worked closely with Herma, which has developed a pioneering approach to combating substance migration using its multi-layer coating technology.

Gundlach Logo is a medium-sized label converter situated in the southern German town of Mahlberg. Around 100 employees produce labels chiefly for retail discounters’ private brands in the cosmetics, food, drink, pharmaceutical, domestic cleaning, chemical and automotive sectors. Their work entails producing large quantities at short notice, in many cases in more than 20 different languages. Responsiveness and flexibility are therefore key.

‘Sometimes we have just 10-15 days to complete an order,’ explains Jürgen Riether, head of procurement for Gundlach Logo. ‘And by the time the data is ready for printing, we often have only five days left for production.’ At the same time, retailers are very strict as regards product safety – for these companies, product recall campaigns, possibly spanning several European countries, are to be avoided at all costs.