Barcodes were used as early as the 1960’s. Then, the main use of barcoding was to mark rolling railway stock. Overtime barcodes became more adaptive and commercially successful. The boom in barcoding came when barcodes were used to automate supermarket checkout systems. A task for which, up until today, they have become almost universally known.

Interestingly the first scanning of the now ubiquitous Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode was on a pack of Wrigley Company chewing gum in June 1974. The 1970’s also saw the creation of a global standard of barcode practice, the GS1 System.  This enables international traders a common playing field for pharmaceutical companies distributing products locally and internationally.

Despite the overall increase in bottom-line production costs in South Africa, barcoding still remains a relatively affordable and effective trace packaging solution.

GS1 and Compliancy

GS1’s main goal is to lead the local design and implementation of global barcode standards to improve the supply and demand chain. The creative thinking here is to decrease long-term costs and increase market accessibility by ensuring that international standards are adhered to within the South African, Southern Africa and African markets.

“While the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 10 to 15 percent of the global drugs supply are fake, in Africa fake medicines may account for up to 30% of medicines in circulation.” – health24.com

Counterfeiting, especially in the pharmaceutical market, is prevalent. Through the implementation of these global standards the GS1 assists companies in reducing costs related to counterfeiting. This is done by ensuring that the right equipment in used to ensure optimum traceability.

We take a look at GSI endorsed marking technologies and the benefits if use:

Laser Marking Technology

Pharmaceutical manufacturers are required by law to code the packaging of their products. The specific of the coding is outlined in South African legislation.  Manufacturers, deadling with international trade are required to further adhere to global standards for exportation.  Laser marking technology is used to apply coding due to their ability to mark paper and board, glass and the plastics typically used in packaging.

Lasers technology is a suitable option for marking high quality, anti-counterfeit data on pharmaceutical products. The laser systems are easily programmable for printing variable data permanently on products, either still on in motion.

The Benefits – Laser marking systems are an attractive alternative to inkjet (continuous and thermal) because they are clean, reliable and low cost. Companies will also benefit from the low operating costs since no consumables are needed. Supplemented with cameras and 2-D codes, the coding can be inspected immediately to avoid faulty batches or product recalls.

Continuous Inkjet Marking (CIJ) and udaFORMAXX

Typical applications for CIJ technology is for printing barcodes, data matrix codes and PPN codes to assist against counterfeiting.

The Benefits – The CIJ inks are fast drying reliable compared to other inks available.

The udaFORMAXX used to create the coding, is ideal for use in coding expiry date, lot, batch number, time, incremental numbering, barcodes, data matrix, shift, price, weight, and logos, addressing and personalisation. Counterfeit medicines are a danger to consumer health and cause considerable financial loss to manufacturers. The udaFORMAXX offline carton coding system gives pharmaceutical companies an easy and fast method of coding their products.

Optimum safety and control conditions are vital in the pharmaceutical production process. For this reason, KBA-Metronic equips the udaFORMAXX optionally with a double inspection and verification device to ensure that skewed cartons or cartons that are stuck together are prevented from getting unprinted through production.

The Benefits – UdaFORMAXX is operational offline and can be adapted to any existing line system. With speeds of up to 1,000 packs per minute, just-in-time orders can be handled efficiently equipped with coding and control systems, the products are clearly assigned and accurately coded for full traceability.

Optimum safety and control conditions are vital in the pharmaceutical production process. For this reason, KBA-Metronic equips the udaFORMAXX optionally with a double inspection and verification device to ensure that skewed cartons or cartons that are stuck together are prevented from getting unprinted through production.

Counterfeiting Kills

Both laser and Inkjet technology has the ability to reduce counterfeiting. www.thetalko.com lists 12 dangers of counterfeiting, with some instance leading to death. Ensuring that your supply chain implements the best trace technology is essential in saving lives. Counterfeiting cannot be ignored, but it can be stopped. From laser marking to CIJ marking using UdaFORMAXX, these products are specifically designed to prevent counterfeiting and keep your product 100% in your sights, leading to complete traceability.