Spotlight: Technology

New Active Labeling Technologies from Avery Dennison Provide Functionality and Flexibility in Package Design

The TT Sensor™ monitors time and temperature to alert consumers when a product may no longer be fresh.

Avery Dennison is diving into the active packaging business with three new "active label" products. With a portfolio comprised of the TT Sensor™ Time-Temperature Indicator, an Anti-Microbial active label, and an Air Release active label, the company is creating its own niche within active packaging and giving package designers some compelling new tools.

Avery Dennison is a Fortune 500 company perhaps best known as one of the world's leading office product and label suppliers. What is less known is that the firm actually boasts a vastly diverse product line including everything from decorative surfaces used in automobile interiors, high-tech fastening and joining materials, highly stylized appliance nameplates, components for HVAC, sound and vibration absorbing materials, in-mold labeling systems, and even cutting-edge RFID.

"Our expertise in engineering runs quite deep within the organization," says Michel Merkx, general manager of Avery Dennison's Industrial Division. "Active packaging--specifically active labels in this case--is a market we approach from a considerably strong position thanks to the knowledge we've gained in designing such a broad range of solutions."

As an industry leader, Avery Dennison has been pushing the technological envelope since its 1935 founding, when a young entrepreneur by the name of Stan Avery manufactured the world's first self-adhesive label. Given the company's 70-year history of engineering and technical advancement, Merkx views the company's new active labeling portfolio as a natural extension.

"At Avery Dennison we don't just make and sell labels," says Merkx. "We provide our customers with cost-reducing and labor-saving solutions that address unmet needs. The extension into Active Packaging really draws on that orientation. We're confident that designers will find these innovations to be extremely valuable in developing the next generation of packaging for their clients in a range of industries."

From its home in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville, the Industrial Division engineered and developed the new active labels at the request of current and prospective customers, and the TT Sensor™, Air Release, and Anti-Microbial products are all discretely designed to meet specific unmet needs.

Cold chain monitoring

Avery Dennison is launching its new active labeling portfolio with three technologies. One is the TT Sensor™, a Time-Temperature Indicator label that allows processors and consumers to accurately monitor the cold chain integrity of perishable products such as dairy, fresh seafood, meat, and even items one wouldn't automatically think of, such as fresh flowers. The product may also be of interest to companies that transport temperature-sensitive medical products, such as vaccines.

This small label releases steam build-up during cooking without any manipulation by the user.

Labels that change colors to denote the passage of time and temperature are certainly not new. But the way TT Sensor™ works is a considerable improvement over any other existing technology. TT Sensor™ is a two-piece label composed of an indicator label and a transparent activator label. The activator label is applied to the indicator, then immediately dispensed onto the package. Temperature monitoring begins only at that point. Unlike some previously marketed time-temperature indicator products, TT Sensor™ labels do not need to be refrigerated prior to application. The TT Sensor™ tags can be decorated, printed and cut in just about any fashion to suit specific design requirements.

The typical cold-chain distribution cycle presents multiple opportunities for perishable items to be exposed to inappropriate temperatures. The TT Sensor™ irreversibly turns color over a range of times and temperatures and can be tuned to fit many perishable products.

A fungicidal package

Avery-Dennison's anti-microbial label releases chlorine dioxide gas to fight both bacteria and fungi.

The second technology is the Anti-Microbial active label. Placed within fresh produce packaging, it releases trace amounts of chlorine dioxide--safely and reliably impeding the growth of mold and bacteria. It is similarly effective with other products susceptible to degradation from moisture, such as leather goods.

Anti-microbial agents and the delivery systems for them have been around for quite some time. Avery Dennison's new Anti-Microbial active label allows package designers to discretely integrate the distribution system into the package without taking up space or compromising appearance.

The anti-microbial label delivers miniscule, time-released amounts of chlorine dioxide gas (ClO2). This is an extremely efficacious broad spectrum antimicrobial--effective against both bacteria and fungi. It helps eliminate odors and helps retard microbial growth on perishable items, thus extending shelf life. Avery Dennison has developed a formulation wherein the ClO2 can be dispersed safely from a label. This creates entire new markets for the technology. In lab tests, for example, the inclusion of one small anti-microbial label on the inside of rigid plastic packaging significantly extended the shelf life of fresh berries. The time-release delivery of the ClO2 is moisture activated. Typically, the content of the package has enough inherent moisture to activate the label.

Please release me

The third technology Avery-Dennison is introducing is the Air Release active label. It's a one-way valve that releases air or steam from within any type of flexible packaging. Packaging ranging from food storage bags to film-lidded prepared entrees to large multi-wall shipping sacks can benefit from this cost-effective label that performs as well or better than bulky, costlier alternatives.

Avery Dennison's Air Release active label is essentially a one-way valve that allows air or steam to be evacuated from flexible packages while maintaining fluid resistance. "In terms of its function, it's a valve. In terms of its appearance, it's a label," says Merkx.

The Air Release active label can be used in lieu of bulky plastic valves on any package where unwanted air entrapment is an issue. By releasing air, the label can reduce storage space requirements for any material in flexible packaging; companies can make more efficient use of space in shipping containers, thereby reducing overall shipping costs.

Air Release active labels are available now, and a high-temperature Steam Release version is being developed. The high-temperature version will be effective with prepared entrees to release steam during the cooking or baking process, eliminating the need to manually cut slits into packages. So in terms of the frozen processed food market, this fully printable label has enormous benefits to both the end-user and to the brand manager. To learn about these products, dial 866-476-9845 or email: ipd-info@averydennison.com.