New role for recycled material

Can paper labels made from 100 percent recycled material solve the same demanding logistical tasks as labels made from virgin fibers? The self-adhesive specialist HERMA undertook a successful large-scale trial on its own behalf - and as a result has completely changed its standardized shipping labels for adhesive material rolls. HERMA alone produces more than one million of these so-called EPSMA roll labels per year. "In addition to our overriding environmental goal of achieving climate neutrality in 2021, we always keep our eyes on the inconspicuous things - always with the intention of making them even more sustainable," explains Dr. Ulli Nägele, Head of Development at HERMA Haftmaterial. The EPSMA roll labels on the adhesive material rolls play an important role in ensuring smooth logistics operations. Behind this is an industry-wide standardized identification system for the automatic registration of self-adhesive roll material. The labels, which are quite large in terms of area, usually contain several barcodes for this purpose, for example with information on the length, width, winding direction and number of splices on a roll, as well as customer data such as the order number. All barcodes must be able to be printed with pin-sharp definition in order to remain easily machine-readable at every step in the supply chain. When goods are shipped - sometimes all over the world - the labels are also exposed to fluctuating temperatures and must adhere securely even under demanding climatic conditions. HERMA has now proven that these challenges can also be met with labels made from environmentally friendly recycled material - based on its own adhesive material.

Best printing results on environmentally friendly paper
The HERMAcoat Recycling label paper (grade 236), which has been awarded the "Blue Angel" environmental seal, consists of 100 percent post-consumer recycled fibers obtained from household waste. The natural white, slightly glossy coated paper is ideal for demanding labels with multicolor printing and shows very good print quality in thermal transfer printing. It is therefore ideally suited for barcodes containing variable data, but also for high-quality multicolor printing, for example for the pre-printing of company logos or for product decoration. With the new label material, HERMA is replacing the HERMAextracoat label paper (grade 242) previously used. "For us, this changeover was only a first step, albeit an important one, as the total amount of material used is considerable," says Dr. Nägele. "Further internal conversions are in the pipeline. After all, sometimes it's the little things that we have to change in order to achieve remarkable things in total."