Pharmaceutical and Health Care Labelling

Pharmaceutical labelling is a relatively small area in the labelling industry and is characterized by a wide range of applications. Certain demanding applications require special properties from the label materials – for example adhesives with non-migration properties and label constructions that withstand various sterilization processes or storage at -80 C.

Special attention must be paid to labelling on small-diameter substrates such as test tubes, especially when the diameter is below 15 mm. There is a significant difference in performance when comparing labelling on glass and labelling on polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) test tubes. Overlapped labelling helps assure success, together with an appropriate combination of face material and adhesive.

Pharmaceutical products need to be traceable, and they usually have the batch number and expiration date imprinted on the label. Accordingly, the imprintability of the face material is important.

Pharmaceutical companies require that printers and converters use special label materials that have been put through extensive assessments such as migration studies and stability tests. UPM Raflatac provides pharmaceutical companies with technical information sheets, approvals and certification for its products.