Che Hinds

Printing and Product Packaging Research

Offset Lithography
In offset lithography a printing plate, which is most often made from aluminum, contains an image of the
content that needs to be printed. When the plate is inked, only this image part holds ink. That inked image
is subsequently transferred (or offset) from the plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface.
The process can be used to print on paper, cardboard, plastic or other materials, but these have to have a
flat surface.
Typically black get printed first, followed by cyan, magenta and yellow.
For higher volume work offset presses use rolls of paper. Offset is nowadays the most widely used
printing technique for an extensive range of products such as books, newspapers, stationery, corrugated
board, posters, etc.

Flexography
In flexography the content that needs to be printed is on a relief of a printing plate, which is made from
rubber. This plate is inked and that inked image is subsequently transferred to the printing surface. The
process can be used to print on paper as well as plastics, metals, cellophane and other materials. Flexo is
mainly used for packaging and labels and to a lesser extent also for newspapers.

Digital Printing
Digital printing can be done in various ways. Two technologies dominate the industry:

 Inkjet – In an inkjet printer the image that needs to be printed is created by small droplets of ink
that are propelled from the nozzles of one or more print heads. Inkjet devices can print on a wide
range of substrates such as paper, plastic, canvas or even doors and floor tiles. Inkjet printing is
used a lot for posters and signage. It is also economical for short run publications such as photo
books or small runs of books. In-line inkjet printers are sometimes combined with other types of
presses to print variable data, such as the mailing addresses on direct mail pieces.

 Xerography – In xerographic printers, such as laser printers, the image that needs to be printed is
formed by selectively applying a charge to a metal cylinder called a drum. The electrical charge is
used to attract toner particles. These particles are transferred to the media that is being printed on.
To make sure the toner is fixed properly, the substrate passes through a fuser that melts the toner
into the medium. Laser printers are not only used in offices but also for small run printing of
books, brochures and other types of document. These printers are also used for transactional
printing (bills, bank documents, etc) and direct mail.

Gravure
Also known as rotogravure, this is a technique in which an image is engraved into a printing cylinder.
That cylinder is inked and this ink subsequently transfers to the paper. Gravure is used for high volume
work such as newspapers, magazines, and packaging.
Che Hinds

Screen Printing
As its name implies, this printing technique relies on a screen, which is a woven piece of fabric. Certain
areas of this mesh are coated with a non-permeable material. In the remaining open spaces ink can be
pushed through the mesh onto a substrate. The advantage of screen printing is that the surface of the
recipient does not have to be flat and that the ink can adhere to a wide range of materials, such as paper,
textiles, glass, ceramics, wood, and metal.

Printers In Barbados
Offset Printing: COT Printeries

Flexography: Gildan

Digital Printing: PBS

Gravure Printing: NATION

Screen Printing: Empower

Packaging & Material Factories in Barbados

Labels: Caribbean Label Crafts

Bottles: KeepINTOUCH

Containers: COT Printeries

Che Hinds

Labeling Standards
There are many different types of labeling standards depending on the type of product. The
Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI) is the governmental body who regulates the
labeling of products that are imported and exported to the Barbadian consumer. Here are some
example requirements taken directly from their official documents:

Manufacture of wooden craft items –

Establishes the minimum requirements for the manufacture and production of wooden craft items. The
document is more focused on performance than prescriptive requirements for craft items. May be
applied to all wooden craft items in the manufacturing stage or at the point of sale to retailers and end
consumers. It focuses on work made by individual craftspersons by hand. However, to improve
efficiency and production, some craftspersons and manufacturers may employ tools, technology and
other expertise to their best advantage. Does not apply to production techniques used solely for high
volume output if such techniques:

a) do not add to the overall quality and design; and

b) are not performed with the skill and craftsmanship required.

Paper products for personal cleansing –

Sets requirements for the performance, dimensions, labelling, sampling and testing of the following
paper products represented for use in personal hygiene and cleaning:

a) facial tissues;

b) paper napkins;

c) paper towels roll or sheet form.

Toilet Tissue in Rolls is covered by a separate standard. For convenience, some quantities are expressed
approximately in the inch-pound system of units. The quantities given in SI (metric) units are those
required to be met.

In their catalogue, it seems that these sections refer to the types of products and grouping of
standards they would have to follow.

N.B. I wasn’t able to discover the actual labeling requirements themselves, BNSI probably has a
much larger document offline where it lists the needed information on the product.
Che Hinds

What is a barcode?
A barcode is “A machine-readable code in the form of numbers and a pattern of parallel lines of
varying widths, printed on and identifying a product.” The lines and patterns on a barcode are
actually representations of numbers and data and their development allowed basic information
about a product to be easily read by an optical scanning device, a barcode scanner, and
automatically entered into a computer system. This vastly reduced the time it took to record such
information and eliminated the potential for human data entry error.

1D vs 2D Barcodes
There are two types of barcodes: linear – or 1D, and 2D. The most visually recognizable, the
UPC (Universal Product Code) is a linear 1D barcode made up of two parts: the barcode and the
12-digit UPC number. The first six numbers of the barcode is the manufacturer’s identification
number. The next five digits represent the item’s number. The last number is called a check digit
which enables the scanner to determine if the barcode was scanned correctly.

The development of the 2D barcode greatly expanded the application of barcodes. Now that they
could contain more information and are easily readable by consumers (via their mobile phones)
the 2D barcode could do much more than just keep track of assets and inventory.

Today, 2D codes, especially QR codes, which can hold as much as 7,000 digits or 4,000
characters of text, are used by companies to share information or websites and videos with
consumers, or by healthcare facilities to monitor medication, and even to integrate data with
programs like MS Office, MS SQL Servers, and other databases and files. Try this free QR code
generator to create a QR code for your business.

How do barcodes work?

Barcodes work through the combination of a symbology (the barcode) and a scanner that can
read the symbols and convert them into useful information, often information about an item’s
origin, price, type, and location. The scanner reads the barcode and automatically enters the
information stored in it into a system – often some type of database.

This tool has provided many, many benefits for businesses. It paved the way for the globally
connected distribution channels we now have and it is what allows big corporations like Walmart
to ensure they have products properly stocked and priced around the world. It has also become a
crucial tool to help small and medium businesses, as well as hospitals and government groups,
keep track of assets and improve their efficiencies.