Quality begins with the tag

TRACEABILITY Demand for smart labels grows in step with the requirements for constant control of flows (and costs) along the supply chain. Eurolabel responds by bringing to the table a range of quality custom tags and all the competencies necessary for coordinating the supply of a complete Rfid system.

Recent times have seen an increase in the use of smart labels, which are able to track processes and movements of products, their containers and their means of transport. This increase goes hand in hand with a growing awareness of how much money, time and effort can be saved by using an Rfid tag to manage complex logistical flows, or to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of goods, or as a tool against counterfeiting and for controlling parallel channels (grey markets), typically in the pharmaceutical and fashion industries. Aldo Franco, director general of Eurolabel, a renowned and established label supplier operating in the Rfid field, gives his two cents: «The applications of this technology are countless and still growing, and the systems involved are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with hardware (gates) and software, consumption materials (the tags) and engineering that must be defined on a case-by-case basis, depending on specific objectives. In recent years, an increasing number of concerns ask the supplier first of all for information and advice.

This has also happened to us: in addition to our usual customers, mostly logistics providers and system integrators with expert knowledge in the field, we are being contacted more and more by direct users who often do not have a clear idea on how to proceed. They talk to us because we have managed to garner a reputation by word of mouth, and also because we can count on extensive knowhow concerning supports, adhesives and converting techniques, and are therefore able to supply tags that work, specially tailored and with guaranteed adhesion. But also because we are willing to share our knowledge and that of our technology partners, helping the customer to design a solution that is as advantageous functionally as it is economically».

Free. And specialized
Eurolabel has been on the market since 1964 with a varied and constantly evolving range of self-adhesive labels, sleeves and smart labels. In all these sectors, and in the latter for very good reason, the concern has garnered appreciation for its ability to supply tailored products, designed alongside the customer and often of difficult execution.
Roberto Sforza, Eurolabel’s marketing manager adds, «The skills needed in order to supply the most suitable tag for each use, and to guarantee its correct functioning, are complex and constantly changing. From the moment in which we receive the antenna and printed chips (dry inlays), we produce the wet inlays (adhesive labels) in a series of steps that begins with defining the support (material type, weight and any printing techniques, customizations and embellishments) and identifying the most appropriate adhesive, which is crucial to ensuring that the tag stays attached to “its” product throughout the supply chain and product life cycle, even under extreme and changing conditions: preservation in refrigerated environments that create condensation, the sterilization processes to which re-usable pallets are subjected, the many clever tricks used in order to divert valuable goods away from legitimate commercial channels... Our experience in this field is truly vast and is being continuously renewed thanks to our collaboration with the most important suppliers of standard and special materials, who update us on the evolution of the technologies and grant us access to their R&D labs so that we can experiment with new combinations of elements. So it has worked for years for antennae and chips, a field in which we have a consolidated relationship with select concerns, first of which Lab ID in Castel Maggiore (BO), with which we also design custom solutions, and with all the guarantees of a Made in Italy product».

On the basis of these solid technological foundations, Eurolabel has consolidated its position as a supplier of quality Rfid tags with the right cost/performance ratio, and today the concern is often given the role of prime contractor, able to provide consulting with equal expertise in the other aspects - hard and soft - of the identification system. «This came naturally following an initial two-fold decision: while other suppliers make their own gates, chips, software and “system architecture” - Sforza explains - we preferred to continue to do only that at which we cab truly excel and stand apart, which is to say labels. In order to be able to supply complete radiofrequency identification systems, then, we combine forces with the manufacturers of the other elements at play: over time we have developed a network of concerns that share a common level of competence, mentality and attitude toward service, familiar to us and with which we are able to work well, among which we call on those most suited to serve each specific application as the need arises. In this way, on one hand we have not had to take on the financial and organizational burden of producing everything in house, and on the other (and for this very reason), we are free to propose the solutions which we consider to be the best, unless the customer expresses particular preferences».

Everything ad hoc, including the machinery
Thus, in Eurolabel the orientation toward service is based on specialization of the competencies and processes, which, in their turn, are continuously stimulated by the requests of customers, feeding a virtuous circle of improvement. «If we are asked for millions of standard pieces, we’re ready to supply them with the quality and guarantees that set us apart - Aldo Franco explains further - but oftentimes basic tags are found at competitive prices in emerging markets where, as is known, concerns operate with costs and criteria very different from ours. When, on the other hand, the customer needs guaranteed quality or a particular kind of process, they contact us; our organization, right down to the facilities and equipment, have evolved accordingly».
At its Lainante facility, where Eurolabel produces its RfId labels, the RfId tag converting  equipment has been heavily customized.

«Here - the manager goes on - the dry inlay is attached to adhesive and double-sided adhesive materials, and, when necessary, coated and punched. But with the same installation, which we have had specially adapted, we can also punch every single tag, work with different kinds of supports with different thicknesses and, more generally, create products of the desired shape and size with maximum precision cuts, in such a way as to not compromise the integrity of the antenna or chip. Being able to do all this on the same machine enables obvious economies of scale and improved workflows. But, most importantly, it enables us to best phase the register and tension of the various materials that make up the finished product, each with its own thickness, elasticity, surface characteristics etc. And this applies even when we need to combine many more elements (and more variable in size), than “normal” installations - permanent or removeable adhesives, double-sided and frontal adhesives, covers and undercovers... - while still guaranteeing the same level of perfection».
Also quality control, an integral part of Eurolabel’s supply service, is performed on special machines. «With our installations - Sforza volunteers - we perform various steps of scanning, identification, traceability and verification of the reel, starting with the efficiency of the chip. With this equipment we have implemented all the elements necessary in order to perform 100% or random controls, following the parameters set according to need, by marking defective tags and producing report files».
Eurolabel operates with UNI EN 9001:2008 certification, guaranteeing its compliance with quality standards throughout the production cycle: from the selection of suppliers to the verification of materials used, from technological control to turning over production scraps.