With the help of label material manufacturer Herma, German paper maker Koehler Paper has developed a new thermal label solution. Called Blue4est Pro, the material is approved for direct food contact. Blue4est Pro is also the only thermal adhesive material in the world that does not contain a chemical developer, says the German paper manufacturer. Another environmental advantage is that Blue4est Pro can be recycled like conventional paper.
A new thermal printing system
The Blue4est Pro label is based on the same principle as the Blue4est receipt paper.
Unlike conventional thermal paper, the text is not produced by a chemical reaction with heat, but by a purely physical reaction. "An opaque functional layer on paper becomes transparent when subjected to heat, which has the effect of making the black layer underneath visible." details the manufacturer.
Blue4est Pro labels are readable for 35 years
"The Blue4est Pro features an additional layer that protects the paper from mechanical damage for use as a pressure sensitive label." he continues. The impression would thus be "extremely resistant" environmental conditions such as sunlight and humidity.
When stored under normal conditions, Blue4est Pro printed labels would remain readable for over 35 years. And despite the lower color and contrast than a conventional label, Herma confirms that the barcode reading is perfect. This property has been proven in a large-scale application test under real-life conditions.
New applications to come
Today, Blue4est Pro labels can be used for labeling fruit and vegetable scales with traditional machines. Further applications should be possible in the future.
Like the Blue4est thermal paper for receipts, the Blue4est Pro for labels is recognizable by its blue color.
"We are pleased to expand our eco-friendly Blue4est product line with Blue4est Pro for self-adhesive labels. This brings us one step closer to our vision of a "Blue Market," a supermarket that would only use environmentally friendly blue receipts and labels." says Sebastian Früh, deputy director of the thermal paper division at Koehler Paper.
