Clear and Tamper-Evident Seals are Needed to Meet Growing Demand and Protect Consumers

From personal care and healthcare product manufacturers to food and consumer goods companies, clear and tamper-evident labels are an essential packaging component for multiple industries worldwide. While these two label types are distinct in their uses, their common ground is their importance to consumers. They communicate vital product information and protect buyers who rely on them.

With demand for goods using these labels continuing to increase, it’s essential that companies have advanced, automated solutions in place to ensure these labels are present, and that the company will be able to meet that demand while avoiding issues pertaining to improper packaging. A clear label sensor is that automated solution. There are many different types of sensing solutions available, but with the cost for some in the extremes (especially when compared with machine vision systems), and the need for more flexibility to support changes in production, it can be difficult to know where to start.

For these applications (and indeed many others), ultraviolet (UV) light sensors are the most ideal solution. Here, we’ll explore why this type of clear label sensor makes sense for transparent and tamper-evident labels and seals.

Detecting Clear Labels

It’s likely that your organization has experienced a significant increase in demand for your products over the past year. With consumers stocking up on everything from household goods and cleaning products to food and beverage items, demand continues to increase nationwide — causing production lines to work overtime to keep up. With this increased speed, the risk of a product moving forward with label issues also increases.

A UV sensor is ideal in these production environments because it emits an ultraviolet beam of light, causing the target material to fluoresce (or glow). Other sensor types would have difficulty picking up the clear label due to its transparency — the sensor’s beam would simply pass through the target material. When this fluorescing reaction occurs, the sensor picks it up. If the sensor does not detect the presence of a luminescent material, it sends a signal to a programmable logic controller (PLC) or another automated system, allowing production workers and leaders to investigate the issue.

In instances involving clear labels, materials with tracers that fluoresce are most often adhesives and inks. However, UV sensors are common in other industries that need to detect the presence of certain materials as part of the production process:

  • Greases on automotive and medical parts
  • Optical brighteners in paper and films
  • Glues on packaging materials
  • Luminescent threads in textile
  • Oils and paints in wood processing

Learn how UV sensors ensured success for a major cosmetic, food, and pharmaceutical products manufacturer.

Detecting Tamper-Evident Seals

Consumers expect quality and safety in their personal care, pharmaceutical, and food products. The last thing your organization needs to be dealing with is concern about products being sold with broken seals — nor do you want sensors in a production line that can’t quickly or accurately detect the presence of these seals. These seals come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and designs but are typically clear labels, wafer seals, or strips applied to bottles, package flaps, and more.

As most tamper-evident labels are already manufactured with a luminescent property (typically the adhesive), detection itself shouldn’t be much of an issue. The manufacturer you worked with on your tamper-evident seals should also provide that information to you upfront. If you’re unsure, contact your label manufacturer. But similar to other types of transparent labels, you’ll need a UV clear label sensor to cause the adhesive to fluoresce as it passes through the sensor’s beam.

Learn how a UV sensor helped a shrink sleeve and tamper-evident shrink banding manufacturer verify label placement in a high-speed production line.

Meet the UVX Series: The Ideal Clear Label Sensor Choice

EMX Industries manufactures the UVX line of luminescence sensors for multiple industries nationwide. This high-speed sensor has been helping countless manufacturers verify the presence and placement of transparent and tamper-evident labels for years thanks to its extreme precision, fast response rate, and multiple models for different applications. And because the UVX costs a fraction of the price of machine vision systems, it can be immediately put to work in your production environment.

Along with all of our industrial sensors, we designed the UVX series to be easily integrated into virtually any production environment. Extensive detection range options, multiple accessories such as brackets and cabling, auto-teaching and calibration features, easy setup, and its small size mean the UVX can be custom-tailored to your unique production environment and label sensing needs.

Experience the Difference Firsthand with a Complimentary Sample Test

Unsure if the UVX will work with your material? Simply send your sample material to EMX, and our engineers will conduct free sample testing. Reports come with a written performance evaluation with photos of the sensor in action.

Get your free UVX material sample now.