People have a massive craving for information these days and when it comes to their money they can be even pickier about what they want to know. A popular saying is, “speak with your wallet;” which is letting companies and businesses know more about what people expect out of the products they purchase. An extraordinary way to allow people to get that information they desire is with “Smart Labels”. Smart Labels are typically a QR code or a standard UPC Barcode, both of which serve a great purpose in this age of smartphones and intelligent shopping. First off, what are QR codes? Well, they’re very similar to the regular “Universal Product Codes” Barcodes that can be found on just about any and every product in any store. A QR code, or a “Quick Response” Code, was designed in 1994 in Japan by the automotive company “Denso Wave” for quickly registering scans on moving commercial vehicles. QR Codes do just about the same thing as a standard UPC Code but, instead of just having the data read out horizontally; it is both horizontal and vertical to allow for more combinations of information to be read by the scanner. There can be up to 44 characters input into a standard QR code, which is long enough for an average web address. This is where smart phones and smart labels come in handy. Smart Labels allow businesses to put the information consumers need right in their hands so that their data addiction can be satisfied and they can make the best possible choice with their wallets. Take, for example, some pepperoni found in a local grocery store; people want to know more than just the standard ingredients and nutritional information that’s been given out since nutritional labels became standard practice. Consumers want to know where that meat was made, how the animals were treated before slaughter, the process in which the pepperoni was made, what kind of packaging it was stored in, whether the packaging is sustainable or environmentally friendly and then from all of that and more the consumer can decide for themselves the quality of the item and whether or not they choose to purchase it. There is infinite information about everything people consume, from the beginning processes all the way until after they throw the wrapper away. Not only does a smart label or QR code help the consumer, it can massively assist in the workflow of producing labels. Many different labels can be printed on a single web path and with QR codes and the help of the new “Auto-Job Change” software and sensor on the ANYCUT laser finishing models or ANYBLADE. What this new feature allows for is the cut for each individual label can be changed when the QR code that is linked to a data file is scanned by the new sensor. QR Codes revolutionize the workflow of a standard label production line and allow for many different small jobs to be printed and finished automatically in a single line. Now, the question is; how is all of this going to fit on one label? Especially in this age of minimalism in design, one can say it’s nearly impossible. But not with Smart Labels. Businesses can conform to the demands of their consumers in every way possible by satisfying their minds and their eyes by giving them the information they desire without all the visual clutter on the label. This will help, not only the people, but the businesses because the Smart Labels will bring people to their websites where they can find more about the products and businesses they’re looking to support with their wallets. Then, if they enjoy the product enough, it can bring them back and they’ll know where to find out more because they have already been to the site. How can a business make this their reality? With the power of new digital printing and labeling systems any business can hop on this information game and give everyone involved what they want. Consumers can have the information and beautiful labels they crave, and businesses can give them the eye-catching labels with all the data a consumer could ask for, all in one, with an ANY-002 or 1600-C. This, paired with a high quality finisher like the ANYCUT-I laser finisher, can be all a business needs to put consumers in the palm of their hand. The ANY-002 is a digital toner based printing system that can print extremely durable, long lasting Smart Labels on tons of different materials to ensure consumers can always gain the information they need. For finishing, an ANYCUT laser finisher can be utilized for perfect precision on each and every label produced. These are just a few of the choices a business may have in creating the perfect product for their consumers. If this is something that may work for your business, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns and we would be happy to answer them.
