Multi-Color Corporation, a labeling specialist, and Digimarc Corporation, creator of the Digimarc platform for digital identification and detection, are collaborating on a project to serialize packaging and product labels with Digimarc Barcode. MCC is also a member of the HolyGrail 2.0 project, and the company uses an additional Digimarc application – non-serialized digital watermark identities – with its client Orkla to improve plastic grading and promote a circular economy.

To help mitigate the impact of recalls in the food industry, MCC and Digimarc have jointly developed a hybrid printing method in which the Digimarc barcode can be printed in high volumes.

Plastic containers can be serialized with a Digimarc label produced by MCC’s hybrid printing process. Quality control procedures ensure Digimarc is scannable throughout the supply chain. And when consumer brands combine serialized products with an IoT management platform, individual packages can easily be traced back to their origin on a specific farm, as well as through the entire supply chain.

“Traceability is essential for consumer brands and food manufacturers to promote consumer safety, mitigate risks and obtain real-time information on raw materials and the location of products in farms, warehouses, the logistics and distribution centers, ”said Matthew Thomas, MCC Director of Business Development. “MCC’s expertise in digital and hybrid printing brings Digimarc’s serialized identities to life at scale. It is an association that is perfectly positioned to impact the food supply chain of today and the future ”.

Plastics Sorting Application

In addition to using Digimarc’s serialized barcode, MCC Verstraete IML is working with Orkla to introduce Digimarc’s digital watermark identities on the packaging of one of its product lines. Interactive IML (Injection Molding Labels) labels with Digimarc can enable accurate and reliable scanning to improve plastics sorting and return more plastics to the recovery stream.