Test Your Packaging IQ – Packaging Labels

Various printing and packaging technologists believe that a label is the first thing that a customer sees, and judging by the label, the customer decides whether to buy the product or no.

When shrink sleeves were introduced, it transformed the packaging space up to a great extent.

But do you know that who invented the shrink sleeves? It was Japan-based Fuji Seal who invented the shrink sleeve labels in the year 1960.

It has also become the first company to manufacture the world’s first 3D-compatible shrink labels.

This edition of ‘Test your Packaging IQ’ contains fun and trivia about the labels. Please take this simple quiz and reveal to yourself, how well-versed you are with the history of labels.

22 Mar 2019 | By WhatPackaging? Team

 Q.  Which was the first application of heat-shrinkable sleeves?
 A.  The first heat-shrinkable sleeves were introduced when polyethylene pipeline coatings started to replace bituminous or tape coatings in the oil and gas industry. At that time, the processing for polyethylene to make the sleeve backing was new technology and the adhesives used in sleeves were much the same as those used on pipeline coating.

 Q.  Who founded the world’s first self-adhesive label?
 A.  R Stanton Avery manufactured the world's first self-adhesive labels. This label came with a paper surface and a coat of adhesive. The manufacturers would then stick a liner onto the adhesive.

 Q.  Which was the first company to develop In-mould labels?
 A.   The technology was first developed by Owens-Illinois in cooperation with Procter & Gamble to supply pre-labelled bottles that could be filled on the product filling line. This was first applied to Head & Shoulders shampoo bottles.

 Q.  RFID labels were a revolution in the world of smart labelling, but have you ever wondered who invented the RFID technology?
 A.   Charles Walton is known as the first patent holder for the RFID (radio frequency identification) device. Many individuals contributed to the invention of the RFID, but Walton was awarded ten patents in all for various RFID-related devices, including his key 1973 design for a "Portable radio frequency emitting identifier.

 Q.  Who has the record for having the largest collection of beer labels?
 A.   The largest collection of beer labels belongs to Hendrik Thomann (Germany) and it consists of 548,567 different labels. The collection consists of 173,324 beer labels from Germany and the other 375,243 labels are from the rest of the world.