More Economy and Ecology in Logistics by Small and Thin Multilingual IFU Booklets
Sustainability is considered a priority across the entire pharmaceutical packaging value chain, and more and more companies are making efforts to be eco-friendly in everything they do.
The printing of Instructions for Use (IFU) or Patient Information Leaflets (PIL) represents a highly specialist print job. IFU packaging plays a critical role in delivering vital information to patients and consumers and involves printing booklets and inserts required for products, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals, under rigorous regulatory requirements. Every single prescription sold to consumers needs strictly regulated IFUs to be included as part of the pharmaceutical packaging. It is paramount, as the information included in an IFU helps to provide guidance on the proper use of a medication or device.
These days, device labelling has also become a critical business process for manufacturing companies and the manufacturer/marketing authorizing holder is required to continuously monitor product safety from PMS and update the label information as applicable. And the new European Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) has brought with it added complexity, urging companies to review their labelling structure and design.
Crucially, sustainable packaging implies using those materials with the most limited environmental impact possible but also accounting for what goes into their production and what happens after they’re used. According to The European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment, “packaging needs to be able to fulfil its enabling role in a circular economy by optimising resource use, minimising waste and extending the value in a product and the economy.” However, in delivering eco-friendly packaging options, the pharmaceutical industry must carefully navigate multiple challenges, from the maintenance of the most cost-efficient processes to the preservation of ever-more complex global supply chains.
Thinprinting concept by St Michel Print has revolutionised the way IFU’s and similar documents are designed and printed. With their unique all-in-one Thin Paper Booklet solution, the company is contributing to a simplified warehousing, packaging and logistics process, thus enabling businesses to increase their economic efficiency and sustainability.
Have you ever been frustrated with having to print a multitude of different language versions of IFU’s, manuals and warranty documents for your product? Do you feel unease at the thought of wasting warehousing space for separately printed items included in packages destined for different market areas? Is your packaging process complicated to handle?
St Michel Print Has Got You Covered
Located in South-eastern Finland, in the Land of Forests and Paper Making, St Michel Print is part of the privately owned Länsi-Savo Group which boasts a rich heritage of 133 years in printing. With almost 40 years of experience in printing on thin and ultrathin paper, St Michel Print is currently one of Europe’s leading printing houses in the field.
Over the years, St Michel Print has refined its operations, focusing on minimising waste and maximising process automation and efficiency; they’re using a renewable resource, exclusively high-quality, totally wood-free thin print paper sourced from reliable manufacturers in Finland and streamlined process management.
Environmental sustainability is not easy to achieve, but St Michel Print is committed to making a difference. Close collaboration with Europe’s leading thin paper manufacturers and logistics partners enables the company to ensure fast and reliable deliveries to customers all around the world.
The Concept of the Wood-free Paper
By using coated wood-free papers, St Michel Print has combined requirements of high opacity and brightness with increasing sustainability expectations and environmentally friendly printing solutions.
In papermaking, the term “wood-free” means that the yellowing lignin in the pulp, wood’s natural binding agent, has been bleached off in the chemical process. Cellulose fibres remain long and undamaged which means strength and durability in the paper.
A paper is as strong as its weakest point, they say. High opacity, readability and durability are the key benefits of this type of ultra-thin paper, which is also completely recyclable and biodegradable. The manufacturing process of wood-free does not require energy-consuming mechanical grinding. Quite the contrary, the chemical pulp process is converted into a source of energy instead.
