Laser coding to enhance the brand image of high wire

In order to eliminate product cross-region sales and prevent the impact of counterfeit and inferior products, KOSE used Zhongheng Century's software and Markon's laser coder to accurately and confidentially identify key commodities and established an effective anti-counterfeiting and anti-counterfeiting system. Cargo system.

Kose is one of Japan's three largest cosmetics manufacturers and is known for its high quality. Kose Cosmetics Co., Ltd. located in Hangzhou is the sole producer of Japan Kosei Co., Ltd. in China.
With the development of business in China, Kose has inevitably encountered problems of selling goods and helping consumers identify the authenticity of products. The company decided to strictly supervise and control the flow of key products in the distribution network, thereby improving the company's channel management level, reducing and avoiding channel risks, and at the same time accurately marking key commodities to effectively eliminate product cross-regional sales and Prevent the impact of counterfeiting. Starting in October last year, some of China’s Kose products already have special anti-counterfeiting and anti-counterfeit products.

Build a security and anti-fake cargo system
KOSE has a production plant in Hangzhou, 7 branches, 6 sales offices and 9 regions in China. In China, KOSE's products contain 98% of the content imported from Japan. Pure water is used in Hangzhou. The Chinese factory mainly fills, labels, and adds Chinese instructions. "Snow muscle essence", which is very popular with Asian women, is only filled in Hangzhou.
In 9 months, Kose built an effective anti-counterfeiting and anti-counterfeiting system.
Mr. Wang Yong, Manager of Public Relations Flow Control at Kose, said: “The company is particularly focused on anti-counterfeiting. It is costly to ensure that consumers buy authentic products.”
Due to the fact that no previous practice has been conducted in this area, Goss needs professional companies to provide lessons learned and appropriate solutions for anti-counterfeiting and anti-counterfeiting products. After the project was established, more than a dozen companies proposed related programs to Kosra, including software, printing, and labeling.
Wang Yong said: "Labeling and laser coding have their own advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of labeling are low cost and arbitrariness in logistics. For example, products to be distributed to different regions can be labeled with different labels. The disadvantage is that they can easily be rip off."
Finally, in the software aspect, Kose chose Hangzhou Zhongheng Century's system, and the hardware selected Markon's two SmartLase110 laser coders. Their product features, available experience, suggestions and solutions meet the needs of Kose.
Special needs
KOSE has some special needs for anti-counterfeiting and anti-fake goods.
First of all, there are several thousand varieties of cosmetics from KOSE. A color represents a variety. For example, in a makeup product, 200 and 300 respectively represent two colors of products. However, some suppliers cannot meet this fine classification requirement.

Cosmetic paste imported from Japan is filled in a closed filling plant

Second, management of data such as production dates. KOSE's products generally have a shelf life of 4-5 years, and most of the products in one or two years are basically consumed. Kose hopes that after two years, once the product has been scanned and entered into the system, it will be able to know when it was produced, when it was put into the warehouse, and which distribution center it was distributing to which mall.
In addition, the printing of some special symbols can be guaranteed not to be easily imitated by the impersonator, which also increases the difficulty of operation.
Kose selection equipment is very cautious. Wang Yong said: “We usually choose different models of four or five brands to study which stage of the production line it is suitable for, and comprehensively grade and compare its functions, quality, price, and after-sales service. Our IT, logistics, All departments, such as production, will discuss together and then communicate with the supplier in all aspects and propose special requirements for improvement programs or customization.”
When selecting suppliers, Kose did not have a greater tendency toward international companies or local companies, mainly to see whether they could meet specific needs of the company. As a demand side, Kao hopes that suppliers will be able to customize their clothes and make plans based on actual needs. It will not only tell the manufacturer what the advantages and disadvantages of this solution are, but it does not require the equipment to be very powerful.
The Kose China factory will also learn from the Japanese factory. For example, Japan's logistics system is very developed, and in the near future, Kos is also building a modern logistics center. Some good experiences of Chinese factories will also be fed back to Japan for reference.
Tailored solutions
This high-silk anti-counterfeiting and anti-cockroaching system is a cooperation between Zhongheng and Macken, and is custom-made for high-wire.
In the project of anti-counterfeiting and anti-dumping, Kose first decided to use a laser machine. Because the code of the laser machine is permanent and cannot be erased, and the depth of the etching can be deep or shallow, it can be adjusted according to the printed packaging material. The ink jet can be wiped off or smeared off with an oil-based pen, which can not achieve the purpose of anti-counterfeiting and anti-counterfeit goods.

Some products need to be labeled after they are sent out from the filling room.

Markon laser printer prints anti-counterfeiting and anti-counterfeiting numbers for products

In the GMP-certified production workshop, workers clean up after production on the same day

The specific requirements of high-wire lasers focus on volume, function, and after-sales service. Wang Yong said: "A lot of cosmetic packaging is very small, such as lipstick, foundation cream is very small, the conveyor belt is generally relatively short, labor density. Volume and flexibility is an important factor for accurate printing. Our production plan Six months ago, it was planned and very strong. We do not want the production process to fail because of a certain link."

In addition, production details such as line speed, print pitch, induction speed, breakage rate, etc. need to be considered. Foundations, lipsticks and other small cosmetics, the corresponding production line speed is lower, the accuracy requirements are higher. In order to meet the requirements of high wire, Hangzhou Zhongheng Century and American Marken Company put forward corresponding adjustment programs. After careful testing of the volume, spacing, and speed of the production line of printed products, the actual production needs of the wire were met.
In China's high-speed wire factory, the printing speed of laser machines is generally 30-40 per minute. Since the formal implementation of this system, there has been almost no print damage.
In the cosmetics industry, more labels are used. Wang Yong said: “The labeling efficiency is low and the labor cost is high. Although the laser machine has high initial investment, the necessary cost is needed to achieve efficient management. Moreover, the efficiency will increase and the overall cost will decrease. The degree of automation has also been correspondingly improved. For example, scanning a carton can save labor costs."

Flexible coding

Marken's SmartLase laser coder prints clear, clean and accurate codes on a dynamic surface. And Marken's lasers are small and easily integrated into the production line. In particular, its laser lens can be rotated 90 degrees, very flexible, suitable for small cosmetic coding.

The life and reliability of the laser tube depends to a large extent on the number of times the laser tube is turned on and off. General ruled laser coders must be turned on and off every time a character is printed. The Marken SmartLase laser coder uses a patented dot matrix resident laser control technology to print a complete set of characters before switching on and off. A 30-character legend is printed on 30 packages. The typical coder cycles 900 times, while the SmartLase coder only cycles 30 times.

Some substrates (such as printing trays) require less energy for printing, and SmartLase coders allow the user to effectively control the energy emitted by the laser to the surface of the substrate, reducing costs.

Now Kosher mainly prints anti-counterfeit codes on cartons and bottles, and hoses have also been used in small batches. Kose's security code can be repeated for 20 years. These anti-counterfeit data contain information such as: authorizing department, production time, storage/depository time, delivery/delivery time of the distribution center, arrival time at the specialty store and franchise store, etc.

The system was implemented in October last year. This period of operation increased the production and management efficiency of high-wire yarns. In the past when labeling was used, the third party was responsible for the consumer's inquiries, and provided Goss with statistical data every month. Consumers can now query at any time, feedback is faster, and problem solving is faster.
"Now, consumers' telephone inquiries will get feedback from our staff within two hours. The speed of product identification is faster, and the phenomenon of stock-out has been controlled to a certain extent," said Wang Yong.

Source: Packaging Expo