Jones Packaging, a world-class provider of premier packaging solutions for healthcare and consumer brands (with headquarters in London, Ontario and facilities in Brampton, Ontario and Flintshire, UK), and Oslo-Norway-based Thin Film Electronics ASA, a global leader in printed electronics and smart systems, have announced a commercial partnership. The two companies are collaborating to integrate Thinfilm’s NFC OpenSense technology into paperboard pharma packaging and establish key manufacturing processes for production on Jones’ high-speed lines. Jones and Thinfilm are currently engaging leading global pharmaceutical companies to integrate the smart technology into their product packaging and deliver the solution to market. The two companies are initially focusing on integrating NFC OpenSense technology into packaging solutions, such as paperboard cartons that house Rx and OTC medications. As part of this initiative, Jones has placed a six-figure unit order for NFC OpenSense tags.
NFC OpenSense tags are thin, flexible labels that can detect both a product’s “factory sealed” and “opened” states and wirelessly communicate contextual content with the tap of an NFC-enabled smartphone. The tags contain unique identifiers that make it possible for pharmaceutical companies to authenticate products and track them to the individual-item level using powerful software and analytics tools. In addition, the tags remain active even after a product’s factory seal has been broken, empowering brands and medical staff to extend the dialogue with consumers and patients!
“Jones’ strategy of developing printed electronics solutions for the healthcare market led us to collaborate with industry leader Thinfilm,” said Chris Jones Harris, Principal, Strategic Initiatives and Alliances with Jones. “Thinfilm’s unique printed NFC solution addresses multiple needs within the pharmaceutical channel, particularly around product integrity and patient safety, and we look forward to a long and successful partnership in this area.”
Thinfilm’s “Tag Talks First” protocol is a key feature of the NFC OpenSense tag and enables a read-speed that’s up to 20 times faster than conventional NFC solutions. NFC (Near Field Communication) is a short-range wireless technology that makes use of interacting electromagnetic radio fields instead of the typical direct-radio transmissions used by technologies such as Bluetooth. This makes it an ideal technology for use within the high-speed, high-volume production lines found in Jones’ manufacturing facilities. The work conducted by Jones and Thinfilm will also include the integration of ferrite shield labels with the NFC OpenSense tags. This will enable the NFC technology to function on metalized packaging, such as blister packs commonly used for cold and flu medications.
“Jones has been in business for well over a century and is a trusted partner to some of the largest and most successful companies in the world,” said Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm. “We’re very excited to be partnering with a true innovator in the packaging industry and look forward to helping them deliver this leading-edge NFC solution to the pharmaceutical space.” The Jones/Thinfilm smart packaging collaboration will be funded, in part, by grants from both the Swedish and Canadian governments.
With more than a century of design and manufacturing expertise, Jones Packaging provides packaging solutions for healthcare and consumer brands. Its full-service and integrated offerings include graphic and CAD design, print, conversion and filling of multiple packaging components – including folding cartons, labels, inserts, blister packs, flexible packaging and vials.
Thinfilm is a leader in the development and commercialization of printed electronics. The first to commercialize printed, rewritable memory, the company creates printed systems that include memory, sensing, display and wireless communication all at a very low cost. Thin Film Electronics ASA is headquartered in Oslo, Norway with product development and production facilities in Linköping, Sweden, product development, production and business development in San Jose, California, and sales offices in the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Jones and Thinfilm partner to create a smart packaging solution for pharmaceutical industry
