Wipak is participating in Digimarc’s Center of Expertise programme, designed to give packaging, print, and pre-media companies access to digital watermarking for integration into digital identification and authentication solutions.
Digimarc’s digital watermarking technology connects physical and digital assets and can be activated or deactivated with a ‘simple and swift’ action. Said to crack down on counterfeiting, enhance circularity, improve recyclability, and minimize plastic waste, it is expected to help companies align with the upcoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
Wipak plans to apply the programme to its own operations, implementing digital watermarks on a range of printed materials beyond its own flexible materials.
“Digimarc’s new Center of Expertise programme, with Wipak as a founding member, marks a significant milestone in the digital packaging market,” says Karri Koskela, CEO at Wipak. “Through this collaboration, our customers will now have the ability to validate their recyclability rates at scale.
“This not only ensures environmental sustainability but also opens doors for services and digitalization of packaging.
“It is important to note that the potential of digital watermarks goes beyond packaging materials alone. Wipak is fully prepared to lead the way in revolutionizing the industry, offering cost-efficient solutions to counter counterfeiting and protect our customers’ brands, providing certainty and safety for both the end consumer and our customers.
“We understand the importance of protecting brands and ensuring the safety of products, and we are committed to delivering exceptional value to both our customers and consumers.”
Tom Benton, Digimarc’s chief revenue officer, continues: “By giving our partners unprecedented access to our digital watermarking experts and hands-on training we ensure they are well positioned to support customers progressing in their digital transformation journeys, where the identification or the authentication of physical and digital items is critical.”
Last September, Digimarc and Wipak partnered with Aldi Nord and the Aldi South Group. The partners sought to improve the sortability of Aldi’s packaging and improve the recycling process through the implementation of watermarking technology.
Shortly after, the HolyGrail 2.0 initiative entered its final phase of R&D trials, involving sorting and reprocessing trials for digitally watermarked packaging. Here it intended prepare for market entry in preparation for a pilot market launch in France in 2024.
If you liked this story, you might also enjoy:
How are the top brands progressing on packaging sustainability?
The ultimate guide to global plastic sustainability regulation
No comments yet