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Did you know that around 41% of pharma packaging companies make mistakes in packaging and printing-related tasks because they certainly don’t align with the rules and regulations of the FDA?
For instance, ensuring the correct use of fonts, logos, images, colors, symbols, packaging material, and many other such rules is all you need to avoid making such mistakes.
So, let’s dive in and find out the importance of artwork in pharma packaging companies. Deeper dive, you will also get to know the printing and packaging process.
What is Pharma Packaging?
Pharmaceutical packaging refers to the process of designing, manufacturing, and labeling packaging materials of all those products that directly contact medicines.
Its primary purpose is to protect the medication from external influences, ensure product integrity, and provide information to the end-user, healthcare professionals, and regulatory authorities.
The approval of certain stakeholders, such as quality assurance, legal compliance, clinical research, brand management, or purchasing departments, is also critical for pharma packaging companies.
Importance of Artwork in Pharmaceutical Packaging
The importance of artwork in pharmaceutical packaging cannot be denied. It is not only important to comply with FDA or ISO rules but also to maintain the standards of quality packaging printing.
Here are the ultimate aspects highlighting the importance of artwork in pharmaceutical packaging.
- Artwork plays a crucial role in conveying essential information such as product name, dosage instructions, warnings, expiration date, batch number, and manufacturer details.
- Well-designed printing artwork also ensures that a patient can use the medication correctly and safely.
- A consistent and visually appealing packaging approach towards fonts, colors, or different branding aspects helps to build strong brand recognition and loyalty.
- If your company has multiple pharma products, then a distinct artwork is what will differentiate one product from another.
- Artwork is important not only for the end user but for the healthcare professionals as well. For instance, clear and concise information helps them to prescribe, dispense, and administer the medicine correctly.
However, did you know each printing method also influences the artwork quality?
For instance, if you are adopting the offset printing method, you might struggle with certain materials or substrates, but an effective method for high quality and consistent results. Meanwhile, if you need more control over colors, fonts, or accuracy, then flexography printing or digital printing methods might not work for you.
Understanding the Pharmaceutical Packaging Printing Process
The process of pharmaceutical packaging involves a few stages where one cannot be accomplished without the other.
Here is a brief understanding of the pharmaceutical packaging printing process.
Design packaging
This is the first and most critical step in the packaging design due to the standards set by ISO (International Organization for Standardization).
This phase involves identifying the characteristics of the product, determining necessary information for labeling, and adhering to regulatory guidelines set by health authorities. It also includes ensuring branding elements for market identification. For example, choosing appropriate colors and fonts and building a clear and aesthetic design or brand identity. You can also use any of the packaging design software to build your’s.
Choosing the materials
Choosing the right pharmaceutical packaging material is all you need after finalizing a design.
However, the chosen material must be compatible with certain formulations that ensure product safety. For example, chemical resistance and protection against external influences such as light, air, moisture, and environmental impact.
Ultimately, the purpose of material selection is to ensure that the packaging material is efficient enough to protect the product’s safety and effectiveness through its lifecycle.
Packaging Printing
Once the design is made and the packaging material is selected, now it’s time to print the packaging.
The packaging printing method involves choosing a suitable printing method and initiating the process with a printing setup.
The printing setup includes calibrating the press for color accuracy and consistency. As the packaging material passes through the printing press, each color is applied sequentially to create the final printed image and text.
During this printing packaging process, some quality control checks also need to be performed to monitor color accuracy and overall print quality.
Putting Labels on the Box
This final step before the packaging of the product is typically performed using automated labeling equipment designed for precision and efficiency. It is because proper labeling is essential for providing crucial information to healthcare professionals and end-users that contributes to patient safety and regulatory compliance.
However, the labeling process should be conducted in a way that each box should receive the correct information clearly and legibly. This also helps the safe use of pharma products.
Product Packaging
Once the design, printing, and labeling have been done – it’s time to pack the product and send it for final shipment.
The product packaging step undergoes a final inspection to verify that the packaging and labeling align with regulatory requirements. After that, the packaged pharmaceuticals are prepared for distribution with the goal of delivering safe and effective medications to the health care professionals or patients.
Shipment of the Product
Product shipment doesn’t involve only shifting the product to the distribution center or a designated warehouse. Still, it also includes choosing secure transportation and storage options to keep the product safe.
Companies often work with specialized logistics providers experienced in handling pharmaceuticals to ensure the safe and timely delivery of products.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the role of artwork in pharmaceutical packaging is self-explanatory.
It acts as a backbone to meet other printing requirements of a product. From an aesthetic design feel to meeting the standards of regulatory authorities, an artwork studio helps you in multiple ways. So, the importance of working with professionals cannot be denied.
