Braille Comes to Pharmaceutical Cartons

Pharmaceutical cartons have a new dimension: Braille. The European Union has mandated that drug product names and their strength be reproduced in Braille onto cartons. (EU Directive 2004/27/EC amends 2001/83/EC.) Many European-based drug manufacturers have needed to comply with Braille mandates since October 2005. Some national laws of EU Member states have allowed existing products to be sold without Braille, but many mandates are already in effect or going into effect in the coming year. For instance, by October 2010, all products going into the United Kingdom must carry Braille.

Braille requirements and some of the issues surrounding application will be discussed at the upcoming Pharmapack conference and exhibition. Jean-Francois Roy, international account executive of Global Vision (Canada), will present “Verify Braille, Artwork, and Text with Unprecedented Accuracy.”

Requiring just name and strength in Braille, the new requirement sounds pretty minimal, right? After all, adding a few dots might not even affect existing carton layouts. There are challenges, however: determining Braille dot height and verifying that height.

Embossing is traditionally used to apply Braille dots to cartons, and screen printing is often used to add it to labels. These methods, however, cannot create on cartons the rounded dots typically expected on signage and other media. More.

Pharmapack 2009 will take place at La Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, at Charlie Parker Hall on Jean Jaurès Avenue. The two-day Pharma-focused packaging event will take place January 21–22, 2009.

La Grande Halle is located in the revitalized northeast sector of Paris, Parc de la Villette. The park is reportedly Paris’s youngest yet largest park, offering visitors further enrichment through museums, music halls, science exhibits, and expansive gardens. Originally built in the 1800s to house cattle, the striking glass-and-cast-iron setting of La Grand Halle now hosts exhibitions and concerts. Nearby hotels will honor special rates for the show, as will others throughout the city. More.

At Pharmapack, exhibitors will be displaying technologies that echo some of the packaging themes discussed in the technical conferences. For instance, Constantia Hueck Folien (Germany) in Booth C15 will present its new aluminum-free films. Speakers Stefan Frischmann, head of product development in pharma/healthcare, and Dr. Dirk Kaczmarek, head of R&D, will be describing the new films as offering an “adaptable peeling behavior.” The new films can be used for pharmaceutical packaging and pouches. More.