LAWSON Adopts Ricoh's On-Demand Direct Printing Thermal Media For Its Food Packaging

Direct printing ingredients and other information on a food package contributes to reduced environmental impact, increased work efficiency, and improved productivity.

TOKYO, Feb 14, 2022

As of November 2022, Lawson, Inc. (President: Sadanobu Takemasu, hereinafter "Lawson") has implemented the on demand thermal printing technology of Ricoh Company, Ltd. (President & CEO: Yoshinori Yamashita) for multiple types of grabs and go prepared foods.

Ricoh's On-demand Direct Printing technology applies a partial coating of Ricoh-unique thermal technology to the top sealing film of the food tray, which is printed directly by a thermal print head or laser printer.

On November 29, 2022, Lawson stores in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, and Ibaraki prefectures (approximately 4,300 stores: as of the end of January 2023) began utilizing this technology for salad packages sold in Japan. With the introduction of Ricoh's on-demand direct thermal printing, information such as product names, ingredients, expiration date, etc. are printed directly on the top surface of packaging material, eliminating the need for paper labels. This makes it possible to transfer nutritional and allergen information from the bottom to the top, improving visibility for consumer as well as eliminating the need to replenish paper label rolls and replace ink ribbons. This change in design will improve productivity of the food preparation and packing. (Refer to packaging and printing process)
Due to the benefits of the on-demand printing technology, Lawson is considering utilizing the technology on other packaging types.

* Packaged with a tray sealer (packaging machine) manufactured by Ishida Co., Ltd. (President: Takahide Ishida)

＜Improvement of visibility by On-demand Direct Printing＞

＜Packaging・printing process＞

Ricoh's On-demand Direct Printing Thermal Media - Features and Values

1. Enable direct printing on various substrates and reduce environmental impact

By coating Ricoh-developed unique thermal ink to the printing substrates, direct printing to film, paper, cardboard, and others. This eliminates the use of labels and their consumables, reducing environmental impact.

2. Achieve high productivity by streamlining the work process

Ricoh's direct thermal coating to package material eliminates paper labels and consumable ink ribbons, improving productivity in a wide range of fields, particularly in the retail and distribution industries.

3. Unify packaging materials and streamline inventory

By enabling direct printing on a wide variety of substrates, Ricoh's new system supports on-demand printing, which allows users to print only what they need, when they need it, reducing the number of packaging materials in stock and contributing to slimmer inventories.

Aligning with Ricoh’s Sustainable Development Goals, this technology will help reduce the use of paper labels and other indirect materials, thereby contributing to the reduction of environmental impact.
Driving Sustainability for Our Future, Ricoh will continue to work on solving social issues through its business and providing new value worldwide.

■Related Information

On-demand Direct Printing Thermal Media
https://industry.ricoh.com/en/thermal/labelless

* Product and Company names indicated are a registered trademark or trademark of each company.

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