OSAKA SEALING PRINTING CO., LTD. (Head office: Tennoji-ku, Osaka City; President: Matsuguchi Tadashi), a core company of the OSP Group and a one-stop manufacturer of stickers, labels, Carton Package, and promotional tools, is pleased to announce that it has succeeded in developing a label that can be peeled off with an alkaline solution.

This product is a label that uses an adhesive that reacts to alkaline solutions while still having the adhesiveness to stick firmly. Labels that can be peeled off with water have been around for some time, but by adjusting the composition of the adhesive, the hydrophilicity of the adhesive increases when it is immersed in an alkaline solution for about 10 minutes, making it easier for water to penetrate the adhesive surface between the container (such as a bottle) and the adhesive, allowing it to be peeled off cleanly from the container. In addition, if the surface of the label is printed, the penetration of the alkaline solution may be hindered, making it difficult to peel off, but this product can be peeled off cleanly and reliably even if the entire surface of the label is printed.

Alkaline solution immersion test Left: Before immersion, Right: After immersion

■ Development Background

From an environmental perspective, there is an initiative to clean and reuse recyclable glass bottles after collecting them. However, there is an issue with this, in that the labels on the containers are difficult to remove cleanly. We developed this product with the hope of helping environmental conservation efforts through the products of the OSP Group.

■ Trends and forecasts of reuse market size

The reuse market has expanded in response to major changes in the economic situation, and in recent years, as mentioned above, due in part to the trend toward SDGs, the market size for 2021 is expected to be 2.6988 trillion yen (up 11.7% from the previous year), marking the 12th consecutive year of growth. Of this, by category, the "daily necessities and household goods" market is worth 75.4 billion yen, up 9.8% from the previous year, and is expected to continue to expand. *Source: Recycle Tsushin "Estimated Market Size for the Reuse Industry 2022 (2021 Edition)"

■ Debut at the exhibition "FOOMA JAPAN 2023"

This product will be unveiled for the first time (prototype exhibit) at FOOMA JAPAN 2023, one of the world's largest comprehensive food manufacturing exhibitions, which will be held at Tokyo Big Sight from June 6th to 9th, so please be sure to stop by our booth during the period.

■ Product Overview

Product name: Label that can be peeled off by alkaline cleaning

■ OSAKA SEALING PRINTING CO., LTD. Company Profile

• Company name: OSAKA SEALING PRINTING CO., LTD.

• Address: 1-8 Obasecho-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture

• Representative: Matsuguchi Tadashi

• Founded: 1927

• Business description: Manufacturing, processing and sales of stickers and labels, film products, Carton Package and labelers.

• URL: https://www.osp.co.jp/

■OSP Holdings Company Profile

• Company name: OSP HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

• Address: 6-8 Ajihara Honmachi Tennoji-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture

• Representative: Matsuguchi Tadashi

• Founded: 1969

• Business description: Business planning and management of the corporate group and related operations

• URL: https://www.osp-group.jp

Founded in 1927, the OSP Group is a comprehensive packaging company with a total of 15 companies (9 domestic and 6 overseas), and has 18 production bases nationwide to fulfill its mission of social infrastructure, mainly food distribution. Since its founding, the company has expanded its business scope in response to changes in the times, such as customer needs and the social environment. Currently, the company provides products and services that enrich society and the lives of customers through the planning, design, and manufacturing of stickers and labels, Carton Package, and promotional materials. In order to achieve high quality and stable supply, the group also operates in a wide range of areas, from material procurement, development and manufacturing of sticker and label printing base paper and printing peripherals, to designing and research and development of labeling systems.