Implementing Braille Packaging Regulations

Edited by the Printingtalk editorial team Sep 16, 2005

With Braille becoming mandatory on folding cartons for pharmaceutical usein most European countries, specialist packaging alliance Copapharm Europe has established a Braille Standard.

With Braille becoming mandatory on folding cartons for pharmaceutical usein most European countries, specialist packaging alliance Copapharm Europe has established a Braille Standard.

EU Directive 2004/27 requires labelling and information for the partially sighted and blind to be provided with medical products by October 31.

That includes Braille on the packaging itself (under Article 56a) and European pharmaceutical companies are already reporting that requests for Braille on folding cartons have significantly increased.

Copapharm Europe said that it established its standard to meet customer needs well before the EU deadline, to maximise process reliability and to meet the highest quality demands.

A blind embossing procedure has been integrated within the manufacturing process, reducing the number of production tools required, minimising the overall number of processes and costs and contributing significantly to security and efficient process safety.

There are nine member companies forming Copapharm Europe, including August Faller in Germany with three sites, Cartonplex and Cartonajes Pans in Barcelona and Icesa in Madrid (Spain), Packart with two sites in France, Palladio and Zannini with four sites in Italy, Storey Evans in the UK and Goldprint in Belgium.

The international Braille system was invented by Louis Braille, with the first Braille book published in 1829.

It was originally developed from 'night writing', a code of raised bumps which was used to pass secret information between soldiers in the field at night.

Each Braille character or cell is made up of six dot positions in a rectangular shape comprising two columns of three dots each.

A dot may be raised at any of the six positions and each combination of raised dots corresponds to a letter of the alphabet, a punctuation mark or another symbol.