Pouch Date and Lot Codes: Approve the Coding Area Before Production

For a skincare sachet, the batch code may be added during filling. A detergent refill pouch may receive its variable text later on the line. These planning examples lead to different questions: who adds the code, which side is exposed, and what touches the package next? Record the actual sequence before reserving a rectangle in the artwork.

Ask the brand owner to supply the required message and the co-packer to identify the coding technology, equipment and consumable. The packaging supplier needs a defined coding requirement, not an instruction to make the bag suitable for every printer. Legal wording and date-format decisions remain with the responsible brand team.

Mark the proposed coding area on the final dieline, including its dimensions, location and orientation after filling. Identify what the coder will actually contact or mark: the outer film, a printed area, a coating or another specified surface. Have the supplier confirm the relevant finish rather than assuming that a white or unprinted area is bare plastic.

Videojet’s inkjet application note for plastics explains that adhesion depends on the ink–substrate interaction and surface conditions. It also identifies test variables such as elapsed time after printing, rub pressure and tape choice. Its examples concern inkjet inks; they do not establish a universal test or passing threshold for thermal-transfer, laser or other marking systems.

Use this original planning sheet to connect the artwork approval to the line trial. The parties should fill in the missing project conditions before comparing samples.

A photograph taken immediately after printing and a rub check after overnight storage answer different questions. Agree when each observation occurs and how the challenge will be applied. The coding provider should select an appropriate evaluation for its system; the buyer should confirm that the handling scenario represents the intended operation.

Keep a fresh-code observation, the earliest relevant contact and any later storage or handling check separately labeled. A readable mark can still smear onto a neighboring surface, while a mark that resists removal may have poor contrast. Avoid compressing these outcomes into a single unexplained “pass.”

If the variable message contains a barcode, use the printed-pouch barcode guide for symbol verification as a separate task. A successful scan does not document adhesion. Likewise, the exterior product-spill review concerns exposure of printed graphics and does not approve a later-added lot code.

Revisit the record when the exposed finish, coding consumable, equipment, artwork location or relevant line sequence changes. Have the responsible parties decide which evidence can carry forward and which trial must be repeated.

For custom pouches and bags, send P&M the format, dimensions, product application, final artwork and quantity by SKU. Include the marked coding area and the co-packer’s requirements. State who will perform the coding trial and what evidence the packaging review must support.

For beauty packaging or household refill packaging, identify the actual formula and filling context when requesting the pouch specification. Confirm sampling scope, availability, cost and timing for the project; this worksheet does not promise a particular coding technology or a completed qualification service.