Packaging and marketing agency DeTeMa from Aachen/Germany was invited by Messe Köln as an innovation partner to design part of the booth on the subject of digitization and packaging at trade fair ISM/ProSweets Cologne in Cologne (2 to 5 February 2020). Together with well-known partners, KölnMesse is implementing the special exhibition Packaging in hall 10.1, booth G8.

Under the topic “Talking Packaging”, DeTeMa will show possibilities for the interaction of sales packaging and the shoppersʼ smartphones – but without cumbersome targeting of a bar code or QR code. The approach for this is the Digimarc code, a technology of the US company Digimarc, which invisibly encrypts the GTIN and a URL in the package image.

In principle, these are bar codes that are invisible to the naked eye and are applied according to a digital watermark over the entire printed surface of the product. Additional statistical data are added to the image space. Separate or additional printing inks are not required; the packaging printing process is hardly affected.

The invisible bar code can be captured from any direction and digitally detected, and read out with a reader. The codes do not have to be searched for, found and scanned on the packaging, but the packaging is photographed with an imager without rearrangement or any alignment.

The key feature of the invisible Digimarc code is that it can be detected with any standard smartphone with camera using an app. In contrast to the QR code, which has to be sought out and focused, it is sufficient to record the Digimarc code by pointing the camera at the package image.