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Sessions of York the UK's leading and most advanced manufacturer of self-adhesive labels and labelling equipment, has recently supplied a South African based company with two million Detex labels.

The specialist packaging company in South Africa required self-adhesive labels, which reacted to gamma radiation. These self adhesive Detex labels are easy to apply to outer packaging prior to sterilisation by cobalt 60 gamma rays. When irradiated the Detex labels change colour from yellow to red thereby providing a visual indicator that the product has been sterilised and clearly distinguishing a sterile product from one that is not.

Session's range of Yellow Detex labels can be used for semi or fully automatic application to packs of medical devices or pharmaceutical products requiring sterilisation before distribution.

The standard Yellow Detex label is a 12mm diameter yellow dot and is available in various reel specifications for hand or machine application. An exciting refinement of the Detex product is the sterile pack label on which a band of Yellow Detex is located down one edge of a plain or pre-printed label, enabling subsequent overprinting of variable information onto the remainder of the label surface. This eliminates the inconvenience of utilising two labels and greatly streamlines this operation.

A further refinement is to have a specifically located Detex dot applied onto a conventional self-adhesive label, which can be pre-printed to customers' own designs in up to ten colours, but also provides the option for the addition of subsequent variable imprinting. These customer-led developments also provide a cost-efficient alternative to arduous manual overmarking and application.

Designed as an effective safeguard against accidental distribution of non-sterile products to hospitals, clinics, surgeries, pharmacies and medical laboratories, Yellow Detex labels provide a simple but unmistakable visual indication that products to which they are applied have been sterilised by gamma ray irradiation.

A specially formulated coating on the labels reacts by turning from yellow to red when exposed to gamma radiation within the total dose range from 10kGy to 100kGy. The labels should be applied to the product immediately prior to the irradiation process.

Sessions of York is acknowledged to be one of the UK's leading and most progressive manufacturers of self-adhesive labels and labelling equipment. The company supplies an extensive range of high performance labelling machines, which are available ex-stock or can be custom built to suit individual requirements. Sessions are also able to provide on-site equipment demonstrations if required.

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