Change a barcode on 4,000 printed sleeves without redoing the whole packaging

The 4,000 100 ml cardboard sleeves had already been printed. Their design was compliant with the product, and the packaging was ready for use.

Only one element needed to be changed: the printed barcode had to be replaced with a new EAN code.

The main challenge came from the colour of the existing background. The original barcode was printed on a pink background. To replace it cleanly, the existing barcode first had to be fully covered before printing the new one.

The covering area also had to be slightly larger than the original area to ensure complete coverage of the existing barcode.

The objective was therefore to correct a printed piece of information without replacing the entire packaging.

After receiving several sleeves for testing, OVERPRINT confirmed the technical feasibility of the operation.

The OVERPRINTING / REPRINTING solution was based on a two-colour process.

1. Covering the existing barcode

A white/grey block measuring 33.6 × 13.3 mm was printed over the existing 31.5 × 12 mm area.

This additional margin ensured complete coverage of the original barcode. The combination of white and grey also improved coverage on the pink background.

2. Reprinting the new barcode

The new EAN code was then REPRINTED in black on the newly created area.

Before processing the 4,000 pieces, a BAG was submitted to the client to validate the graphic and technical solution precisely.

The intervention therefore focused only on the area requiring correction, without replacing the existing sleeve's material, shape or design.

The solution made it possible to adapt the 4,000 existing sleeves by working only on the barcode area.

The original barcode was covered with a white/grey block slightly larger than the initial area, and the new EAN code was then REPRINTED in black.

The existing packaging could therefore remain in use. Its material, shape and design did not need to be replaced in order to correct the printed information.

OVERPRINTING therefore provided a way to address the issue directly on the affected component rather than replacing the entire packaging.

A barcode that needs to be changed does not necessarily mean that packaging has to be reproduced.

In this case, the 4,000 100 ml cardboard sleeves could be adapted through an OVERPRINTING / REPRINTING solution, following technical testing on samples and validation of a BAG.

The principle is straightforward: intervene only where the information needs to be corrected, while keeping the existing packaging.

This is the principle behind the OVERPRINT reflex: before destroying, relabelling or reproducing existing stock, assess whether the packaging can be adapted.