GS1 Sunrise
Coding has reached a turning point.
Retailers worldwide are committing to scan 2D at POS by 2027
Explore the industry shift
Retailers worldwide are committing to scan 2D at POS by 2027
Coding was an afterthought: batch, expiry, little else. That ends now. Three pressures are reshaping it, and the tech converters and brand owners use today is struggling.
Most line coding today is human-readable lot and date from CIJ, TIJ, TTO, or pre-printed labels. Those systems target short alphanumeric text. A 12×12 mm GS1 Digital Link QR with batch, expiry, and product data needs resolution and speed legacy kit was not built for.
Main FMCG coder for expiry and lot. Solvent, non-contact, fast.
Cannot hit a 12×12 mm QR at production resolution. Drop size and matrix limits rule out a Sunrise-grade QR. Solvent ink needs ongoing printhead maintenance.
Poor adhesion on plastic film. Solvent ink bonds weakly to BOPP, PE, and PET, so codes can rub or smear in handling.
QR not achievable300×300 dpi drop-on-demand for clearer codes and graphics.
QR is possible, but ink cost is high. Cartridge changes and substrate limits often restrict it to slower or shorter runs.
Adhesion varies by film. Codes can scuff off without primer or pre-treatment on many plastics.
Consumable-heavyDates and lots on film and labels. Mechanical, ribbon-fed.
Mechanical heads, ribbon use, contact wear. Full-speed lines need multiple units, with ribbon waste and downtime.
Wax and resin sit on the surface. Codes scuff or lift in cold chain, frozen storage, or heavy handling.
Parallel units neededPre-printed labels applied on the line, common on outers and secondaries.
Slow and mechanical at high speed. Multiple labellers, liner waste, jams, and stop-start runs cap throughput.
Labels lift in cold or wet conditions. Peel and detach create QA and traceability risk.
Multiple units neededOnly laser hits QR resolution at line speed on one unit, with no consumables. Within laser: ablation (debris, extraction, substrate risk) or TBS non-ablative primer.
The same 2D code marked at fill is scanned at checkout. Price on screen, and quietly logged as sold in the retailer’s system.
Self-checkout
Get product
Scan at checkout
Price + sold
Staffed checkout
Get product to staff
Scan for checkout
Price + sold
Optional /21/ serial (AI 21) — some brands use it; others stay batch-level only.
A GS1 Digital Link has three parts: brand domain, GTIN/EAN, and per-pack variable data. Domain and GTIN stay fixed; variable data changes every pack, so each QR is unique and must be marked on the line at fill.
Where the QR scan resolves to. Configured once by the brand (or via a GS1 / Digimarc resolver) and stays the same across every product the brand owns.
Set once · brand-controlledThe same Global Trade Item Number that's on the existing 1D barcode today. Identifies the SKU. The GTIN is stable for that product, but it lives inside a QR that also carries variable data, so it must be encoded at fill, not pre-printed.
Per SKU · stable for the productOptional /21/ serial (AI 21) — some brands use it; others stay batch-level only.
Batch and optionally serial (AI 21) sit in
the path; production and expiry dates go after
? as query parameters. Different on every single
pack — marked on the filling line in real time.
What this means for production: a QR is indivisible, marked whole on the line with all variable data inside. Per-batch coding shares one QR; serialisation needs one per pack. Any batch, date, or serial change requires fill-line coding. A fundamental break from pre-printed 1D EAN in artwork (GTIN only). TBS primer is built for on-line variable coding at full speed, all security tiers.
TBS primer is reverse-printed on clear film or protected by over-varnish, so the white code forms inside the laminate, sealed under the surface. That stops scuff, smear, lift-off, and label peel. Once lasered, the code is locked in the pack for life through distribution, cold chain, and shelf wear.
GS1 Digital Link data exists only at the packaging line: lots, dates, expiry, serials. All are set when the line runs, not when artwork is approved.
Every primary and secondary pack on a 2027-compliant line needs a surface for a permanent, high-contrast, machine-readable mark, applied on the line in milliseconds. That requirement reshapes the entire packaging stack.
The top brand question: add a 2D code without breaking the design. TBS laser-reactive primer was built for that.
Ablative laser coding burns ink or substrate to mark, creating debris, heavy extraction, and barrier risk on films and foils. TBS primer is non-ablative: the laser shifts the primer clear to bright white without removing material. Production-trial filter-paper data proves the gap.
0.012 g debris per 1,000 codes vs 0.24 g for ablation (20:1). No substrate damage: films, foils, and barriers stay intact. Less extraction: systems run at regulatory baseline, not constant mid-shift filter changes.
Each packaging type needs to be tested, but laser coding is non-aggressive and the laser can normally be tuned so the oxygen and water-vapour barrier aren't impaired.
TBS laser-reactive primers are matched to your converter's ink system. Same equipment and workflow, no retooling on the print pass.
TBS laser-reactive primer uses proven laser coding on every laser type already on packaging and filling lines. CO₂ and fibre investments stay. Laser coding fails when the substrate won't mark. TBS primer, applied at print, gives one consistent surface on any material below. Fits the standard converter workflow. No consumables, ribbon, ink, or hazmat at fill. Primer-coated pack, standard laser, permanent code at line speed.
A pack QR is more than compliance: it links product to the brand's digital trust layer. Data, database, and encoding stay brand-controlled. Harder counterfeiting at scale, surgical recalls, measurable consumer trust.
In August 2014, TBS was the first in the world to deploy variable QRs on infant formula can bases, using laser ablation.
Founded 2003. Since 2014, TBS built a non-ablative laser-reactive primer to end ablation debris, substrate damage, and extraction overhead. Market-ready in Germany, the UK, and Malaysia for GS1 Sunrise 2027.
That line still runs today. Brand security is TBS's foundational expertise for 20+ years, not a Sunrise 2027 add-on.
Brand owner, converter, or line integrator: if you're planning for Sunrise 2027, tell us what you're working on and we'll talk it through.
By 2027, products worldwide shift from 1D barcodes to dynamic 2D QR. Each code is unique and marked on the filling line in real time.
TBS laser-reactive primer is built so that shift works at full line speed on real packaging materials.
A GS1 Digital Link has three parts:
/01/)/10/), optionally
serial (/21/), and production / expiry
dates as query params (?11=, ?17=)
Domain and GTIN stay fixed. Variable data changes every pack, so the QR must be marked whole on the line. You cannot pre-print part of it in artwork.
to change batch data and watch the QR update.
Non-ablative primer avoids the debris and barrier risk of ablative laser coding. The mark sits below the surface so it will not scuff or rub off.
At checkout the till still reads a price — exactly as today. But behind that single scan, a 2D QR carries an entire data layer that the 1D barcode cannot.
GS1 Sunrise 2027 is more than a barcode change. Each shipped unit gets its own identity and traceability. Early movers own the data layer.