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Global packaging standards a click away...almost

Today, searching for global packaging standards has gotten easier with the advent of the Web. Several third-party standards distributors now offer standards from literally hundreds of standards developing organizations (SDOs).

CSSinfo?s Web site
CSSinfo?s Web site

Packagers can search electronically for standards documents to relevant packaging or labeling and purchase them on-line. Ironically, only a fraction of these documents are available for immediate electronic delivery. The vast majority are still printed on paper, which must be shipped. Prices range from $17.50 to sometimes more than $300 per document.

The reason more documents aren't offered electronically is due to concern on the part of the distributors and SDOs that electronic versions of documents can be copied and forwarded quickly and freely. However, "most standards publishers are coming around [to allowing electronic dissemination], slowly," says Andrew Bank, vice president of business development with CSSinfo (www.cssinfo.com), a third-party standards provider.

At any rate, the ability to search large groups of global packaging (and other) standards from multiple SDOs is a compelling feature for packagers looking to comply with region- or market-specific standards. Although site visitors may pay slightly more by purchasing through a distributor, many SDOs won't take credit cards, can't ship the same day or can't provide the level of customer support that distributors can, according to Bank.

Hundreds of packaging standards

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