LONDON, ON—Jones Packaging has entered into a commercial partnership with Thin Film Electronics ASA (Thinfilm), a provider of printed electronics and smart systems.


The companies are joining together to integrate Thinfilm’s NFC OpenSense technology into paperboard pharma packaging and establish key manufacturing processes for production on Jones’ high speed lines.

NFC OpenSense tags are thin flexible tabs that can detect both a products factory sealed and opened states and wirelessly communicate contextual content with the tap of an NFC-enabled smartphone. The tabs remain active even after the factory seal has been broken.

The high speed and high volume production lines found in Jones’ manufacturing facilities will benefit from a key feature in the NFC OpenSense tag: Thinfilm’s “Tag Talks First” protocol. The protocol allows for a read-speed that is up to 20 times faster than conventional NFC solutions.

Jones and Thinfilm will meet with leading global pharmaceutical companies to integrate the smart technology into Rx and over the counter product packaging and deliver the solution to market.

“Our strategy of developing printed electronics solutions for the healthcare market led us to this important collaboration with industry pioneer Thinfilm,” Chris Jones Harris, principal, strategic initiatives and alliances with Jones, said. “Thinfilm’s unique printed NFC solution addresses multiple needs within the pharmaceutical channel, particularly around product integrity and patient safety, and allows our customers to connect the world of physical packaging to virtual and dynamic content on the internet – it’s a very unique and compelling proposition.”

The companies’ work will also include the integration of ferrite shield labels with the NFC OpenSense tags, which will enable the technology to work on metalized packaging, such as blisters commonly used for cold/flu medication. This will align with Jones’ contract packaging capabilities in the area of customized blister packaging solutions for solid dose products including tablets, caplets, capsules and gel caps.

“Jones has been in business for well over a century and is a trusted partner to many of the most recognized global pharmaceutical and consumer brands,” Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm, said. “We are very excited to be partnering with a true innovator in the packaging industry and look forward to helping them deliver this leading-edge NFC solution to the pharmaceutical space.” 

The Jones/Thinfilm smart packaging collaboration will be funded, in part, by grants from both the Swedish and Canadian governments.