On tubes with toothpaste, creams, etc. there are markings in the form of a colored strip on the seam, where the date of manufacture is extruded. Such a strip can be black, red, blue, light blue, red.
Versions about the meaning of the stripes
In recent years, consumers have become increasingly interested in what they buy. They study the composition on the packaging and try to choose the safest product. The mysterious stripes on the seams of the tubes also attracted people's attention. Information appeared on the Internet that a supposedly green strip on a tube indicates a completely natural composition of the product, while a black one indicates the presence of chemical and harmful components. There are also suggestions that the red stripe indicates a hazardous to health composition of the paste or cream, or that it contains equal parts of natural and chemical components. But this information has nothing to do with reality.
What are labels for?
In fact, the strips of any color are just markers required for the production of tubes in the factory. The tape (material for tubes) on the conveyor enters the machine, which cuts off part of the tape, folds this section, fuses or glues the edges, etc. Further, toothpaste or cream is poured into this blank, after which the upper seam is sealed, where the date of manufacture and expiration date are usually set. A color mark is needed to accurately mark the place where the machine should make the cut.
The documentation for packaging machines prescribes that the light mark should be in contrast to the main background of the package - then the photo sensor will be able to recognize it. Ideally, a black mark is made on the white tube. If, for example, there is no black paint in the design, then the most contrasting color with the background will be used. Thus, for the light marking, one usually chooses one of the colors available for printing, the most harmonious with the color and design and at the same time the most contrasting with the background of the tube.
Typically barcodes and light stripes are printed with the same ink.
Horizontal phototags are used when printing on a laminate roll web for accurate cutting in height. And vertical stripes are needed when soldering the tip of the tube for precise positioning, so that the soldering is parallel to the text and image.
You should not look for some hidden meaning in the color of the stripes on the tubes.
Thus, colored markers are just a technological feature of the manufacture of tubes from a conveyor belt. It is no coincidence that the characteristic stripes are on the tubes, but they are absent on bottles or jars.
