To determine the best materials and adhesives for your labels, you should consider a wide variety of factors in the application of your labels. We created a list of questions to discuss with your label vendor to pick the correct material that fits your needs. The answers to these questions will help you and your label vendor pick the right materials, ensuring your labels succeed in the field.
1. How will the labels be used?
The surface your label is being applied to is especially important to consider because of the range of applications. Surfaces can vary widely from something as simple as a shipping box to challenging substrates like a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle. The material selected should match the characteristics of the item to be labeled.
2. What environment will your labels be exposed to?
It is critical to discuss the environmental conditions your labels will be exposed to because of the unique and specific requirements that must be considered in selecting the right material. Environmental conditions can affect the longevity and quality of your label if the right material is not chosen.
Environmental Conditions:
- Hot or cold environment
- Indoors or outdoors
- Dry or wet environment
- High traffic area
3. Will the labels need static or variable printing?
Static printing is printing that remains the same from label to label – It is never changing – often it is best to have this type of label pre-printed by your label vendor. Variable print can include sequential human readable numbers and or barcodes. Simple sequences can be pre-printed easily, but anything that might be specific to date, location, time, lot, employee, etc. will require you to “Print on Demand” at your location.
4. Will the labels be hand applied or auto applied?
To achieve the desired look and required performance from your adhesive labels, it is important to carefully consider the application method you will be using. Labels can be applied by hand, machine, or a combination of both. If the label is being hand applied, achieving consistency can be difficult and is factor to consider.
5. Will the labels be permanent or removed in the future?
Always take into consideration if the labels will be permanent of removed. Labels with a removable adhesive can be repositioned after application without damaging the label or the surface upon which it is applied. When security is necessary as part of your label application, tamper indicating label materials can be used.
