Label

Uses

Products

Packaging

Assets

Shelf / Rack labels

Textiles

Mailing

Specialized labels

• Notebook labels are mainly used for identifying the owner and purpose of the notebook. Some information on a label may include name, contents, and date started.
• Piggyback labels are made by combining two layers of adhesive substrate. The bottom layer forms the backing for the top. The label can be applied to any object as normal, the top layer can be a removable label that can be applied elsewhere, which may change the message or marking on the remaining label underneath. Often used on Express mail envelopes. Other applications include price change labels where when being scanned at the till, the till assistant can peel back the price-reduction label and scan the original barcode enabling stock flow management. These labels are also seen on magazine subscription renewals, allowing customers to re-subscribe to the magazine with an easy peel-and-stick label sent back. Also, as the retained label is adhesive free it prevents customers from re-applying the cheaper-priced labels to premium products.
• Smart labels have RFID chips embedded under the label stock.
• Blockout labels are not see-through at all, concealing what lies underneath with a strong gray adhesive.
• Radioactive labels. The use of radioactive isotopes of chemical elements, such as carbon-14, to allow the in vivo tracking of chemical compounds.
• Laser or printer labels are generally die cut on 8.5" x 11" or A4 sized sheets, and come in many different shapes, sizes, formats and materials. Laser label material is a nonporous stock made to withstand the intense heat of laser printers and copiers. A drawback of laser labels is that the entire sheet needs to be printed before any labels are used; once labels have been removed the sheet cannot be put through the printer again without damaging the printing mechanism. Inkjet label material is a porous stock made to accept ink and dye from an inkjet printer. One of the more modern inkjet label material stocks is waterproof printable inkjet material commonly used for soap or shower gel containers.
• Security labels are used for anti-counterfeiting, brand protection, tamper-evident seals and anti-pilferage seals. These combine a number of overt and covert features to make reproduction difficult. The use of security printing, holography, embossing, barcodes, RFID chips, custom printing and weak backings are common. They are used for authentication, theft reduction, and protection against counterfeit and are commonly used on ID cards, credit cards, packaging, and products from CDs to electronics to clothing.
• Antimicrobial labels. With the growth in hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA and E-Coli, the use of antimicrobial labels in infection-sensitive areas of hospitals are helping in combating these types of microbes.
• Fold-out labels, also known as booklet, multi-page, multi-layer, or extended labels, or lablets. Where the pack is not large enough for a single label to carry all the required information, fold-out labels are often preferred to separate leaflets, which can easily be lost. These labels are frequently seen on agricultural chemicals and consumer pharmaceuticals.
• Barcode labels A large proportion of labels produced today carry barcodes, either for product identification, for traceability in items such as freight packages, and on items requiring brand authentication and protection. There are many different formats of barcodes found on labels, but one of the most commonly distributed formats is the International Article Number. This is the code used to identify retail products worldwide and is found on almost all consumer-level packaging labels.
• Shrink Sleeve labels provide full 360-degree coverage on a container or bottle. Polyvinyl chloride and Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol-modified are two commonly used shrink-sleeve materials. Shrink sleeves can be applied to uniquely shaped bottles or standard containers and can be printed with metallic features, textured/raised features, UV inks, and matt or glossy finishes.

  Stock types

• Paper - a variety of papers and paperboards can be used as labels
• Nonwoven fabric - for extra durability
• Latex – a lithographic stock with some added latex allows the label to be much more flexible and form around certain curved objects more easily than standard paper;
• Plastics such as acetate, vinyl, and PET film allow a variety of features, such as greater strength, stiffness, transparency and resistance to tearing. They typically require special equipment and printing methods as they do not normally print well with conventional ink. A bumper sticker is usually a vinyl label with a very strong, durable adhesive and lightfast inks. Embossing tape is "printed" by pressing raised elements similar to printing type onto it, which produces raised glyphs that look white due to the discoloration of the plastic. A type known as 'destructible vinyl' is commonly used for asset labels. It combines a very thin frangible face stock with a very strong high tack adhesive, thus making the label impossible to remove without damaging it. Engraved multi-layer Traffolyte labels are frequently used in industrial situations due to their durability;
• Foil – Aluminum foil and vapor-coated plastic films are often chosen for the bright reflective characteristics;
• Thermal – direct thermal label stock will change color when heated. A heating element in the shape of letters or images can be used to create an image on the label. Custom labels can be easily made on location in this way. A disadvantage is durability, because another heat source can ruin or obscure the image, or it may fade completely over time;
• Thermal transfer for applications that cannot use thermal label material because of heat source proximity or short label life, a more widely used material is the thermal transfer label printer. This material has the advantage of a much longer readable life and does not fade with time or heat. Most major manufacturers of thermal printers can be used for either thermal transfer or thermal labels. A thermal transfer ribbon will be required to print the labels. The cost of the ribbons + TT labels is similar to that of the DT labels on their own;
• Thermal transfer ribbon types:
• * Wax is the most popular as it has some smudge resistance, and is suitable for matte and semi-gloss paper labels;
• * Wax and resin are smudge resistant, suitable for semi-gloss paper and some synthetic labels;
• * Resin is scratch and chemical-resistant, suitable for coated synthetic labels;
• None – labels can be printed directly on adhesive without using a substrate. Labels made in this manner are extremely fragile, however, and have been rendered virtually obsolete by other printing methods such as silk screen;