Whether your company builds or distributes medical devices, manufacturing equipment, telecommunication products, construction equipment, or any other type of heavy-duty equipment, industrial labels help transmit key product information and encourage potential buyers to purchase the product.
The critical product information includes nutrition information, instructions for use, contact information, safety warnings, and expiration dates. Notably, industrial labels also facilitate a unique look, branding, and appeal to the product.
Here’s how industrial labels are used across sectors and what’s expected out of them:
- Industrial and laboratory equipment: These labels should endure exposure to corrosive chemicals and solvents.
- Trucks, forklifts, boats, and transportation equipment: These labels must be able to manage extreme outdoor environments like saltwater immersion.
- Medical devices: The labels should withstand the repetitive use of abrasive cleansers in clinics and hospitals.
Before a business considers industrial labelling for its products, it is crucial to understand several types of labels. Every industrial label comes with different features and customizations to cater to specific purposes. Check out various types of industrial labels below:
Types of Industrial Labels
Chemical-Resistant Colour Labels
This industrial label is great when you are handling harsh chemicals. As indicated by the name, it is completely chemical resistant. The label comes in various sizes and widths. It also comes in at least six colours to make labelling containers easily accessible, even for large-scale projects.
Pressure-Sensitive Labels
This category is one of the most commonly used labels in the market. These are adhesive, permanent, and water-based labels. However, these labels also come in a removable form that’s designed to be peeled without damaging the product’s surface or using any solvents.
Pressure-sensitive labels are made of face stock, liner, and adhesives. The easy-to-apply by machine or hand, low price, and easy customization features make this label very popular.
Shrink-Sleeve or Shrink-Wrap Labels
These labels are printed on plastic, wrapped around the whole container or bottle, and heated to shrink the film on the product. They can be applied in different ways – either by a handheld gun or by passing through a heat tunnel with the help of conveyor belts. And they are mostly used for unusually shaped products, making them highly common in the bottled beverage market.
In-Mould Labels
These labels are plastic or paper-based labels modelled to the container during manufacturing or fused to the finished product. They are applied via injection moulding, blow moulding, or thermoforming and do not require adhesives.
As a result, these labels look like a part of the containers instead of being applied to the container surface. They are more durable as compared to other types of labels and are used for applications like liquid detergent bottles. Besides, in-mould labels are highly suitable for warning labels because of their high durability.
Die-Cut Labels
These labels are usually unique in shape and mostly custom-made. Die-cutting is a process of cutting custom shapes and using a die and press to create a perfect shape. As such, they emulate a variety of shapes for aesthetic and branding purposes and are employed for packages, containers, and label panels.
Thermal Labels
These are also called direct thermal labels and automatically change colour when passed through heat. These labels are not printed with ribbons, toners, or ink. They are created through a heating element and applied directly to the label materials in the form of text or images.
Notably, one of the major disadvantages of this label is its non-durability because any other heat source can cause the label to change colour and obscure the message — i.e., it could possibly fade over time.
Thermal Transfer Labels
Thermal transfer labels are utilized for applications where thermal labels are not advised because the product is close to the heat source. Thermal transfer labels use ribbon for printing a long-lasting text or image on the label. This label applies heat to melt the ribbon’s ink onto the label material. The ribbon uses a combination of wax and resin to print on the labels.
Get High-Quality Industrial Labels
Now that you know the importance, types, and usage of industrial labels, it is time to leverage them for your business. But while industrial labelling provides various benefits, including a mark of ownership, regulatory compliance, the safety of equipment, and information dissemination, selecting the right type of industrial labelling service for your business is essential.
Want to experience the above-mentioned benefits of industrial labels? Reach out to us today!
