There’s a big difference between barcode labels used for warehousing or shipping versus labels used for manufacturing or other specialty requirements.

In more demanding use cases, you can’t just print and apply a standard shipping label and expect it to be readable, scannable, and durable.

So, let’s take a look at some quick examples of why you always need to match the right label, printer ribbon, and adhesive, so your labels can do the job properly.

Knowing When a Specialty Label is Required

When you’re just applying a label to a corrugated cardboard box for storage or shipping, you can use a standard paper label, print it with a wax ribbon, and apply it with an acrylic adhesive. Your label will then be scannable and readable, lasting all the way to its destination.

But what if you’re producing chemicals or liquids that are manufactured and stored in round, metal drums? What if the ambient temperature is really hot or cold when you’re applying the label in your production processes? What if the drum will eventually be stored or used someplace where temperatures, chemical exposure, water, moisture, or outdoor conditions might come into play?

A paper label isn’t going to stay adhered, scannable, and readable in most applications outside of warehousing and shipping. So, you need to choose the right combination of label, printer ribbon, and adhesive for your application, and this is where our team at IntegraServ can help.

A Perfect Example of Needing the Right Label, Ribbon and Adhesive

Let’s take our metal drum example further, since it illustrates the many options we might need to consider.

In cases like this, we need to combine a synthetic label, which is made with specialized synthetic materials, and a resin ribbon and a high-tack rubber or high-surface-energy acrylic adhesive.

Typically, we would use polyester or polyethylene label materials to label metal drums. For printing, we’d use a resin ribbon, since a full resin ribbon ensures that printing and barcodes won’t smudge or dissolve if they’re exposed to harsh chemicals, solvents or moisture.

High-tack rubber adhesives are often used if the drum is textured, slightly oily, or has painted surfaces, since high-tack rubber adheres quickly and strongly. But a high-surface-energy acrylic adhesive is often used for bare and clean metal drums, since it offers excellent long-term resistance to chemicals, UV rays, and extreme temperatures.

If you’re applying labels in extreme heat or cold, and if the label needs to endure these kinds of conditions, then we’ll need to use more specialty acrylic adhesives. If we’re dealing with extreme heat, we might need to use a heavy-duty industrial label with permanent acrylic bonds, such as Zebra’s Z-Xtreme 4000T labels.

If the drum will undergo industrial banking or chemical washing at even more extreme heat, then we might need to switch the label face stock from polyester to polyimide, such as Zebra’s Z-Xtreme 5000T labels.

The Good News for Companies That Need the Right Labels

Hopefully, you’re already seeing that the right label for every job depends on a pretty exact combination of label, ribbon, and adhesive. It all depends on your specific requirements and the environment and conditions involved.

But specialty labels, ribbons, and adhesives are available for virtually any conceivable need, and the good news is that you don’t have to figure this out on your own.

Label manufacturers such as Zebra have entire R&D teams devoted to developing, testing, and perfecting labels, ribbons, and adhesives for almost any imaginable application. And they’ve developed detailed guidelines, specs, and product options that our team at IntegraServ uses to recommend the right solutions for each job.

Our team has decades of combined knowledge and experience in recommending and supplying the right labeling solutions for our customers. So, we can quickly identify the label, ribbon, and adhesive for your specific application.

To learn more and get a precise recommendation for your needs, contact us now at 800-233-1474 or visit our website to email us and get started.