Does Your Barcode Label Have The Right Components?Here Is What You Need To Know.
A barcode label is one of the critical parts of any barcoding system, but it’s often overlooked in a rush due to minimizing costs, rather than ensuring the right adhesion, scannability, and durability for each labeling application.
Ironically, this often creates additional costs and wastes time and money. That’s because the wrong labels end up falling off, becoming faded, smudged, damaged or otherwise unreadable, which causes expensive printhead failures.
In the worst cases, the wrong labels can bring an entire labeling operation to a halt, especially if an incorrect label material, ribbon, or adhesive is used.
This is why our team at Tri-State Business Systems strongly recommends following some specific guidelines and choosing high-quality and pre-tested labels and supplies from Zebra Technologies.
Making the right labeling choice starts with understanding the components of your label and working with an R&D team and label manufacturer that has developed and pre-tested hundreds of specialized labels and supplies for virtually any application.
Anatomy of a Proper Barcode Label
The right barcode label begins with the correct label composition, which is critical to ensuring label adhesion, durability, readability, and scannability.
Key components of a label include the release liner and silicone coating, which are crucial if you’re using an applicator to apply a label after being printed from a print engine.
Adhesives are also crucial, since standard adhesives stick well to most items, however specialized adhesives are needed for extreme temperatures and rough surfaces.
The facestock of a label is also important because its sensitivity affects the darkness setting you need to use on your printer. The wrong facestock means having to print too dark to compensate for it.
The topcoat is another key component because it adds further protection to the label.
All of these materials need to work together to ensure proper labeling and scanning as different scanning applications require different combinations.
Key Considerations in Choosing Your Label
In choosing the right label, you may need to take into consideration a number of factors, which can be broken into two categories:
1. Application Requirements
- Surface
- Extreme temperatures
- Abrasion resistance
- Chemical resistance
- Indoor/outdoor use
- Label lifespan
2. Printing Requirements
- Label format
- Print speed
- Print darkness
- Dots per inch
- Use of an applicator
One of the great advantages of Zebra’s labels and supplies is that it has already developed more than 1,000 label combinations to meet almost any combination of requirements. This includes more than 500 stock labels, ribbons, and other printing supplies.
If you need a completely unique and specialized label that isn’t already available, our experts and Zebra’s R&D team can work with you to quickly identify and develop the right solution.
Importantly, Zebra pre-tests all of its labels and supplies, uses consistent materials, and has outstanding quality processes to ensure the highest durability, print quality, and scannability.
This includes testing on Zebra printers and assessment of printhead wear, which enables Zebra to offer the best guarantee in the barcoding industry.
In fact, if you use Zebra barcode label printers and agree to use genuine Zebra supplies exclusively, you get guaranteed protection against unexpected printhead failure. If your printhead ever needs to be replaced prematurely, it will be replaced at no charge.
Finding the Right Label for Your Application
To get more insights on how you can save money with Zebra supplies and request personalized help in finding the right label for your application, contact our experts at Tri-State Business Systems now, visit www.tri-statebussys.com, or call us at 908-359-8001.
