Zebra Cryocool 8000T Labels for Pharma and Biotech Cold Storage

For pharmaceutical and biotech companies that need to label and track specimens and vaccines through cold storage, standard barcode labels won’t handle the job.

To handle the environmental stresses of going through alcohol wipe downs and refrigeration or cryogenic freezing, labels need to be made with specialized materials and adhesives that can withstand the harshest cold storage conditions and handling.

Labels also need to be printed with specialized resin ribbons to ensure that barcodes and printed information remain scannable and readable, even after exposure to chemicals, extreme temperatures, and up to five years or more of cold storage.

This is one of the reasons why our labeling experts at Tri-State Business Systems recommend Zebra’s Cryocool 8000T cold storage labels and its 6200, 5095 resin ribbons for pharma and biotech.

As a global leader in barcoding and labeling since 1969, Zebra has some of the highest-quality label production and research & development facilities in the industry. Its 8000T Cryocool labels are one of the many products the company has developed to meet the highly specialized needs of the pharma, biotech and healthcare industries.

Cryocool 8000T labels are thermal-transfer, polypropylene labels designed with a specialized facestock and cold-temp permanent acrylic adhesive, along with a 40 lb. semi-bleached, kraft-stock liner. When combined with Zebra’s 5095 resin ribbon for printing, these materials produce high-quality and extremely durable labels that can survive temperatures as low as         -196° C for liquid nitrogen cryogenic applications and deep-freezing processes.

They will also withstand conditions such as dry ice (-80° C), steam autoclave, and even gamma radiation, and they can survive temperatures as high as 88° C.

Cryocool labels ensure adhesion despite these extreme conditions, and they provide excellent smear, erasing and scratch resistance. They’re also resistant to moderately harsh chemicals, including 70% isopropyl alcohol solutions for disinfecting as well as ammonia and bleach.

Zebra tests all of these capabilities using ISO:9001:2008 quality assurance procedures. To test its Cryocool products, Zebra applies labels to glass vials (2.8 cm OD), polypropylene centrifuge tubes (3.5 cm OD, 50ml), and glass microscope slides, and it allowed 24-hour dwell time before exposure to extreme conditions.

Zebra then tests the labels in a wide variety of environments and conditions, including high temps, low temps, freezers, pressure cookers, liquid nitrogen, moving from freezers to boiling water, and moving from liquid nitrogen to boiling water.

It logs typical results and recommendations for its labels and each use case involving glass vials, centrifuge tubes, and microscope slides. The end result is a thorough validation of its label performance and durability, with testing specs and results made available on Zebra’s product spec sheets.

For leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies, the real-world results speak for themselves. In our years of working with pharma and biotech clients and supplying labels for their cold storage needs, Zebra labels consistently outperform competing solutions and provide peace of mind in knowing that labels will always adhere and remain readable and scannable, even in the toughest cold storage and other conditions.

To learn more about Zebra Cryocool 8000T labels, download our spec sheet now, and connect with our pharma and biotech labeling experts at Tri-State Business Systems to get a free assessment and recommendations for your cold storage and other applications. Contact us now through our website, or call us now at 908-359-8001.