One of the most common permanent product identification techniques is through the process of product labeling. There are a number of different types of labels with the most common being branded product labels and eco or information labels.
Branded Product Labels
Products need to be branded to help with identification and play a major part in company brand building exercises. These labels need to be securely bonded to the product surface in a way that is best suited to that product. There are two types of branded labels, removable and none removable labels. With permanent labels the bonding has to be permanent and the label must be difficult to remove and resistant to a number of factors. A good example of this is a beer label. It must be waterproof, hardy and resistant to cold. This includes the actual printing, the material that the label is made of and the adhesive that binds it to its product.
Removable product labels on the other hand need to adhere to the product only until they need to be removed. A good example of this sort of label is a cleaning instruction label on any product manufactured out of a fabric such as an item of clothing. This product needs to be easily removed and must not leave a mark on the garment.
Eco or Information Labels
An eco or information label is used mostly on consumer products such as food stuffs and fast moving consumer goods found in supermarkets. They are used specifically to impart information to the consumer about the product. Often these type are made out of eco friendly substances so that they do not interfere with the products they are associated with.
Other Product Label Types
There are a number of different label types that are in common usage around the world that are regularly mass produced by specialist printing services. These include, but are not limited to, the following product label types:
Piggyback: These are labels made of different adhesive substrate. They are often used as stickers on express mail envelopes.
Asset Labels: These are usually tamper evident and are used for marking company or business assets.
Blockout: These are none see-through labels that are used to conceal what lies beneath them. They are normally made of a strong blank grey adhesive strip.
Radioactive: These are specialist labels that use radioactive isotopes to allow the specific vivo tracking of chemical compounds.
Laser: These labels come in a variety of sizes, materials and shapes. Laser label material is extremely resistant to heat so that it can withstand the high temperature laser printing process.