The type of material and printing of a barcode will depend upon a number of factors and is largely dependent upon where the item that the barcode is used for is stored, how it is likely to be used and the method of transportation. Examples would be a durable barcode that can resist corrosion, heat, cold, UV light and solvents. They might be listed as warehouse barcode labels, industrial use barcode labels and polyester barcode labels. Of course the durability of the barcode label is not restricted to the kind of material it is printed on. For example, thermally printed labels are scratch-resistant and more durable than some ordinary labels; we have different types of high quality labels that are now available to suit different needs.

There are many benefits to using a barcode; these can offer a simple way of distinguishing your items amongst others, asset tracking for example. As you will know, each barcode label has black and white bars, which uniquely identify items; this ensures that barcode labels are economical and less prone to errors compared to manual asset tracking methods, streamlining the entire asset tracking process with ease.

When it has been decided which material should be used for the barcode a number of options are available. For instance unlike in previous times, today we can customise barcode labels with the name and logo of your company; you can even choose the colour and size of the barcode labels.

So with the multitude of uses for the barcode and the number of options regarding the material, adhesive and printing, if you contact us we will be happy to discuss your company’s particular requirements concerning a choice of barcode, provide a quotation and supply samples.

Posted in General by Philip

We have all become familiar with barcode labels on products that we see every day at supermarkets and in other kinds of retail outlets, but they have many more uses than just telling the checkout operator the price of the goods. Naturally, this method has completely replaced the traditional method of having to manually price each item. A barcode comprises of a continuous series of black stripes and white spaces of different widths. This barcode is usually printed onto products to uniquely identify them.

To read the many symbols that are included in this coding of stripes, they have to be read with a scanner and a computer loaded with the appropriate software. It is not only pricing of course, but the barcoding on the labels can be used in different applications for quick billing, precise calculations

The barcode label can be personalised to suit your business, you can add your company name, logo or any other information on these labels. The material upon which the code is printed is important and the type will depend on the environmental conditions which the product will be stored, displayed and transported. Traditionally barcodes were printed on paper, but today a wide variety of material is available and if necessary, we can over laminate the label for extra protection.

Regardless of the material used, barcode labels will increase accuracy and efficiency within your workplace, they are designed to save on valuable company employees’ time and increase the overall efficiency of the business.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Philip

By using a vinyl sticker to advertise your company, event or project you can be sure that, unlike a paper poster, they will always look smart, clean and a credit to your company or club. Vinyl stickers are seen and used for a variety of advertising purposes, normally seen on the inside of cars, but also on boats and shop windows, inside or outside it does not matter. Naturally the vinyl sticker can be used over and over again and will always present a clean and smart appearance.

We are also able to produce vinyl stickers in a wide variety of colours, sizes and shapes all that is required is for you to talk to one of our advisors and we can discuss the feasibility of the particular shape or size that you have in mind. Quantities do not present a problem for us; if you just want just a hundred for a trial operation we can produce those for you if you wish. Should you require a vinyl sticker that is to be used on a display that is going to be permanent, these can be supplied with a permanent adhesive and they will always have a clean and pristine look.

Printing on any label irrespective of the material Is what makes it stand out from the rest, we have invested in high quality HP Indigo equipment and with this we are able to provide superb colour including pantone colour matching, we offer varnished or laminated to protect the print, have thousands of stock sizes from which to choose, all ready for despatch to you in just a few days.

All you have to do is call us on 01293 551520, or if you prefer email sales@datalabel.co.uk and we will be happy to answer your queries, provide a quotation or let you have samples of our vinyl labels.

Posted in General by Philip

Ensuring that your valuable business assets are securely marked is a vital part of any well-run business, particularly when you consider that in some cases the value of these assets can amount to many thousands of pounds.

These security labels can be made from a wide range of different materials; also they are usually supplied with a powerful adhesive backing which makes them easier to be applied on any surface, but very difficult to remove. Using these specialist materials and adhesive ensures that should anyone try to remove the label, the barcode labels will break into smaller pieces to show that tampering has occurred.

We have strong adhesives which will bond with almost any surface, even the ones with high-temperature resistance. It is also possible to customise the label in a number of ways, for example, you can add a date, numbering and text. We can also, where it is necessary, apply an overlay to protect the label against contamination by chemicals, grease, tampering and abrasion.

Barcode security labels also serve as a theft deterrent to help in the recovery of lost and stolen items. Using solid aluminium plates printed with your company name and logo can prove to be a valuable option and are virtually impossible to remove without causing any damage to the equipment.

Posted in General by Philip

Peel and reveal labels offer businesses the ability to put extra information onto their product, in effect a lot more printed words on the same space as a standard label. This is not only important but very timely as major label law changes in the food and chemical industries came into effect in December of last year.

More amendments are due from December 2014 until 2017, so it is important that due to these changes, the displaying of extra mandatory information on labels and better legibility of text will mean that more information has to be shown on the label and peel and reveal could be the answer.

The regulations in the chemical industry are changing on the 1^st of June this year with some significant changes to labelling, which will include dimensions of pictograms and the label size. This is where the peel and reveal label can help and we will be happy to discuss cost-effective ways of ensuring that your company’s labels comply with all the requirements and have all the necessary information on the label.

If you consider that a peel and reveal label could be useful to your business, call us and we will be happy to discuss the options, provide a quotation and supply a sample in required.

Posted in General by Philip

We are fairly sure that you will have seen how the QR code is being seen more and more on packaging and labels, there is a very good reason. This code is a form of barcode, but instead of the series of lines, the QR code encodes data in the vertical plane as well as the horizontal plane. Although its first appearance was in the Japanese automotive industry, business soon saw how this new code could play an important part in promoting and marketing their products.

When marketing departments saw that the code could be read by smartphones, the whole potential of the QR code became evident. One of the major advantages of the QR codes is that the way the squares are formatted, this means that far more data to be encoded into a small space, much greater than can be on a barcode. When it was seen how much more data could be encoded into a small space, there is no wonder the QR code was seen to have such a huge potential to marketing managers.

Today Android smartphones can easily read the QR code and with iPhones having a full range of QR reader apps on the App store, it easy to see how the QR code can become an invaluable marketing tool for most businesses. QR codes are now seen everywhere, magazines web pages, on product labels they have appeared all over. If you believe that your business might benefit from using QR codes, contact us and we will be happy to discuss QR codes with you and how they could help your business

Posted in Custom labels by Philip

Asset labels are becoming more common as the business has increasingly recognised the value of keeping track of the items they own. They are now widely used across the UK by many companies, large and small and some of the benefits we illustrate below.

Firstly they are very useful for identifying office items because these are valuable company assets and have to be accounted for. The labels feature a unique number or barcode which can be referenced against a database of all the items you own if needed, ensuring that these items are easily identified and not misplaced or lost ensuring that you can keep firm control of your assets.

For companies with large open plan offices, or offices on more than one site, it can prove difficult to keep track of all expensive office equipment, particularly if these are being moved around the office or to a different site. If you need to find a laptop computer or a projector or even a mobile phone charger, you can do this using the database you hold on each and every item. The database will contain everything you need to find any item you are looking for.

Another big problem that faces all businesses is the regular yearly testing of items that are of a portable electrical nature and are subject to a PAT regime. Locating items is easier and the appliances can be found using the database you hold on the items if they have an asset label affixed and any future tests can easily be organised.

Posted in Asset Tags by Philip

Today we are all becoming more aware of the necessity for security in just about everything that we do, the same applies in the world of business. It has been known for assets to “disappear” or it could be that they have simply been misplaced. This can be a primary reason why companies are increasingly turning to security labels.

There are a number of different security labels, each one has its own distinct purpose, and for example, these could be tags that are used on clothing used to prevent theft. Tamper evident labels are also regarded as security labels as they can be used to identify if an attempt has been made to interfere with the equipment and invalidate the guarantee.

These tamper-evident labels can tale one of two distinct forms, a void label which is adhered to the surface of the item and should anyone try to remove the label, the word void appears and remains on the item. The second type is the destructible label which as the name implies, should this been tampered with the label will split apart into sections leaving it evident that it has been interfered with.

Security labels other than those two can be made from a variety of materials; the choice will depend upon the general location of the item, possible method of transportation as well as storage. The most commonly used material is plastic, but increasingly we are seeing the use of metal as well as fibre.

If you would like to find out more about security labels and asset tags, contact us and we will be only too pleased to discuss the number of options that are available.

Posted in Security Labels by Philip

It is not always necessary to overlaminate a label, but in certain circumstances, it can be a tremendous benefit and save time and money for a company. In the time when the barcode was first introduced these labels were only available in a paper format, the result was that they could and often did disintegrate to the point that they became unreadable.

So the industry began to seek out new ways to manufacture barcode labels to make them more durable and longer-lasting. One of the ways that they came up with was over-lamination, this is a process that provides a coating of a clear polyester material over the label and protects the label from adverse weather conditions, harmful UV rays, heavy soiling from grease and dirt and many chemicals, as well as moderate abrasion, guaranteeing extra durability.

Because an over-laminated barcode label is protected from the rigours of a harsh environment, the label can remain fully functional and the barcode itself can be always read by the barcode reader. In addition to these benefits, the process also helps to reduce glare and this is important as it makes the barcode more easily readable by the barcode scanning device. The over lamination process also helps to keep the barcode label flat and smooth, this also is of great benefit when scanning and makes reading the code by the scanning device easy.

If you think that your barcodes could benefit from an over-lamination process, contact us and we will be pleased to discuss this with you and let you have a quotation for the extra process.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Philip

Retailers do not live in a perfect world they have to ensure that the products which they are selling always remain pristine and in tip-top condition, irrespective of the temperatures that they may encounter during transit or storage and display.

Perhaps the most difficult situation has to be products that are designed for the deep freeze; the label always has to remain firmly attached to the product and also to be just as readable as it was when attached to the goods.

The first thing to emphasise is that a standard label with normal adhesive will not withstand very low temperatures or very high ones for that matter. The main problem that is encountered with low-temperature labels is the blast freezing that is necessary to ensure that the product is quickly reduced to the correct temperature. Temperatures in the region of minus 40°C are experienced and this needs a special adhesive as the ones which are used on normal labels usually will lose their adhesion at around minus 10°C.

We have been supplying labels for the deep freeze industry for many years and we are confident that we are able to supply labels that will withstand both blast freezing and items which are put into a normal home freezer, our experience also encompasses cryogenic labels used in the medical profession, where temperatures in excess of minus 196°C to Minus 210°C are experienced.

If you have a need for a low or very low-temperature label, contact us and we will be pleased to talk you through all the options that are available.

Posted in General by Philip