Magnetic Rack Labels

Posted on January 23, 2012 by admin

Looking for an easier way to maintain your rack labeling system? Rack labels come in many different sizes, colors, and substrates. A critical part of a well-run distribution center is having the correct rack labels to quickly and efficiently label and identify rack locations. Most warehouses have isle locations, section, and level locations. Integrating these into one label is the key to an efficient warehouse. Barcoding this location insures accuracy when both picking and stocking product. Most warehouses today understand this and look for labels that meet this need.

When determining labels for your warehouse, many companies do not think long term and go only with a white paper label to apply to the metal rack. The short comings of this is that warehouses today are constantly changing and locations may be added, racks moved, and extra levels put in. When this happens, you are left with a mess trying to peel off the old label, ripping it and creating an unsightly metal rack that should be scraped and painted for an acceptable appearance before re-labeling.

To get around this, some warehouses have gone to a polyester label that can be peeled off in one piece. This gets around the issue of not being able to peel the label off in one piece, but without active adhesive on the back of the label anymore, these labels are useless to use again, so the warehouse personnel have to make new labels replacing the old label they have just taken off. This requires software, printers and warehouse location label inventory to be kept on location increasing the overall costs of rack labels. It is important to remember that adhesives can dry out and do have a shelf life.

If you want to go with the most advanced rack labeling, we suggest they be made on magnets so you can move them if locations are added or deleted. Magnets are strong enough to hold the location label in place and prevent them from moving when you don’t want them to move.

Adding color to the labels can help identify specific isles as an additional check as pickers and stockers are moving inventory. The color coding can be done in many different manors. They can distinguish isles, or levels, or both.

Barcoding the rack labeling is a critical element to Continue reading →

Food Processing Labels and the Process Expo

Posted on October 28, 2011 by admin

Next week is the Process Expo in Chicago where end-to-end food processing and packaging suppliers meet to show off their new food processing equipment. This show will feature seminars like the Green Sustainable Technology and the Electrolyzed Water Subject of Cadence Technologies Seminar. Many food companies will be in attendance. One of the most vital elements of food processing is the packaging. Making sure the processor has the right labeling and branding to make their product stand out among the other competitors in their industry.

As food processors flock in to attend the show, they may or may not see a lot of custom label producers. Today’s label technology has come a long way and attendees should keep a look out for short run label capabilities. The short run market has become very large. With the ability to change products and test products on the fly, having a small run of custom labels will prove very valuable to the success of a product introduction.

In the past, labeling a new product would be very expensive due to the plates and dies involved. A typical die could be $600-$1000 and the plates could be $45-$65 a piece per color. This is just part of the setup. If a change is made, then that cost can double. And this is without printing a single label. So think if all of this cost can be avoided when trying to test a new label in the market. These factors can determine whether a test will even get off the ground.

With today’s digital age in label making, all of these up-front costs are wiped away. Think of both the time savings and the cost savings in a new product launch. Ordering labels on demand instead of guessing what the demand will be and investing in a large run, dies, and plates.

New salad dressings, spaghetti sauces, wine brands, and spices can be test marketed with different looks to measure effectiveness. Think of the options of testing 5000 with one look and 5000 with another look just to see which is more appealing to the customer. Then move into a full run as the volume takes off. This flexibility allows for great success especially in the food and drink label market.

Standard tests are usually done with standard label sizes as well. This is to avoid the cost of special dies. When you find a digital printer that can also digital die cut, then you can also work with many creative shapes for your labels. This is especially helpful with food products.

Lamination or no lamination? This really depends on how long the product will sit on a grocers shelf and whether the product has a chance of dripping onto the label. Most inks are water based. Lamination can help with UV protection preventing the label from fading over time, and lamination can protect against moisture. There is also protection against tearing when a label is laminated. All of these factors can benefit food and beverage products.

Check out your label suppliers’ digital capability and make sure they can turn your small runs into great product opportunities for your future product lines.

Barcode Label Sizes: The Facts Between the Lines

Posted on August 29, 2011 by admin

If you came at this guide searching for traditional barcode label sizes I have some good news and bad news. The good news is that you will learn a lot of information about barcode labels. The bad news is that there is no set standard size for barcodes. Barcodes normally differ size based on what they are being used for.

In this guide you will discover the numerous uses of barcode labels. Whether it be for packing or stock barcode label sizes come in many different spices. It is not the barcode tag that creates the measurement, its the job.

Among the ordinary uses of barcode labels is to recognize inventory. Including tags to your stock makes it fast and effortless to determine and monitor everything that comes in and out of your enterprise.

Yet another frequented use of barcode tags is for point of sale. Everywhere there are businesses that use barcodes for their point of sales and you don’t even think about it. For instance, clothing stores use barcodes to scan the cost of each product you purchase. If every significant enterprise that you can think of is using this point of sale system don’t you think it is a excellent strategy?

Lastly you can use barcode labels for time tracking. Making Use of the special signature ID of each barcode, you can not just make it less complicated for workers to clock in and manage their hours, yet you will make it easier for management to confirm hours and retain records. Unlike file documenting, utilizing barcodes to document hours stores its data paperless in computers without the need of physical entry.

In spite of browsing for a post on barcode label sizes, hopefully you gained a great deal of details on the uses of barcode tags. After all you question of what is a standard barcode label size was answered, there is no regular measurement!

Here at LabelRack we take satisfaction in our career. We think that we are the gurus about labels so you do not have to be. Your time is more vital than to be checking the internet aiming to understand everything and anything about tags. In finding solutions about the “standard barcode label sizes” we hope that you also found a future partnership with us. We give you this extensive amount of information not to impress you, but impress upon you we know our stuff.

Preprinted Barcode Labels: When Will They Save You Money

Posted on August 24, 2011 by admin

When purchasing barcode tags there are two options that you have: buy your own machines and print them yourself, or order preprinted barcode labels. Both choices have their pros and cons, on the other hand, there are scenarios where it is ideal to purchase preprinted barcode labels. Consider the following guide before plunging headfirst into purchasing barcode labels, we at Label Rack take pride in our expertise on preprinted barcode labels and want to deal you just the facts in your upcoming purchase.

When you are done reading this article you will have the expertise of the finest label experts in the business. There are several crucial aspects that make preprinted barcode labels the best route to choose. In this article we will be covering five key factors that you should take into account before purchasing preprinted barcode labels:

1. If you need labels printed in massive quantities, around a few thousand, it is best that you have a devoted barcode printer from a specialized business. It is a commonly known fact that buying in bulk is more cost effective then purchasing in tiny volume. You may own a barcode printer, but with a huge printing job the expense of maintaining the machines can be overwhelming.

2. When you require countless labels printed exactly the same. Tying in with the last concept, when you buy in volume you conserve money, and in large quantities it can be more cost effective to outsource large barcode printing jobs.

3. In order to manage your labeled inventory barcodes are numbered successively. One human error when printing a barcode label can throw off your whole stock. Contracting out the job for this very reason is what makes it worth it. If there is something incorrect with the printing task there is a business to question for it. Not only to note that most businesses perform quality checks on their labels before shipping them to the client.

4. When you want to guarantee the security of your barcode labels it is best to purchase preprinted barcode labels from a professional business. Labels that are made in-house can be easily replicated. Companies dedicated in producing preprinted barcode labels often have equipment that will produce holograms and other security measures on the labels to prevent replication.

5. If you need large amounts of unique labels. This is the exact cause of why you should purchase preprinted barcode labels. Unusual dimensions and unique design rule out normal equipment for the job. This translates out to it expensing more due to the fact that you will have to purchase extra gear to print the unique labels. There is no point in doing so when it would cost a fraction of the cost to contract out your specialized labels to a company devoted and well equipped for the job.

Do you want the preprinted barcode labels completed correct the first time? Here at Label Rack we don’t look for customers, we want long term partners that we can truly share our business with. Got questions? Just stop by Label Rack and get in touch with us. It is our delight to begin a new partnership with you and show you why we are the number one stop for preprinted barcode labels.

Direct Thermal Custom Labels

Posted on May 27, 2009 by admin

Did you know that there is a wide range of standard and premium products specifically designed for Direct Thermal printing applications? Most product offerings include various facestocks from paper to synthetic. Custom labels also offer a variety of adhesive systems including permanent, removable and freezer grade to fit any application. Direct thermal label media performs well with all popular printers made by Epson, Zebra, Sato, Datamax, Eltron, and more.

Things to consider when using Direct Thermal:

Ideal for short term labeling (less than 1 year)
Sensitive to heat and light
Requires no ribbon for printing
Durability is fair

Typical applications include:

Retail weigh scale
Case ready meats
Industrial bar code
Travel bag tags
Parcel tracking

For more information and proper product selection for your application, give our specialists a call today to help.