L8: The Global Label Organization

Global Label Organization

At a time where there are more labels being produced and used more than ever, many of the world’s major label companies have banded together. The new group, dubbed “L8” incorporates international label firms from around the world to promote globalization, cooperation and common interests. Whether you are a small custom label manufacturer, or a large label wholesaler, L8 will provide some insight for your business.

The new group was formed at the Labelexpo meeting in Shanghai, and will hold their first official group meeting on March 13th, and their second meeting in September in Chicago.

Finat, the European label trade association of Europe, along with TLMI, the American counterpart, took the initiative to begin the global organization citing the needs to improve global networking of custom label producers, as well to share knowledge, experiences and breakthroughs at a common ground.

In addition to the European Finat and American TLMI, the five other members of the L8 will be: PEIAC (the Chinese association), LMAI (India), JFLP (Japan), Latma (Australia), and Salma (New Zealand). While the L8 description is intended to be an analogy with the world's G8 organization, its eight place could possibly be filled by a Latin American organization in the future.
The topic of the first meeting is expected to discuss the international standardization of labels and label formatting, a possible first step in an international standard for the label business.

Be sure to stay posted, as this exciting breakthrough in the label world is sure to produce some positive and needed changes into the label industry.

How to Order Labels

How To Place A Label Order

Do you own or work for a company that uses labels? Well almost every product on the planet these days has a label as well as a barcode or UPC code. If you sell physical products, you will need labels for those products. However, knowing what you need in a label might not be so easy to figure out, and with so many options and varieties how do you know what kind of label suits your company best? Well, this article will explain all the information you need to make ordering labels a little easier.

Before you pick up that phone or place that online order, there are a few basic label questions you’ll have to answer to get the label that is right for your company:
1) What size labels are you looking for, and in what quantity?
2) What material would you like your labels made out of? (Paper, Vinyl, Kimdura, Polyester etc)
3) If you are printing the labels yourself, what kind of printer will you be using? (Direct thermal, thermal transfer etc)
4) What will your labels be placed on?
5) What type of Adhesive would you like on your labels? ( Permanent, Removable, Tamper-Evident, Static Cling etc)
6) What will your labels be exposed to? (Water, Sunlight, Solvents, Dust, Outdoor Elements, Temperatures etc)
7) Will your labels be applied by machine or hand?
8) Are there any special directions for packaging? ( Shrink-wrap, drop shipping, core size, outside roll diameter etc)

All these key questions are vital to the ordering process, and knowing the answers to these questions can make ordering labels easy and fast, as well as providing a nice back round of the label business.

Now, you might be asking yourself, what do some of these words mean? Well there’s a lot of terminology in the label world, and to make your order process easier, this article will explain those key terms.

-Core: The inner diameter of a roll of labels, the standard core sizes are 1” and 3”. This is important, because many printers can ONLY print labels with a specific core size.
-Perforation: The liner is perforated between labels, allowing them to easily be torn from the roll.
-Single: Labels will be individually cut and stacked.
-Bleed: The ink will extend to the edge of the label, instead of a white border.
-Square cut: Known also as the “Kiss cut”, the labels will be cut exactly to size, with no liner around the label.

With this information in mind, hopefully the next time you are ordering labels you will feel confident that you know what you need out of your labels. For more information or to place an order for labels contact the experts at Labelrack today!

What You Need To Know About Thermal Labels

Many online stores offer varieties of direct thermal labels which are heat reactive. Thermal labels are utilized in the major direct thermal printer brands. Let me warn you that thermal labels tend to fade in sunlight. The heat is transferred from the print head to the label directly and the image is made.

Grab an idea about thermal labels

Thermal labels are made of polypropylene and standard paper. You actually get two kinds of thermal labels; one is the direct thermal label and the other standard thermal label. Let me tell you that the images are made with heat, so it will fade with time. I would advise you to use the thermal labels for short duration applications in printing address labels. However, the main advantage of having a thermal label is its low costs. Direct thermal printing will not require any ribbons for printing.

Thermal labels are used effectively in temporary applications such as in making address labels, or shipping labels. Direct thermal labels are not suitable for outdoor usage as they react adversely to the sun rays and chemical vapors. You can select thermal labels of different sizes with solid colors and borders according to your requirements.

You can get thermal labels in rolls or fan-folded packs. I have found that direct thermal labels cost more than the thermal transfer labels; if you distinguish between these two types, you will notice a marked difference. Make a good choice when you are searching online for thermal labels, know the prices and make sure that it fits your budget.

Linoprint Driveline Digital Press

Linoprint Driveline Digital Press
Linoprint’s new DriveLine digital press can print on labels, films and paperboard with high quality. The new press come equipped with 720-dpi resolution, 13.5 inch web-width and up to 200 fpm printing speed.
Depending on the job needed, the Linoprint can use a variety of inks and ink coverage types, and is vastly superior to the traditional Flexographic printing, especially in terms of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) For quantities of up to hundreds of thousands of printed pieces.
For industrial printing this means having the ability to be fast, flexible and be able to handle variable job quantities – while meeting the increasing standards in aesthetics and printing quality at the same time. Linoprint is the answer to these demands. The digital Drop-on-Demand technology works cleanly, fast and with high resolution. Specially suited for short runs and small job sizes, the Linoprint system is First Class.
The capability of printing short runs on demand eliminates the expenses associated with pre-printed materials including storage and logistics.
As an optional device the Roll-To-Roll and the Roll-To-Production systems are equipped with an extra large winding and/or coiling roll. If requested we can also install a slitting and perforating device.
The Pile-To-Pile module is optionally delivered either with a bar or suction belt. DriveLine is designed for multi-color printing (spot or CMYK), but can also be delivered for single color use. The inks, suited to the printing head and the substrate, are Saphira products, from Heidelberg’s consumable program.For more information about the newest label presses, visit us at www.LabelRack.com today!

Having Shipping Labels is Important When Shipping Damageable Items

You can look online for the right shipping labels, order for them and get them as soon as possible. There are several reputed online stores where you can get preprinted shipping labels, fragile labels, D.O.T. labels, ORM-D labels and many other labels. Shipping labels are best considered to be your ads for safe handling. Considering the shipping and transport industry, your packages are supposed to go through many “hands”, so for ensuring that the items in the packages are safe, you must have shipping labels.

The shipping labels tell you what is important inside the package and how you should be handling them. It makes sense to order shipping labels for the purpose of saving on a lot of money that you would have to pay in the case of damage of the items in the packages.

How to find the right online store

When you are looking for an online store to order your shipping labels, you need to be careful. There are certain factors that you need to pay heed to.

Look for a site that is user friendly and makes it easier for you to order the shipping labels. The online store should be able to offer you immediate delivery of the labels, superior quality service, and may be direct factory prices. Look for the years of experience the online store has in making shipping labels. The online store should be adept in coming up with new shipping label designs which meet the latest regulations.

I think the aforementioned tips should work just fine for you in getting the right online store for ordering your shipping labels and protect your fragile items to be shipped.

Baking By Bar Code
What if you wanted to try that delicious new recipe you are dying to try, but just cant figure out how to make. What if by only simply scanning a barcode, a machine could now cook for you. With the help of Seattle based Salton, a new era of kitchen technologies that make this possible. Salton’s new line of hi-tech kitchen accessories includes, Microwaves, Bread-making machines, Coffee makers and more. All of these products will be designed with built-in networking capabilities, and even a wireless hub controller that can manage all of these appliances from anywhere in the house.
These innovative and exciting gadgets so far seem to be Salton’s “Beyond Bread Maker & Beyond Microwave”. Both appliances offer internet connectivity, hard drives for recipe storage as well of course, as the ability to now cook food by only scanning a bar code!
Want to become a baker? Well Salton’s “Beyond Bread Maker” requires little human help, in fact the “chef” must only add the ingredients into the machine and scan the bar code of the selected bread. The Beyond Bread Maker can prepare an assortment of breads and cakes correctly, and ships with over 100 recipes already preloaded, although more recipes can be found online and downloaded directly into the machine. Each recipe just needs its own Bar Code recipe, and that’s it.
The Beyond Microwave comes ready to ship with over 4,000 boxed food recipes, as well as a learn function that allows users to create and store directions for custom foods.
With a price tag of only $150, the Beyond Bread Maker and Beyond Microwave won’t break the piggy bank, while offering a whole new world of ease in the kitchen. Imagine being able to cook bread or cakes in the kitchen, and all with the ease of a bar code scan. No more looking for recipes or trying to remember how to make things.
Keep your eyes and ears open for more developments for these futuristic kitchen appliances that will change the way you cook forever. Salton’s will continue to research and development more commodities that can take advantage of the bar code.

Mailing labels - A smart way of mailing

Letters and packages should always be labeled with the mailing labels to identify the sender of the letter. Various software packages including contact manager programs and word processor offer standardized mailing labels that comply with postal standards. Mailing labels may include special handling requirements and routing bar codes that expedite the process of delivery.

Varieties of mailing labels

There are different kinds of mailing labels available in the market with different features. You can buy a weatherproof mailing labels which can protect the enclosed document from various damages during the delivery process of the letter. These labels are available in 1' x 2 5/8' size and come in long-lusting white polyester with a permanent adhesive in the backside. These labels provide durability and are able to protect the inside documents against moisture, tearing and scuffling. Usually these labels are available in the packs of 50 sheets and have 30 labels on each of the sheets.

You can also buy labels made up of the same material and offered in 1 1/3' x 4' small rectangles. This type of label comes in the packs of 50 sheets with 14 labels on each sheet. A special type of mailing labels that feature instant ink drying that help the sender to deliver a smudge-free parcel with a professional get up. These labels are available in the packs of 25 sheets and 10 labels are available in each sheet.

The return address labels are provided with ½" x 1¾" dimensions and are available in 25 sheets packets. There are 80 labels offered on each of the sheets of packets.