The benefits of using security labels

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.

Over laminated barcode labels for extra protection

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.

Low and high temperature labels

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.

Warehousing labels, the easy way to identify items

A well-run warehouse is the heart of a well-run business and unless items can be found quickly and easily, valuable company time can be needlessly spent trying to find an item for a customer, or to re-stock shelves. Some of the types of warehouse labels are illustrated here and much will depend upon the type of warehousing situation which is relevant for your particular business.

We supply reflective asset labels which are made from metal, and they have a series of barcodes that can be easily read from a distance; naturally, they are made quite large in size. An alternative is a floor label which as the name suggests is fixed to the floor using a strong adhesive, ensuring that it will remain in place for a long time. These are usually made from aluminium or steel to ensure that they will withstand the heavy traffic normally experienced in a warehouse.

The most common label that is used in a warehouse has to be the pallet label, these tag the crates or pallets that are used to carry goods from one place to another, again these are normally made from tough metals to ensure that they will withstand wear and tear and rough handling by forklift truck.

Shelving labels, otherwise known as location labels, are stuck on the shelving which stores the goods and they have pre-programmed numeric codes which identify and locate specific items, known only to the warehouse manager or team leader. The codes in a label are printed using thermal transfer printers and every barcode label has an alphanumeric code that is set according to the warehouse owner’s instructions.

Contact us if you have a particular need for warehouse labels and we will be pleased to discuss with you the various options and provide a quotation for these, entirely without obligation.

Combatting mistakes caused through human error

We are all human and as such, it is inevitable that we can, on occasions, make a mistake or forget to do something from time to time. This applies to the head of the company as well as the newly recruited assistant.

Often this leads to nothing more than just an inconvenience and may mean that someone has to do some extra work or ensure that the business can continue to run smoothly. However, there is one area where a human error or a calculating mistake can adversely appear to affect the profitability of the company and that is when a stock take is taking place. This is where accurate figures are a complete necessity and along with inventory figures, mistakes here can be time-consuming and costly.

So what is the best way to ensure that human error does not creep into the stock take or inventory check? By utilising a barcode asset tracking system, these mistakes can be all but eliminated; you don’t have to rely on a person to keep a track of every item, just let the computer do it for you.

This does not need a huge range of equipment either, just a barcode scanner, when the item is scanned, updated information is fed into your computer’s database. By using barcodes, you will be saving employees valuable time, the codes are read much faster than it is possible for a person to enter data into a system manually. The information is fed back to your database and your stock figures can be accessed in no time, just a simple click of the mouse.

The retail industry and lost £billions

If there was one area of business which could claim to be the king of lost £billions, it has to be the retail industry, supermarkets, clothing, electrical, it is not confined to a single sector. Shoplifting is an area that retailers have struggled with since people set up stalls to sell merchandise. Many ways have been tried to combat this theft, some quite effective, others not so. However, one which many retailers swear by is the security tags which have sensors that trigger an alert when someone tries to remove an item from a store without paying.

The system is fairly straightforward, often the best products are, and the security tag relies upon electronic article surveillance or EAS as one of the main components of the tag. There can be little doubt that these security tags have helped retailers enormously in combating this theft from their premises. The tags come in a number of sizes and they can be hard tags with sensors, magnetic and ink tags or they can be clever soft tags that can include stickers and security labels that are fixed to the items.

When the items are presented to the checkout, they are either removed in the case of the hard tags, or the tag is deactivated so that it will not sound the alarm when it is taken out of the store and passes by the detectors.

Security tags are a vital component for the retail industry today, shoplifting, or theft as it should be referred to, cost the retail industry £billions and this does not just come out of the retailers’ pocket, it is eventually passed onto every shopper that buys from the store.

Some uses for our vinyl stickers

Our vinyl stickers have been used on a multitude of items, for example, we have supplied them for wine bottles and as security labels, increasingly they are seen on pharmaceutical products, many items of food packaging including freezer packs where they have to endure extremely low temperatures of minus 20 centigrade.

If you look in your freezer or food cupboard you can find many examples of vinyl stickers and we would be lost without them knowing instantly what the item is. The vinyl sticker in the food industry has to stand up to a lot of hard wear and tear, but still be firmly adhered to the product and of course perfectly readable.

Making these vinyl labels requires a printing process in order that the contents of the product are clearly visible as well as communicating possible uses suggested cooking advice and any safety advice or instruction. The way that we produce these labels is to ensure that the graphics or printed word is applied on a thin film and then an adhesive is applied. The adhesive is a very important part of the process and depending on the instructions we have been given as to the possible use and storage of the product, will determine the kind of adhesive that will be applied.

The normal finish that is given to these vinyl stickers is matt but it can also be high gloss which also acts as a protective film and helps add a level of protection against moisture. If you require a vinyl sticker or would like to discuss possible uses for one, contact us and we will be happy to talk you through all the options.

Utilising barcodes on asset labels

Assets are by and large numbered in most commercial or industrial premises in order that the company can keep a track of the asset. However, there are a few other methods that can be used instead of numbering to increase business efficiency when stocktaking and equipment tracking.

The traditional and at the time the best way of keeping a record of the items that your business owned was to number all of these and keep an asset register so that each asset could be tracked. However, with advances in technology, this simple numbering process has now moved into the 21st century.

It is now not necessary to go to those lengths and to have to rely on manual numbering by itself to keep a track of the assets. Today, modern and forward-looking companies, embrace today’s technology, they have integrated a barcoding and scanning system which makes retrieval and recording of data faster and much more efficient.

Asset labels are now available which can feature not only a unique number but also a unique barcode and even feature a company logo or a promotional message. These labels can be manufactured from a variety of materials, depending upon the location of the asset and these are durable, cheap and are the best way that a company can keep a record of the items that they own for stocktaking and for insurance purposes.

After market barcode labels

With just about everything that you can imagine today having a barcode on the label, this is an easy way of product identification and used by retailers as a way to price items and keep stock records. The majority are printed onto the product labels as it is being made. However it is possible that they can be added at a later stage through a label which can be printed onto an adhesive label and then this label stuck onto a product or a component.

This way of barcoding items or stock can be particularly useful in large warehouses or distribution centres where large numbers of stock items may be kept around the warehouse and records of their locations need to be kept.

These labels referred to as aftermarket labels are an ideal way of keeping track of stock and they can be applied months after the product has been made. The barcodes usually come on rolls or if preferred sheets, the adhesive on the back allows them to be fixed on any product or product location you wish, so they can be scanned easily using a standard barcode scanner.

Just as asset tags can be made from a variety of materials, this aftermarket barcode label can be produced using substrates such as polyester and aluminium, making them the perfect tool to use in retail, commercial and industrial sectors. If you believe that an aftermarket barcode label could benefit your business, contact us and we will be pleased to provide a quotation quickly and entirely without obligation.

Why asset tags are important for your business

Asset tags are usually used by institutions and businesses for property identification, necessary to ensure that they are properly maintained and also to prevent loss of assets due to theft. Using asset tags indicates ownership on your assets and using asset tags at places like shops and warehouses can be very helpful for asset and inventory management.

When moving inventory items from one location to another, there is always a chance of loss or misplacement, asset tags will help to prevent this. We can supply different types of property identification labels for indoor and outdoor use; we can help you choose the ones that will you be the right one for your needs.

Asset tags will allow you to easily track and distinguish your particular assets from other items; also they can efficiently track the model or a serial number of your products. With the use of these property identification labels, the task of inventory management can be significantly simplified.

Using asset tags can prove to be an asset themselves to your business; these alone will help you and your staff to help to determine exactly which piece of equipment is where at any given point in time. The tracking programme also keeps track of useful information such as the date of purchase, repairs and maintenance. Asset tags can also be customised to suit the specific needs of a company. As the adhesives used in asset tags are strong, their replacement and removal is designed to be extremely difficult. This is a great security measure that greatly helps to minimise the chances of assets getting stolen or misplaced.