Many manufacturers are now realising the importance of marking their products with labels. These labels can contain information such as the serial number of the product or even contain information about the person who assembled the product.

Because technology is advancing all the time, many electrical and electronic products also benefit from using labels. However, these labels aren’t just used to establish the make and model of the product, these labels are also a way of identifying if a product has been taken apart or modified.

Most manufacturers offer a one year warranty on their products. However, some people want to upgrade the product before the one year warranty expires, and take it upon themselves to take the product apart, invalidating any remaining warranty the product may have. And the way the manufacturer knows a person has done this is by using a tamper evident security label.

Tamper evident security labels are positioned around the seams of the electronic gadget so if the label is removed when the product is opened, the manufacturer will know the warranty has been invalidated.
Some tamper evident labels show a ‘void’ message when tampered with, whereas some simply break down into small fragments which can’t be reattached.

Posted in Security Labels by Bridget

Data labels are being used with increasing frequency across industry. Many companies hold large amounts of stock of the items they need in their manufacturing processes. This stock needs to be accounted for as the total sum of the stock on a company’s books may add up to a great deal of money.

Pre-printed data labels can be used for labelling all stock in a warehouse or on a company’s premises. The labels can be affixed to the stock items themselves and even to the shelving or racking where the items are kept.

Many companies are now aware how important brand name can be. And to improve brand name and market their products in an innovative way add artwork to the adhesive data labels to improve brand recall.

The companies that supply data labels will usually accept artwork in quite a few different formats, including Adobe Acrobat and Photoshop. If you don’t have any artwork and want to create a statement on your labels, some label manufacturing companies will produce the artwork for you taking on board your specific requirements.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Geoff

Barcodes are used on just about any product you see nowadays. It’s an easy way of identifying a product and is used by merchandisers to keep a track of stock levels and hence pricing structure of their items.

Most barcode labels are pre-printed onto the goods when the goods are manufactured, but there are some applications in which barcode labels need to be affixed to goods after they have been manufactured. To facilitate this you can use pre-printed barcode labels.

Pre-printed barcode labels can be stuck on stock items at a date long after manufacture and are the perfect way of improving the warehousing and stock taking at your business. These barcodes are usually supplied on long rolls and their adhesive backing allows them be stuck on just about any type of surface.

Pre-printed barcodes can be used for tracking of goods, tracking of documents, inventory control and for adding barcodes to retail goods. Although the majority of barcode labels use white paper as the substrate material, you can also get barcodes printed on aluminium and polyester, making poor durability a thing of the past.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Geoff

Barcodes are now used on just about every type of product in the market. The unique identifier of the barcode label can be thus used by the product owners to store information about the product, such as its specification and even the price of the product. Barcodes are a great way to manage the stock you have as when an item is sold. And when the barcode is scanned, your computer system can be updated and stock levels updated also.

Since barcodes were introduced the need to individually label items with a price has passed and now barcode scanners are fitted to every point of sale system in the UK. Because the goods you hold are tracked by your up-to-the-minute computer system, you’ll thus know the movements of all your stock so can view trends in sales and identify which items aren’t selling as well as they should be – something which is very difficult to do without barcode technology.

The two types of barcode technology commonly used are called code 39 and code 128. Code 39 uses an alphanumeric system 44 characters long. Code 128 is also alphanumeric but is more complicated and is commonly used by shipping companies.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Geoff

Barcode labels help companies meet their targets with ease. APC overnight, the well known logistics experts, use barcode technology to track the location of their parcels and packages so deliveries are always traceable and hence arrive at their destination on time.

Medical products distributors BioMonde are APC Overnight customers. For delivery of goods APC Overnight use their own tracking system, which is linked to the Biomonde Sage system and provides traceability of all the limited shelf life products that BioMonde have to distribute to customers.

The barcode labels, which are attached to every BioMonde delivery, are scanned at each point on the parcels journey, from collection, through distribution hubs, and finally when the package is delivered.
Beth Williams, from BioMonde states:

“It is imperative that we get our special medical dressings to the customer on time. This is particularly important for medical professionals who have scheduled appointments for treating their patients. Traceability is a key requirement for us. We are shipping short life medical supplies and so we need to know that deliveries are progressing as expected. With the online system we can see instantly where our consignments are at any time as well as having Proof of Delivery from the customer,”

Posted in Barcode Labels by Geoff

If you are the manager of a business, you will know that your business will hold many assets. These assets might be things such as computer equipment, desks, machinery or even tools. It’s your company assets which makes your company tick, so without them your company may struggle to function. Because of this, many businesses want to know where their assets are and how much money they have tied up in their assets.

To solve the problem of not knowing what assets a company may own, asset tagging is commonly used. Each asset is uniquely identified with its own number or barcode or both and a database of all the assets can be kept in computerised form. Information about the assets might include the purchase date of the asset, when the asset needs to be checked for electrical safety, where the asset should be located and if there is any manufacturer’s guarantee left on the asset.

Tracking assets which have asset tags fitted thus becomes really easy. Computer equipment and asset scanning equipment can be used and an up-to-date database of all asset information can be held.

Posted in Asset Tags by Grahame

The recording of goods and stock has been made simple since the introduction of barcode technology. Now, barcode labels can be stuck on just about anything, so that items can be recorded and accurate data about products kept in a computerised form.

There are many different types of aftermarket barcode labels currently available which suit different purposes and applications.

Barcode labels can be made out of paper, polyester, aluminium and ceramics. Paper is the common format on which barcode labels are printed. The paper has an adhesive backing so the labels can be stuck on items which need a new barcode. Aluminium barcode labels are used in harsh industrial environments where the labels may be subjected to increased wear and tear or where the labels may be prone to damage. Ceramic labels are suitable when the label is exposed to high temperature. The ceramic coating on the label ensures good heat resistance and also protection against corrosive substances.

As can be seen, there is a lot to think about when you order your barcode labels. So have a think about the application in which they will be used and make an informed choice.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Geoff

Keeping a check on your inventory and stock levels is vitally important for smaller businesses. The money you have tied up in stock is money that is literally sitting on a shelf and not being used. However, when you have an accurate way of measuring the stock you have and have a system which shows you what stock is being used and which stock isn’t being used you can make business processes a lot smoother.

Barcoding all your stock items is one way to keep track of what you own. A barcode label can be stuck onto each and every item you have in stock and when you do a stock take, the label can be read easily and quickly using an electronic barcode reader.

Using barcodes enables you to keep accurate records of your stock and hence perform accurate data modelling of your usage of stock items. Human error is not unknown in traditional stock taking methods but using barcodes eliminates this.

Using barcode readers is also simple too, instead of manually writing information about the product such as its name and serial number you simply have to scan the item with the reader to input the information.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Bridget

There are a huge variety of barcode labels and asset tag solutions currently available to the general user. And whilst the majority of these vary in size and design there are a few other things which can determine the usability of the label in question. Things such as the durability of the label, the material the label is made from and the tamper-proof qualities the label has can really make the difference between the label being used in one environment and not in another.

Because there is such a good degree of choice available, it’s easy to find something which suits your specific needs.

Customised barcode labels and asset tags can really show off your goods or assets. The non-standard labels might be needed for practical reasons, such as to work effectively in a harsh or dirty environment, or may just be needed for aesthetic reasons where you want a brand image to stand out. Whatever your reasons, you’ll be able to find a solution that fits the bill.

The four main things which have to be decided between when choosing a label are the size and shape of the label, the design on the label such as the addition of a logo, the adhesive used on the label and the material the label is made from.

Posted in Asset Tags, Barcode Labels by Bridget

Barcodes don’t have to be printed onto a product when it is manufactured, they can also be printed on labels which can be stuck onto a product at a later date. The black lines that you see on a barcode label are converted into alphanumeric data when read by a barcode scanner.

Barcode labels can be used to track parcels, shipments and deliveries. They are also used to categorise goods and organise stock in warehouses. Offices use barcode technology to keep their files and folders organised. The most common place where barcodes are used however is in the retail market, where it is important to track goods which have been sold.

Some companies like to tag their valuable assets, which would otherwise cost the company a great deal of money if they were to be misplaced or stolen. The assets which are most commonly tracked include infrastructure and machinery, expensive medical items, computers and electronic equipment, vehicles and construction equipment, furniture and ancillary office items.

Asset tags are used by companies who want to keep a record of their property. Data collected might include an asset’s condition, the date which it was purchased, if it is under warranty and most importantly the name of its owner. A barcode may or may not be featured on an asset tag, for most asset tags a number will suffice.

Posted in Asset Tags, Barcode Labels by Grahame