Effective Label Design On Site

What is an effective label?

An effective label clearly relays information, reflects or enhances the image of the company and, most important, serves its purpose for the end-user, whether that is a retailer across the country scanning in a shipment or an operator across the plant floor tracking work-in-process.

Label design is a critical starting point in the implementation of an on-site bar code program. The variables are numerous, but considered in the context of a specific application, the proper label design will emerge. With today's software and hardware options, designing effective labels on site is less complicated and quite cost-efficient, plus it allows you complete control over your bar coding operation.

Label Design Considerations
The best place to start is to decide what information the label must carry, including bar codes, text and graphics or logos.

The type of bar code symbology you use can affect your label size. You need to designate ample space for and surrounding the bar code so it can be printed to specification and accurately scanned. Data is encoded by varying the widths of the individual bars and spaces. The height of industrial bar codes does not represent any information but should permit easy scanning within its boundaries.

Bar code symbologies also vary in density, referring to the number of characters that can be represented in a linear inch. Depending upon customer requirements and the data to be encoded, you may be able to save space on your label be choosing a higher-density bar code, like Interleaved 2 of 5 over Code 39.

Marketing issues come into play if the bar code label is used on a product sold at retail. Typically, a bar code is undesirable on a label, so it is often printed as small as possible. This isn't a problem if the bar code is within specification and can be read on the initial scan.

In most cases, the content of a label is not limited to a bar code. Text, graphic depictions of products and company logos add important human-readable information that also influence the size and/or shape of the label. Your label design must address all functions of the label and ensure that its contents are both scannable and legible.

Making Your Label Fit
Now that you have decided what information you want on your label, the next step is to determine the label's physical characteristics.

o Label size and shape: Size and shape of the label is often determined by the size and shape of the product being labeled. It may also be based on industry compliance standards or how much information needs to be relayed.

o Label material: This can be more difficult to determine because specific application requirements can have a profound effect on the label material selected. Pressure-sensitive label materials offer a variety of facesheet and adhesive combinations that address such requirements. For example, some applications require the label to be removed and reapplied, while others may need a permanent label that is destroyed if removal is attempted.

Different operating environments also dictate guidelines. A standard paper facesheet will suffice for some applications, but others need a more durable, synthetic material, like vinyl or polypropylene, to withstand exposure to harsh elements. Your label vendor can assist you in determining an appropriate label material.

Choosing Hardware & Software
To design your own bar code labels in-house, your most helpful tool will be a menu-driven label design software package. Issues to consider when evaluating various packages are ease of creating and editing label formats, database capabilities, flexibility in printing options and types of printers the software will drive.

The market offers label design packages for all operating environments – DOS, Windows, AS/400 and mainframe platforms. Some packages are extremely versatile, offering step-by-step design instructions, graphics capabilities, advanced editing features and very useful database programs that simplify importing and exporting of large amounts of data.

Networkability is another software consideration. A decentralized operation that prints labels at their point of use may require labeling software capable of being run on a network or midrange or mainframe platform. However, centralized printing may benefit from software that offers job prioritization.

In examining the type of equipment that will be used to print the bar code, remember that different print technologies exhibit varying ink-drying properties as well as fade and smear resistance, depending on the label material selected. The key is to determine the right combination of label facesheet, print technology and printer ribbon/toner.

Bar code print quality is of foremost importance when examining printing technologies. Issues such as ink spread, ink voids and specks, ink smearing, nonuniformity of ink, bar/space width tolerance, and edge roughness guide the decision. Thermal-transfer, direct-thermal, laser and impact printers offer their own innate advantages and disadvantages, again, depending on your application. They all, however, can be driven by most label design software packages.

Follow the Specs
Even the most effectively designed bar code label won't perform its function unless the bar code itself meets specification. The only way to ensure compliance to a particular symbology or application specification is to verify the bar code. An on-site verification program goes beyond the verification instrument you use. It must adhere to strict guidelines concerning the verification procedure; operators must be trained and educated; and bar code printing equipment must be cleaned and maintained on a regular basis.

No matter how simple or complex your bar code project, it's critical that every piece of the label design puzzle be considered. Before any decisions can be made, the details of the specific application must be examined. Putting the pieces together will help assure that your labels are perfectly designed for their intended application.