Label Education
 Everything You Need To Know About Labels
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Everything You Need To Know About Labels
A label is often the most visible reminder your customers have of your company and its products. That’s why the appearance of your label is extremely important.
But appearance alone doesn’t define the quality of a label. A label must serve a practical purpose for a specific application.
Companies today use labels for countless applications: product identification, shipment addressing, bar codes, RFID applications, work-in-process, inventory control, pricing, promotional, and many other purposes. To completely satisfy these applications, labels must adhere to a variety of surfaces: aluminum, corrugated, fiber drums, glass, plastic, steel, and more.
Weber Marking Systems has been committed to labeling for over 70 years. We’re constantly making strides to ensure our labels meet the needs of our customers, as illustrated in our Corporate Mission Statement:
Weber Marking Systems is dedicated to the continuous improvement of innovative, high-quality labels, labeling systems, solutions and services that exceed our customers’ expectations.
Weber has helped more than 50,000 companies satisfy their labeling and coding requirements. It’s what we do best.
 Labels & Tags Made Easy
This is designed to be a quick, easy reference guide that outlines the important factors involved in selecting pressure-sensitive label materials and tagstocks.
To get you started, we’ve prepared a list of common terms and their definitions.
You'll learn about the specific benefits of Weber’s various label facestocks, adhesives and specialty materials. Two simple charts make it easy to determine what combination of label materials and adhesives suits your application. And you’ll discover how coatings and laminates can improve the durability and appearance of a label or tag.
In addition, a brief overview of our design and production capabilities describes how we can create and print labels and tags exactly to your specifications, including the insertion of RFID inlays.
Finally, we explain how Weber’s on- and off-site label printing systems produce pressure-sensitive labels with text, bar codes and graphic images and RFID encoding.
Selecting the proper label or tag is important. We hope this handbook will help ease your decision.
Label Terminology
 Acrylic-Based Adhesive
Pressure-sensitive adhesive based on acrylic polymers. Ideal for broad temperature ranges.
- Artwork
Any line drawing, photograph, illustration, or digital file used to prepare preprinted label copy.
- Backing
The liner of pressure-sensitive label stock. Functions as a carrier.
- Basis Weight
The weight of 500 sheets of paper cut to a specified size (expressed in lbs.).
- Caliper
Label thickness (measured in mils or thousandths of an inch).
- Coating Weight
The weight of adhesive over a specific area (expressed in lbs. or mils).
- Die-Cut
The severance line between a pressure-sensitive label and its matrix or adjoining label, made by the cutting edge of a die.
- Direct-Thermal Labels
A label that allows a direct-thermal printer to create an image by applying heat directly to a heat-activated label material. No printer ribbon is required.
 Face Cut
A vertical or horizontal cut in the facesheet of a label.
- Facestock
Any paper, film or foil material that can be converted into labels.
- Fanfold
Labels with horizontal perforations in the release liner so they can be folded into accordian-style stacks.
- Flexographic Printing
Narrow-web rotary letterpress printing that uses flexible polymer plates and water-based or UV inks on a variety of paper and film substrates.
- Hot Melt Adhesive
Highly viscous rubber-based adhesive applied to a release liner at high temperature. Ideal where initial tack is critical.
- Laminate
Web of material formed by bonding two or more materials together.
- Laser Labels
A label specifically designed to work with a laser printer.
- Perforate
Series of small cuts in labels and/or their release liner to allow easy separation.
- Pinfeed
Round holes in label stock that help maintain the labels’ proper alignment during impact printing.
- Pressure-Sensitive
An adhesive type that requires pressure to activate its adherence qualities.
- RFID Smart Label
A label with an RFID transponder (or inlay) embedded between the face stock and its release liner.
- Rubber-Based Adhesive
Pressure-sensitive adhesive based on natural or synthetic rubbers.
- Thermal-Transfer Labels
Pressure-sensitive labels specifically designed to accept heat activated ink from the ribbon of a thermal-transfer printer.
- Tooling
Custom-engraved die cylinder used to make special perforations or die-cut shapes.
- Topcoat
Protective finish applied to label facestock that aids in durability and print anchorage.
- UV Varnish
Ultraviolet light-cured coating applied to label surfaces for a protective finish.
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Facestocks
Weber can provide you with a vast selection of facestocks to solve virtually every labeling application. Each facestock features certain characteristics for superior performance in specific work environments.
Papers
- DestructoLabel
Matte-coated paper suitable for thermal-transfer and impact printing. Ideal for indoor tamper-resistant applications
- General Purpose
Smooth, uncoated bond paper that accepts impact printing with good clarity. Resists smudging, smearing.
- Rotogloss
Shiny, cast-coated premium white paper. High-gloss finish displays strong print contrast.
- Semigloss
Cast-coated premium white paper slightly less shiny than Rotogloss.
- Thermalabel
A bright white, ultrasmooth paper designed to optimize direct-thermal print quality.
- Transprint
Exceptionally smooth paper designed to maximize thermal-transfer print quality. Available in coated and uncoated finishes.
Films
- Flexclear Gloss
Clear gloss film suited to prime labeling where the "no label" look is desired.
- Flex-Lyte
Strong, durable gloss film designed to maximize thermal-transfer imprinting. Excellent for applications where a label needs to be recycled with stretchwrap.
- Flextuff
Internally strong, synthetic film combining conformability and durability. Provides excellent resistance to outdoor exposure.
- Identi-Plate
A matte polyester compatible with thermal-transfer printing. Ideal for nameplate applications.
- Laserweb
A vinyl film suitable for use with continuous-feed laser or sheet-fed printers. Especially good for applications requiring chemical resistance.
- Transtuff
Strong, synthetic film that provides excellent resistance to weather.
- Ultraplate
Select A gloss white, silver, or clear polyester suitable for durable thermal-transfer printing applications. UL/CSA recognized.
- Webflex
Durable, flexible stock with a unique matte surface coating. Readily accepts impact, thermal-transfer and flexographic printing. Weather-resistant. Available as white or transparent.
Tagstocks
 PolyTag
High-strength film tag designed for outdoor applications. Ideal for nurseries and lumber mills. Recommended for thermal-transfer printing.
- Rototag
Paper tag with an extremely high-gloss sheen. Used often for retail product hang tags.
- TagMate
A special PolyTag construction that is actually two tags in one. Provides more space for essential, pre-printed information.
- Transtag
Smooth-finished tag designed for thermal-transfer printing. Excellent clarity and good smudge resistance.
- Tyvek®
Strong, durable, bright white stock with a high-grade printing surface. Combines high opacity and long lasting tear strength. Resists moisture and weathering. Approved for law labeling.
- Ultratag
Cross-laminated film that is the ultimate in tear resistance. Excellent for outdoor use.
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Adhesives
Rubber-Based
- 155 Performance Permanent
Permanent, rubber-based adhesive used on corrugated, metal, glass, plastic, wood, and many other surfaces. Excellent on polyethylene films. The ultimate in quick-stick properties.
- 355 Cold Temperature Permanent
Permanent rubber-based adhesive that adheres strongly to steel, fiber, and plastic drums. Ideal for chemical drum applications.
- 375 Broad Temperature Permanent
Permanent, rubber-based adhesive with a wide temperature range.
- 655 Speciality Permanent
Features a high degree of initial tack and ultimate removability from painted steel or high and low surface energy plastics.
Acrylic-Based
 125 Economy Permanent Acrlyic
Permanent, all-purpose acrylic adhesive that adheres to a variety of surfaces, particularly corrugated and packaging films.
- 425 Performance Permanent Acrylic
All-weather, acrylic emulsion adhesive that excels in flash freeze, frozen, and cold temperature applications. Adheres to many more shapes and surfaces than conventional adhesives. Extremely stable.
- 430 Standard Permanent Acrylic
Permanent, acrylic-based adhesive that displays excellent adhesion to a variety of surfaces including corrugated, plastic, metal, and glass. Features a high degree of initial tack and long- term bond strength.
- 3000 Outdoor Permanent Acrylic
High tack, acrylic adhesive used primarily for outdoor drum labeling applications. The best acrylic for quick-stick applications.
Specialty
- 500 Removable
Durable adhesives which provide long-lasting bond strength, yet can be removed cleanly from a wide variety of surfaces—including glass, metal, wood, plastic, and corrugated.
- 600 Opaque
Permanent, pressure-sensitive adhesives tinted black with strong initial tack to corrugated surfaces. Ideal for covering existing labels to block-out fixed information.
- 2000 Repositionable
Unique acrylic adhesive developed so labels can be removed cleanly and re-adhered to virtually all smooth, flat surfaces while retaining superb bonding strength.
- Ultraplate Select and Plus
High-performance, permanent acrylic adhesive that adheres well to aluminum, painted metal, steel, plastic, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride. Offers high degree of tack and ultimate bond strength; shows superior versatility for durable nameplate applications.
Types of Labels
Prime Labels
Using state-of-the-art flexographic presses and the most advanced polymer printing plates, Weber can produce eye-catching prime labels quickly and economically.
• Labels can be printed in up to ten colors, including process color with exceptional photographic quality.
• We offer a wide selection of prime label facestocks, adhesives, and topcoats to create the perfect prime label for your product.
• Thousands of die shapes and various label constructions expand your design opportunities.
• We can create a label using your artwork, or our Graphics department can work with you to create a new design.
• Weber's prime labels can be specially designed to survive extreme cold or heat, moisture, curved substrates, and many other difficult conditions.
For complete details, take a look at our Prime Labels page.
 Stock Labels
Weber carries a complete inventory of more than 150 Stock Label sizes and styles to meet a wide variety of impact, thermal-transfer, direct thermal and laser labeling applications.
By manufacturing labels in-house, we are able to produce high-quality blank labels ranging in sizes up to 20" wide and 24" long. You can add bar codes, variable information and graphics with a Weber Legitronic® on-site labeling system or printer-applicator.
We stock a variety of general purpose materials for applications requiring shipping room labels and address labels. We also include some specialty materials for other standard applications.
Minimum orders of one case apply, and most Weber stock labels will ship in just two business days.
RFID Smart Labels
Weber is applying its expertise as a leading manufacturer and supplier of pressure-sensitive labels to provide the finest in RFID smart labels. We call them SmartTrak.
Our innovative method of inserting the RFID inlays fits seamlessly within that conversion process. And because we manufacture the RFID smart labels ourselves, we’re able to offer RFID media that will maximize performance and minimize costs.
All SmartTrak RFID labels are produced using fully tested RFID inlays from trusted sources like Alien Technology, Omron and UPM Rafsec. Every label is certified and verified to be the highest in quality.
 Variable Imprint Labels
Variable imprint labels are uncoated, matte coated, and gloss coated paper and film stock labels.
These are Weber’s most versatile labels, specially designed to accept thermal-transfer, direct thermal, dot matrix, and laser printing.This allows labels to be printed on-site, either on demand or in larger production runs, providing maximum convenience and savings.
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Manufacturing Capabilities
Label Press
Weber labels are manufactured on modern flexographic presses that produce roll or fanfolded labels up to 16" wide and 24" long in up to ten colors.
These high-speed presses, together with our extensive library of die shapes and on-site plate making capability, give us the capacity and flexibility to meet your delivery requirements– whether you need 5,000 labels or 50 million.
 Quality Assurance
For over 70 years, Weber has been a recognized quality leader in the label industry. Our commitment to quality has continued by maintaining certification in ISO 9001. The Weber Quality System emphasizes continuous improvement, defect prevention, and reduction of variation to achieve total customer satisfaction.
To fulfill customer quality requests, Weber has established a Quality Support Department. The staff is fully trained and ready to expeditiously review and resolve any quality issues that may arise.
 Development
Weber’s devotion to its customers never ends. We constantly improve our labels and labeling systems to meet growing industry demands.
Our Application Specialists personally examine customer requirements and work closely with our Research and Development staff to develop innovative new products and materials. We also monitor our existing products to ensure that they maintain peak performance.
 Graphics
A striking label with colorful graphics makes a good impression. Our artists can create, in up to ten colors, truly unique labels that combine company logos and various product information.
We also manufacture our own printing plates, which enables us to monitor the quality of a label every step of the way, from conception and design through layout and production.
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Programs & Services
 Inventory Management
With Weber's inventory management program, you never need to worry about running short on labels. You decide the maximum and minimum number of labels you will require, and we will guarantee to have that quantity in stock for you. When your label inventory falls below the minimum, Weber’s Oracle System will indentify this and automatically replenish inventory to the desired and agreed upon levels.
Plus, with inventory management, your label pricing is locked-in for the duration of the one-year contract.
Service Bureau
You don’t have to own an on-site labeling system to get high-quality labels with your variable information printed on them. Weber’s Service Bureau employs the latest printing and RFID encoding technologies to produce bar-coded labels with sequential numbering and other product information. Applications include UPC bar codes, RFID smart labels, property identification tags, bin location labels, inventory control tickets and other special requirements.
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Labeling Systems
 With Weber’s complete line of labeling equipment, you can imprint, encode and apply labels as needed, in your own plant.
Our Legitronic® label printing and RFID encoding systems consist of the most advanced labeling software, hardware and industrial-grade impact, thermal-transfer and laser printers available, plus a selection of compatible thermal-transfer printer ribbons.
And we also supply a full line of pressure-sensitive and RFID label applicators, including systems that simultaneously print and apply– or print, encode and apply– labels.
Exclusive Weber Labeling Software makes it easy to design, format, store, and print and encode thousands of different labels– for bar coding, RFID smart labeling, product identification, shipment addressing, work-in-process, and many other applications.
To help streamline your material handling operations, we also offer a full line of bar code and RFID readers and portable data collection units.
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Contact Weber
E-mail us and we will put you in touch with the nearest Weber Account Representative, a labeling and coding specialist who can examine your specific requirements and recommend the best label material and labeling system for your application.
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