Weber Marking Systems understands what a prime label needs to do. For nearly forty years we’ve been assisting companies in all areas of business with their labeling needs.

We operate over seventy presses in ten countries worldwide, making Weber one of the largest label manufacturers in the world. From the type of material to the proper adhesive to printing beautiful label designs, we know what labels are ideal for the wide array of different applications.

Prime Label Materials

A pressure-sensitive prime label is constructed of a topcoat, facestock, adhesive, and release liner. All four of these components should be carefully considered when creating a prime label. Here’s a brief overview of the important materials.

Prime Label Facestocks

Choosing the right facestock is crucial to the quality of your prime label. Weber offers a variety of facestocks, each with outstanding features to satisfy the requirements of many applications.

Pressure-Sensitive Papers

Paper is a versatile, economical, and easily printed facestock, good for most general applications. We offer a wide variety of papers, which can be die-cut into virtually any shape and are easy to apply using automatic equipment.

• Semigloss—Primary smooth, bright-white paper for multi-color printing that achieves a glossy finish when used in conjunction with a UV gloss varnish topcoat.
• Rotogloss—Cast-coated, premium white paper with a high-gloss finish that renders bright and vivid definition of color process printing.
• Metallized papers and foils—These papers feature superior print quality and dazzling color in gold or silver.

Pressure-Sensitive Films

Films are ideal for round, curved or squeezable containers since they offer conformability, and they're also great for labels that require a greater degree of durability or moisture resistance. Weber films are designed for ease of use with automatic label applicators.

Paper & Film Tagstocks

Weber also provides non-pressure-sensitive tags and film material.

• Rototag—A paper tag with an extremely high-gloss sheen, commonly used for retail hang tags.
• Polytag— A durable tear-resistant film with a bright white finish.

Prime Label Topcoats

Topcoats can improve your prime label’s appearance by adding attention-getting high-shine. A topcoat is also an extra layer of protection to assure your text and graphics are always legible.

Duragloss—With its high-gloss look, this acrylic liquid varnish not only emphasizes the label’s graphics, but also protects against moisture and minor abrasions. Both water-based and UV-cured, high-gloss finishes are offered

Laminates—We offer a variety of clear-on-matte polypropylene and polyester film laminates to increase the strength, durability, and shine of prime labels.

Prime Label Adhesives

Pressure-sensitive adhesive works not only because of its high tack, but also due to the slight anchoring of the adhesive into the surface of the substrate. Certain characteristics of different substrates can prevent the absorption of adhesive, weakening the adhesion of the label.

When deciding on an adhesive, it is important to consider a few factors:

Substrate material and texture—Prime labels adhere differently to different materials. For example, an adhesive that is right for smooth plastic may not be ideal for pebbled glass bottles.

Substrate shape—When dealing with curved substrates, it is important to use an adhesive with a high degree of initial tack, since it will hold the label in place for the few seconds required for the substrate to anchor the adhesive. If the substrate is designed to be squeezeble, then the adhesive requires a level of conformability while still maintaining its hold.

Substrate temperature—If a prime label and its substrate are exposed to extreme cold or a hot-fill process during application, an adhesive must be specially formulated to maintain its tack.

Rubber & Acrylic Adhesives

Typically, rubber-based adhesives are slightly more economical, but lack cold or low temperature-resistant qualities. Acrylic adhesives have a lower degree of initial tack than rubber-based. However, after a 24-hour set period, acrylic adhesives are generally as permanent as rubber-based adhesives but allow for repositioning. Plus, acrylic adhesives can be created to resist high heat and freezing temperatures.

Weber offers both rubber-based and acrylic adhesives in a range of different formulations.

• Standard permanent adhesive—Good general purpose, rubber-based adhesives that offer a high degree of initial tack.

• Acrylic permanent adhesive—These adhesives resist hot temperatures, oxidation, and moisture.

• Cold temperature adhesive—Acrylic adhesives specially formulated to maintain adhesion in freezing temperatures.

• Removable adhesives—Usually acrylic, these adhesives are designed to adhere firmly, but peel off easily, leaving the label and substrate intact.

• Specialty adhesives—Weber additionally offers a selection of adhesives designed to meet very specific labeling operations, such as adhesive for labels that need to be removed and repositioned. Please consult with a Weber account representative.

Why pressure-sensitive compared to cut-and-stack?
Today there are numerous reasons to choose pressure-sensitive labels over cut-and-stack, glue-applied labels. Here are just a few:

• Sub-surface printing and no-label-look (clear) materials
  
  
• Improved visual, tactile and other sensory effects
  
  
• Superior functionality includes resealability, conformability, on-product promotions, removable and recyclable properties, plus greater durability and longevity
  
  
• Much larger selection of label materials
  
  
• Application equipment enables higher labeling speeds; reduced scrap; improved set-up, clean-up and changeover; lower cost to replace outdated glue-application machinery
  
  
• Reduced pre-decorated label inventory
  

Prime Label Construction & Styles

Now that you’ve learned about the different label materials and adhesives Weber offers, take a look at some of our innovative label constructions and processes.

• "No-Label" Look Clear Film Pressure-Sensitive Labels
  
  
• ReseaLabel^TM Multiply Booklet Labels
  
  
• Foil Hot Stamp & Cold Foil Transfer
  
  
• Instant Redeemable Coupon (IRC)
  
  

Prime Label Manufacturing Process

It takes a lot more than just the raw materials to create an effective prime label. It also takes expertise and the latest technology—both of which Weber provides to all prime label customers.

Pre-Press
Your labels begin in our full-service Graphics department, where skilled designers utilize state-of-the-art, graphic software to ensure labels print exactly as you envisioned them.

Weber uses the latest digital, direct-to-plate system, which keeps this critical aspect of printing totally in-house and creates higher-quality results.

Not sure what label facestock is best for your application? Need adhesive advice? With their combination of strong marketing and technical skills, our Media Products department can help you select the best materials for your labels —facestock, adhesive, and topcoat.

Weber’s Research and Development department can be utilized to create or modify materials to meet specific customer needs. All materials currently available have undergone testing to assure quality, even under extreme conditions.

Label Press
Your labels will be printed on one of our fifty technologically advanced flexographic presses—the most cost-effective method of manufacturing and printing high-quality, pressure-sensitive labels.

Weber can flexographically produce your designs in up to ten colors, including process color with exceptional photographic quality, using water-based, UV flexo, or a combination of UV flexo and UV rotary screen printing.

Weber uses only the most advanced polymer printing plates to ensure precise registration and vivid tones with a superb printing tolerance of ± 1/32". Plus, our presses accommodate all of our standard and specialty label materials, including papers, films, foils, vinyls, and more—including the very popular “no-label” look. And with thousands of die shapes to choose from, there are virtually no limits to the creative shape of your label.

Quality
Our Quality Assurance team will carefully overlook the manufacture of your labels. Working under ISO 9001:2000 guidelines, QA technicians will inspect all raw materials, work in process, and finished products. They concentrate on facestock and adhesive values, color matching, print quality, overall appearance, and more.

To make labeling even easier, Weber’s direct account and customer service representatives are always just a phone call or e-mail away. They’ll be happy to tell you about our special cost-saving blanket order and inventory management programs or other prime label issues.

Prime Label Applications

Weber can meet the product branding needs of any industry. We work with our customers to ensure their prime labels satisfy industry regulations and environmental demands while still catching the attention of consumers. Here are several specific examples.

Food & Beverage
Prime labels on food items face many environmental challenges, such as freezing, moisture, and heat. Industry and governmental regulations require nutritional and ingredient information to be completely legible on all products, making high-quality prime labels a necessity.

Weber can create durable and attractive prime labels for any food product. A laminated label with cold-temperature-resistant adhesive is best for frozen foods. For products with curves or squeezable containers, conformable facestock is the best choice.

Health & Beauty
Durability is crucial in designing prime labels for health and beauty packaging. These labels need to withstand the factory filling process and survive repeated customer use, which often requires prolonged exposure to moisture in the shower or bathroom. The majority of health and beauty products are packaged in curved containers, so conformability is important, too.

Health and beauty prime labels featuring hot or cold stamped logos give the products a sophisticated and elegant image, which translates into a higher perception of product quality by consumers.

Vitamins & Nutritional Supplements
Pharmaceutical packaging regulations are extremely stringent with detailed requirements for labeling. Since the labels need to provide detailed use information and warnings, the labels must be resistant to chipping or scraping so the very small print is always legible. The label also must adhere permanently to the container for the life of the product.

Household Products
The prime labels used in household product package design need to tolerate the product filling process, where the labels may come in contact with the products. Much of the packaging is curved and textured and there is usually a good deal of text required on the label.

A laminated film prime label will work well for household chemical packaging since it can resist moisture. Another great choice is Weber’s ReseaLabel^TMbooklet labels, which provide additional space for the expanded content that a growing number of household products now require.

Automotive Aftermarket
Just as with household chemical labeling, the prime labels for automotive aftermarket products need to be durable. Not only will the labels be exposed to the product in the factory, but also during customer use. The prime label needs to be easily wiped clean and still have the use instructions and product warnings clearly legible.

Please click here to view our prime label photo gallery.


Complete Prime Label Systems

To simplify your labeling application, Weber offers a line of label applicators designed to fit your prime label needs. These high-performance units will streamline your operation and enhance the quality of your labeling.

Each model is designed to meet the needs of a specific labeling requirement. Labels can be applied to the tops, bottom, or sides of various products and substrates, including around cylindrical objects such as bottles or cans.

Depending on the model, labels can be applied at up to 2,000 linear inches of label web per minute using either no-contact or gentle-contact methods of application.

Our applicators are engineered with advanced stepper-motor technology and peel-tip sensing to offer exceptional label placement accuracy, while eliminating common application errors such as double labeling or skipping a product.

Constructed of corrosion-resistant stainless steel and anodized aluminum, these durable systems are easy to maintain and tough enough for most any industrial environment.

For a detailed look at Weber’s prime labeling systems, including video demonstrations, click here.

For more information on Weber's prime labels, contact us today. We'll put you in touch with your local account representative, an expert who can examine your specific requirements and recommend the best label material and labeling system for your application.