With around 7% of the world trade affected by tampering or counterfeiting each year, it should come as no surprise that security labels have become the answer to keeping products and valuable assets safe after they leave your warehouse or business.  Let Expert Labels help protect your products and assets.

Tamper-proof and tamper evident labels are just a few security products which are used by a whole host of companies to protect their goods.

With a wide range of security labels to choose from, it is important to pick a label which suits your products best.

At Expert Labels we have a pool of knowledge to draw from which can advise you to choose the appropriate security label.  Call or email us to see what suits your products best.

Here’s a few security labels which will help keep your products secure.

Tamper Evident Security Labels

As the name suggests, tamper evident labels are used to detect whether a label has been removed or tampered with. When the label is removed, it leaves behind a residue which has the word “void” written on it.

The word void indicates that the seal has been broken, but many companies like to customise the residue by adding their name or logo. Contact us and choose your own logo or text.

These products are typically used as an effective visual security aid and have value in loss prevention, brand protection and quality assurance.

Tamper evident labels can be used on a lot of different surfaces including cardboard, polyester and even glass.

However, what you must consider is if you are using the packaging more than once. If so, you want a tamper label which will allow you to clean off the residue so the packaging can be used again.

Tamper labels are an excellent product for identification but you must consider what surface you will be labelling.

Easy Break Labels Or Security Cuts

Usually made from paper, easy break labels are a low cost and effective solution for keeping your products secure.

Security cut labels are normal labels but made with a special die that cuts an intricate pattern of cuts onto the label.  They’re easy to apply but once they’re stuck, they’re nearly impossible to move in one piece from one item to another.  Staff can see in a moment that the labels have been moved from one item to another.

These cutter type labels are quite pricey, but the materials used to make them like paper and plastic aren’t that expensive.

They are commonly used by retailers to stop shoppers moving discount labels from one product to another. However , the reason they are used on so many products is because after the initial investment in a complex cutter, on going labels can be made inexpensively.

Ultra-destruct labels

Another type of security label is made from ‘ultra-destruct’ material.  Once applied, these stickers break apart as you try to remove them.  It’s almost impossible to remove all the label, making is impossible to remove the label and stick it to something else.  Used as a seal – you can’t open the seal without the label breaking.

Next Steps

Contact us and describe your situation.  Let us advise you on the best label to suit your situation.  Understand the cost of complex cutters make small production runs (fewer than 5,000 labels for example) expensive.  Special label materials like the void labels or ultra destructable labels are usually supplied in minimum quantities and again can make production runs expensive if they are small.  You might be in luck however and find we have surplus materials that can be used.

Resources

Read more about security labels on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_tape

Security labels: http://expertlabels.co.uk/applications/security-labels/

Updated: 29 Apr 2020

It’s a company’s nightmare. You’ve worked hard creating a new product, and you’ve finally got it on the shelves of Aldi or Tesco. But, one eagle-eyed customer spots a small but irritating mistake. There’s a label typo.  

Don’t panic, Expert Labels are the proof-reader you never had – we help our customers eliminate any label typo and present quality products.

With the world of social media, there is no place to hide as customers are very keen to point out a stray apostrophe or a misspelt word as the likes of Waitrose and Ribena have found out recently.

Can you find the typos on the products below?

Label typo in Aldi’s wine selection

If you read the description carefully, you will spot that this bottle of Winking Owl goes well with “Asain cuisine and grilled meats.”

Of course, it should say “Asian cuisine” but a typo like this will result in the supplier having to reprint labels before their product can hit the Aldi shelves again.

Aldi were only aware of the mistake when a customer pointed it out to them on Twitter. This just highlights how errors can just slip through the net despite all the quality control processes.

A Teacher’s typo nightmare

Look away teachers, or anyone who can’t stand poor grammar.

Apostrophes are normally the common culprit when it comes to typos on labels. But, when you’re promoting a product for teachers, you’d like to think you’d get an A for grammar.

Waitrose were bombarded with messages about the mistake in the Canary Wharf store. Despite this, many are still complaining that the label hasn’t been changed with the correct grammar.

Design of wine label ruined by mistake

A designer would’ve spent a long time creating a label for this bottle of white wine.

However, one spelling mistake seems to be more enticing than the sophisticated logo and design.

The bottom of the label says: “Brimming with zesty lemon flavour and freah notes of apple.”

This small mistake really undermines the design of the label which tries to convey the product to be classy and cultured.

As with the first picture, the labels would need to be reprinted with the correct spelling. Costing the company time and money, not to mention damage to a carefully built brand.

Typo in water description

We’ve saved the hardest until last.

There’s a lot going on with this label design. But, in the small paragraph section you will see the phrase: “Preparation, that what you need.”

The large amount of writing on the label means that it would be harder to spot a mistake like that.

However, it didn’t get past one customer, who politely pointed out the label typo to Glaceau Water on Twitter.

These examples show how important it is to get your labelling right. Just a small mistake can undermine the hard work you’ve put in to create and design the project. It can mean you have to spend extra cash just to re-design and re-print labels – not to mention the hit your valuable brand takes.

Here at Expert Labels, proof-reading is all part of the service.  Before you approve your label, we carefully check spelling and grammar – preventing any of these calamitous typos getting to print.

Let us work with you to make your labels and your brand the best they can be – contact us and tell us about your project.

Creating and printing barcodes can be a long and challenging task. But, using Barcode Label Software can save precious time for many business owners. Here’s how we can help you get the most out of barcode label software.

Barcode label software includes simple bar code generators to complex programs that manage labels, templates and printing from a large database or ERP system.  With 20 years of experience – pick up the phone and speak to one of the team – our expert advice will save you time.

You may be a business owner, a production manager, or an individual selling just a few products.  Regardless of your role, you need a way to produce high quality barcodes – printed to specification.

If you have a wide range of products with different descriptions or prices then you need software that links to a database or spreadsheet, then you’ll need label design software that can communicate directly with your label printer in it’s native printer language.

If you sell products through a distributor or middleman, then you’ll need to speak their language and print a variety of different barcodes, using multiple fonts.

Supermarkets, pharmaceuticals and automotive industries all have heavily regulated, predefined label formats.  We can help with barcode label software that will meet these standards.

Barcode label software – Questions you need to ask

Before choosing a bar code software package, take time to evaluate your needs.

(1) Are you creating and printing a lot of barcodes for business use?

(2) Do you need to meet industry or customer label specifications?

(3) Will you need to use data from other software programs?

(4) Are you planning to add design features to your labels?

Once you have the answers to these questions, contact us for advice or take a look at these pages:

label design and print software

Download trial software here.

If you use barcode labels, you need to decide if you print your own (along with the software, labels and probably a specialist thermal barcode label printer) OR do you simply buy rolls of pre-printed labels – printed to your specifications.  This article will give you the information you need to decide.

The case for Pre-Printed Labels

If you need to print lots of labels, by that I mean tens of thousands of labels, outsourcing it to a specialist like us has advantages.  Especially if:

• Each barcode label is identical.
• Your barcode labels are sequentially numbered.
• Your labels will be applied permanently.  A specialised label can be non-removable and even indestructible – maybe you want the label to go through a furnace, or repeated washes.
• Security is important to you – if you can print your own labels then others might be able to do the same.  Holograms or security cuts will make your labels hard to copy.
• Very small volumes of labels.  If you need just a few thousand labels infrequently, then the cost of the printer and software makes the idea of outsourcing a quick and easy option, without a learning curve and time spent getting up to speed with a thermal label printer.
• You’re printing tags.  Printing tags isn’t easy through a label printer (it’s not impossible – but tags specifications are limited).  If you need specialised tags – for example very small, metal, weather proof (perhaps for permanent attachment to fixed assets like furniture, computers or outdoor equipment – think party rental equipment or rental machinery, or even floor labels in a warehouse.)
• You need very specialised labels, particularly for niche applications such as automotive, medical/health, pharmaceutical, defence or logistics – handing over printing to a barcode label specialist able to print the data you need, on the right material, in the correct sizes would mean a faster solution for you.

The Case for Print Your Own Labels

If you can’t buy pre-printed labels, printing your own labels might prove to be a better option if:

• You need to print unique customer information on each label (such as delivery addresses, purchase order numbers etc.)
• You need to print weight, batch or quantity information on your labels.
• You print small batches, maybe hundreds or a few thousand, on a regular basis.
• You have simple white labels to print onto.
• You’re printing onto direct thermal labels – labels that have a relatively short life and turn brown if subjected to heat.
• You need labels urgently and lead times might be a problem.
• You’re printing tickets or receipts that change daily.

What you need in order to print your own labels, tags and tickets

So you’ve decided to pre-printed labels aren’t for you and you’re going to print your own labels.  This is what you’ll need to get started:

You’ll need to buy a label printer.  Thermal labels are fast and cost effective compared to ink jet or laser printers.  Take a look through our printer pages to help you decide.

You’ll need label design software to turn your ideas and data in to labels.  Don’t rely on Microsoft Word or Excel to give you the results you need. Take a look at the most popular label design software here.

Labels, tickets or tags.  Choose what’s best for your application and make sure it meets any compliance requirements.

Thermal transfer ribbons – this is the ink your labels (tickets or tags) need to be seen.  There is an art to matching the best thermal transfer ribbons to the label or tag material, especially if you are printing onto an unusual material such as plastic or other synthetic material. More about thermal ribbons.

If your labels are critical to your business operations then think about back up printers in case they break down or take out a service contract.

Take the guess work out of labelling, get the help of the label printing experts, call us or email from our contact us page.

Expert Labels Ltd supplies organisations with specialist label printers, barcode scanners, blank or pre-printed labels and thermal ribbons.  We ​provide consultancy services so our clients can take full advantage of barcodes and streamline label printing.

IT and production managers call us when:

• They need down-to-earth advice to solve their label printing problems
• They’re looking for particular labels to solve a specific problem
• They don’t want to waste time chasing suppliers, checking proofs and matching ribbons for the best results.
• They’re looking for new label printers but want fast expert advice and help choosing the best label printers
• ​They know they could benefit from using barcodes but don’t know how​
• Want help integrating printing into their company’s systems

Expert Labels are different from most label companies:

• We have hands on experience with the whole of the label printing process from manufacturing labels to printing to scanning the finished label or tag
• We are a true one stop shop – able to provide everything you need to print your own labels
• We are able to match the right labels to the right printers and use the best ribbons
• We are independent suppliers of a wide range of products so we are able to present the best product for your particular application
• We love solving problems for our clients
• We build long term relationships with our clients – some of whom have worked with us for more than twenty years