Why Label Manufacturers Need a One-Stop-Shop Supplier

You currently may be relying on different suppliers for your OPV, coatings, release coatings and adhesives. However, this can be challenging to manage logistically and lead to complexities or slow-downs if one supplier cannot provide a certain material on time.

Further, the solutions may not be formulated to all work together effectively within an end-use label if you’re purchasing them from different suppliers. This could lead to poor performance results such as:

• Undesired graphic design results due to a lack of ink protection
• Bonding failure on an end-use application
• A damaged label due to unclean removal from a roll

How a One-Stop-Shop Approach Helps Meet Performance Goals

Fortunately, the right one-stop-shop supplier offers OPV, coatings, release coatings and adhesives. In addition to simplifying logistical complexities, choosing all these elements from one supplier helps ensure the products you choose work together cohesively for high end-use performance because they’ve already been tested together. The right one-stop-shop supplier can also formulate materials according to your specific performance demands. Some of those performance demands include:

• OPV and coatings for ink protection: The OPV and coatings come in various finishes such as soft touch, paper, sand and non-skid. In addition to offering aesthetic appeal, these finishes protect the ink from getting scuffed or damaged from water, chemicals and heat, boosting overall label performance.
• Adhesives for strong bonding: The adhesives are designed for either removable or permanent needs, such as:
  • Laminating adhesives form into a solid upon UV or EB curing. They can bond film to film or film to paper substrates, allowing you to use the same technology in different applications.
  • UV acrylic pressure sensitive adhesives (UV PSAs) offer both permanent or removable bonds with the ability to cure through lamination or flexo, roll and screen application methods.
• Release coatings for clean removal: Whether it’s overlaminate, linered or linerless labels, the release coatings are formulated for specific end-use label needs so that no adhesive residue remains on a given surface, causing damage to the label itself or the printer.

Different end-use labels may require various supply quantities of your necessary materials based on the end-use application demands. However, you may be working with a supplier that can only provide the same material quantity across all label types. This may lead to wasted material that cannot be used before its shelf life expires.

How a One-Stop-Shop Approach Helps Meet Sustainability Goals

The right one-stop-shop supplier understands you have different quantity needs based on the label you’re manufacturing and how contributes to being a sustainable converter:

• Scaling materials: The right suppler offers the ability to customize formulations for label layers and can work with you to scale materials according to your operation needs to reduce overall material waste. For example, a converter manufacturing overlaminate labels may not need the same amount of material that is needed for a large production of linerless labels; so, the right one-stop-supplier can help you mitigate the supply according to the demands.
• Managing individual projects: If you are running a production that involves smaller, customized projects, the right supplier can work with you to address how much adhesive will be sufficient for completing these tasks efficiently while still maintaining control over the end quality of each project.

Along with managing material waste, the right one-stop-shop supplier also offers suggestions on other ways to increase sustainability, which can include:

• Reducing plastic: Along with supplying a smaller quantity of OPV and coatings that are applied on top of a printed label to protect the ink, a one-stop-shop supplier can show you how utilizing OPV with a paper-based label to further reduce the overall use of plastic.
• Solvent usage: Solutions such as laminating adhesives or UV acrylic PSAs that utilize UV and EB curable solutions are comprised of 100% solids, allowing you to operate without specialized storage, equipment and ventilation needed with solvent-based materials. Along with helping to reduce carbon emissions, this also helps protect workers in your facility.