Pressure-Sensitive Labels(PS Sticker Labels) vs. Self-Adhesive

In today’s retail environment, labels on products and packages are commonplace. Shipping labels assist businesses keep inventories, track products along distribution networks, and guarantee that packages are delivered to the correct destinations. Product labels have many functions on store shelves. Product labels offer a blank slate to incorporate crucial details like:

Ingredients.
guidelines for use.
Risks to one’s health and safety.
date of expiration.
Lot codes, serial numbers, and other tracable markings

Much of this information, depending on the product type, is expressly mandated by state and federal regulations, particularly when it comes to pharmaceuticals, specific food industries (such as baby food, poultry, dairy, etc.), and chemical production.

There are several different labels on the market today, including “pressure-sensitive labels” and “self-adhesive labels,” to fulfil the requirements of various line setups and package kinds. These terms can be perplexing for folks who are new to labelling because they raise issues like:

What’s the difference between pressure-sensitive labels and self-adhesive labels, and how do they function?

Self-adhesive labels and pressure-sensitive labels are identical in terms of their materials and methods of application, notwithstanding the name. For the remainder of the article, we shall refer to these labels as pressure-sensitive to prevent misunderstanding.

The adhesive backing on pressure-sensitive labels makes them resemble stickers in many ways. However, due to their multi-layer design, pressure-sensitive labels are thicker and more robust than stickers. The typical pressure-sensitive label is composed of five layers, each of which serves a particular purpose, including facilitating application, enhancing durability, and enhancing visual appeal.

These strata, from bottom to top, are composed of:

The headline:

The liner, which is also known as the “backing paper,” guards the label’s adhesive layer until it is prepared to be put to the substrate.

releasing coat:

This coating is put on the top of the liner to aid in the seamless separation of the face stock from the material while keeping the adhesive coating in tact.

The pressure-sensitive labels’ ability to stick to surfaces is made possible by the adhesive layer. Adhesives are available in a number of forms to satisfy various labelling requirements, making them compatible with various substrates, surface textures, product temperatures, and other factors.

Facial stock:

This is the paper that is applied to the substrate by pressing. The canvas that users can use to apply codes, text, logos, and other elements is referred to as the “face.”

The finish

Pressure-sensitive labels are created with a protective layer or lamination known as the “topcoat” to ensure the face stock stays intact for the duration of the product. The topcoat protects the face stock from physical injury, and some coatings can even make secondary imprints easier to read (e.g. traceable markings like lot codes or expiration dates).

What are this label type’s benefits and drawbacks?

While there are many different kinds of labels available today, pressure-sensitive labels are the kind that are used the most frequently all over the world. Logistically, it is simple to understand why.

Because they may be created from a variety of materials and are adaptable to a variety of surfaces, pressure-sensitive labels are very versatile. This enables them to be applied to everything from plastic water bottles to bulk goods that have been shrink-wrapped. Additionally, pressure-sensitive labels can be used for line setups of any size and can be applied manually or by a high-speed print-and-apply labeler.

Other advantages are:

little costs for upkeep.
superior outward appearances.
a wide range of label sizes and shapes.
logical application
a wide variety of face stock materials and adhesives.

Although pressure-sensitive labels have many advantages, they also have significant disadvantages.

They are not cheap, to start with. The material cost of adding labels carries a higher price point than direct printing or laser marking. Additionally, applying pressure-sensitive labels might be time-consuming if you aren’t using a high-speed print-and-apply system. Finally, pressure-sensitive labels are wasteful by nature. The liner is immediately discarded after the face stock has been separated from the backing.

Despite these disadvantages, businesses in almost every sector find PS Sticker labels to be a practical approach to make their products consumer-friendly and compliant with codes.

One of the most popular and efficient ways to prepare products for retail sale is with pressure-sensitive labels. Self-adhesive labels and pressure-sensitive labels both relate to the same (and extremely popular) labelling material, despite how business jargon can be confusing to certain readers.