Label printing on foil and paper

Label printing - definition and material science

Depending on the field of application and external conditions to which the labelled product is exposed during its use, the properties of the materials used at the label manufacturer differ. Therefore, the properties of the material and the right adhesive for the labels must be determined before label printing. 

Our technical advisors will be happy to help you find the right label for your products. 

Self-adhesive labels from our label printing company mostly consist of three different layers: 

These material layers are used by the label manufacturer either on a roll (master roll) or as sheets. The properties of the adhesives used in a label printing company differ immensely. In this article, you will learn more about the possibilities in label printing for film and paper labels and also find further information on multilayer labels. 

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Label printing on foil/plastic

Paper labels offer a distinct price advantage over film labels. The printing paper used is wood-free, supercalendered, cost-effective, recyclable, and environmentally friendly. Wood-free paper is still made from wood, but for paper production, wood components such as lignin and hemicellulose are extracted and separated from the cellulose fibers through chemical processes. The proportion of wood components is less than 5% after filtration, which is why the paper is referred to as wood-free.

Supercalendered printing paper describes a calender, a machine that smooths paper, film, fabrics, or similar materials using various rollers. This process enhances the paper's density, smoothness, and gloss. However, when considering weather resistance, durability, and temperature resistance of labels, film labels are better suited for product labeling than paper labels. This is because the surface material of film labels consists of a very thin, resilient plastic.

If you wish, you can also have us print custom labels with your customer materials. Feel free to contact our support team about this by phone or email. 

For a label printing company, label printing on smooth and non-absorbent plastic material is somewhat challenging. Most plastics used in various label films have a "non-polar" (low energy) and water repellent surface on which prints have difficulty adhering. Foil labels in our label printing company are mostly made of the following plastics: Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP) and Polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Sometimes labels are also made of polyester (PET). 

PET labels

• ideal label printing for outdoor use

The plastic polyethylene terephthalate is obtained by polycondensation. Polyethylene terephthalate belongs to the group of polyesters. Polyester labels are adhesive labels made of polyester film.

This polyester film is very durable and especially resistant to water, gasoline, grease, oil, alcohol, acids and alkalis. Polyester is the most stable plastic material for roll labels. These labels made of polyester film (PET labels) have the great advantage of being particularly temperature-resistant. In the temperature range from -60 °C to +150 °C, they neither expand nor shrink. 

Due to their excellent temperature stability, PET labels can be used excellently as a material for data and digital printing (including inkjet, laser and thermal transfer printing). They are used, for example, for type plates, in the garden market or for labelling construction materials. 

Almost everyone comes into contact with polyester products such as polyester labels or polyester film every day. The best known is probably the PET beverage bottle, which can be found in thousands and thousands in every beverage store or supermarket as a mineral water bottle. We owe the triumph of polyester plastic to the Coca-Cola Company, which was the first to fill its well-known beverages en masse into the lightweight yet stable, food-grade PET bottle. In the textile industry, too, polyester fiber is the plastic fiber par excellence.

Polyester labels also benefit from these special properties. For the production of PET labels, heat-resistant polyester is used, which, provided with a coating on both sides, guarantees a perfect printing surface and reproduces true colors. This applies to all printing methods: from laser printers, thermal transfer printers to copiers, as a lot of heat is generated there. Polyester labels are characterized by long life and excellent UV resistance. Labels made of polyester material are resistant to aging and are used wherever the marking must be reliable and maintained for many years.

PE labels

• perfect for environmentally friendly label printing

Polyethylene (PE) is an organic thermoplastic that contains no plasticizers, heavy metals or silicones and is easy to recycle. The reasons for this lie in the chemical composition of polyethylene: During the production of polyethylene, the gases propene and ethene are linked together at high temperatures, under high pressure and with the help of a catalyst to form a flexible thermoplastic.

When heated further, the thermoplastic material breaks down again into its basic components; it softens and disintegrates. A large number of everyday items that you can buy in the supermarket and elsewhere are made of polyethylene plastic. Bags of plastic in the supermarket, bags for freezing food, but also conventional buckets, laundry baskets, plastic bags, carrying cases for drinks or insulation for cables and pipe linings are made of PE plastic.

Polyethylene is an inexpensive and frequently used type of film, which is used in a label printing company. Polyethylene does not contain sulfur, halogen or chlorine and is well suited for printing labels. Polyethylene labels are easy to print and also easy to die-cut or further process after label printing. Due to their positive environmental balance, polyethylene labels are easy to recycle, toxicologically safe and insensitive to oils and greases. Polyethylene labels are ideal for labeling food or hygiene products.

PE labels are food-compatible and are used where a certain degree of deformability is required, e.g. on shampoo bottles, cosmetic packaging, cleaning agents and flexible food packaging. Solutions of salt, various types of alkali and most non-organic acids cannot attack or degrade polyethylene. Even substances sensitive to the nose, such as nail polish remover, are packaged in bottles made of polyethene. 

A specially treated PE film is used as a document film for the production of seal labels and inspection tags.

In order for thermal transfer printing on polyethylene labels to produce an excellent print image in all common standard and industrial printers, we recommend using thermal transfer ribbons made of resin and wax. PE labels are resistant to aging, but have low resistance to UV radiation. Furthermore, one should avoid exposing labels made of polyethylene to great heat, extreme cold or hot steam, as the stability of the organic plastic can no longer be guaranteed under the extreme conditions mentioned.

PP labels

• ideal for transparent label printing

Polypropene (PP or polypropylene) is a thermoplastic that belongs to the polyolefins. This thermoplastic is formed by the chain polymerization of propene. Polypropylene is the second most important bulk plastic, accounting for about 20 percent of total production, and the one with the strongest growth worldwide (as of 2016). Polypropylene is naturally stronger, less easily bent, and exhibits higher transparency than polyethylene. Polypropylene plastic is also more resistant to fats, solvents, alkalis or acids than polyethylene. Due to the semi-crystalline non-polar structure of polypropylene, this plastic can be used well as a film for label printing.

Thanks to its particularly brilliant transparency, PP film is frequently used in label printing as a laminating film or for PP labels in the so-called "no-label look", for example for plastic and glass packaging. Polypropene labels can be used, for example, for non-deformable packaging of motor oils, cosmetics or household products. Polypropylene labels are therefore more suitable for outdoor use than polyethylene labels (PE labels). 

Although PP labels are similar to PE labels in terms of chemical structure, labels made of polypropylene are significantly harder, stronger and more thermally resistant. The reason for this is an additional methyl group. This improves the mechanical properties and thermal resistance of PP labels, while reducing the chemical resistance of the thermosensitive label material. Polypropylene labels are also ideally suited for thermal transfer printing, as an excellent print image can be seen on their surface.

In addition to PP labels, packaging films and rigid packaging such as transparent cups or cans are other important areas of application for polypropylene plastic. 

PVC labels

• Label printing for different surfaces

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is a thermoplastic plastic and belongs to the thermoplastic polymers like PE (polyethylene) and PP (polypropylene). Polyvinyl chloride can be purchased in different degrees of hardness, colours and material thicknesses and is used in many business sectors and industries. Rigid PVC is largely used in window construction for profiles and sound panels. Soft PVC is used as flooring or for cable sheathing.

Polyvinyl chloride is a plastic that is also used as flexible PVC for the production of PVC labels. The addition of plasticisers gives the naturally hard and brittle plastic plastic properties such as flexibility, tear resistance and softness. PVC labels adapt perfectly to any surface and are particularly tear-resistant and supple. Labels made of polyvinyl chloride are often used as chemical labels because they have a high degree of resistance to acids, oil and seawater and thus do not rot. PVC labels are not decomposed by sunlight and are electrically non-conductive. Polyvinyl chloride labels are resistant to water, oil, alkalis, UV radiation and adhere securely at temperatures from -40 °C to +80 °C. They are excellent for sticking on. They are excellent for sticking on curves and edges and are also suitable for uneven surfaces. 

The use of polyvinyl chloride labels is very versatile. Due to their good weather resistance, PVC labels are mostly used outdoors, but also as high-quality and durable labels for equipment labelling, as warning labels, barcode labels or for cable labelling. PVC labels are mainly used for durable products such as weatherproof outdoor labels or loop labels in garden centres and nurseries. 

Labels made of polyvinyl chloride, without an additional barrier layer, are not suitable for food labels because the plasticisers have the property of migrating into the environment. The substances emanating from the soft PVC (plastic odours) and possibly harmful to health must not come into contact with food. Plasticisers such as flexible PVC are readily absorbed, especially by fats and oils. Therefore, PP labels made of polypropylene and PE labels made of polyethylene are used in the food sector. 

Further information outside of label printing on PE material and other bulk plastics can also be found under this link. 

Click here to go directly to materials for film labels.

Label printing on paper

Thanks to its physical properties such as gloss, writability, porosity and air permeability, we as label manufacturers can print label paper in excellent quality during label printing, process it easily and recycle it well. Paper is a renewable natural product and therefore quite inexpensive for label printing. However, label paper has the disadvantage that it is very sensitive to liquids, oils, greases, light and mechanical stress (tears and pulls). The production and finishing of a paper label determine its longevity.

Without additional protection on the surface, e.g. by a lacquer or laminate coating, the durability of a paper label is limited. This is especially true for outdoor use. When printed with a lacquer or laminate coating, adhesive labels can be given a luxurious or stylish look. Depending on which laminate the customer chooses, we as a label printing company can give a label extra gloss or produce a matt variant.

For both variants, our label printing company offers already coated paper with a matt or glossy surface, which you can select when ordering in the online shop. There you will also find metallised and fluorescent papers, which guarantee a greatly increased visual conspicuity of your adhesive labels. Labels printed from this paper are often used as price labels or special offer labels.

Special paper for label printing

In the thermal printing process, thermal paper is a special type of paper. As a label and folding box manufacturer, we at Labelprint24 offer these materials for our labels. The adhesive labels have a temperature-sensitive layer on the side to be printed, which forms a dye, mostly black, when exposed to heat. Everyone knows this paper from the supermarket checkout or the fruit and vegetable scales. For tickets, vouchers, tickets and lottery receipts, stronger thermal paper qualities are used for label printing. Due to the thicker paper, which has a higher tolerance to mechanical stress, the quality of the printed image is maintained for longer. 

A special case among the paper grades for label printing are papers with high opacity, i.e. with low transparency. Opaque papers are used, for example, as package inserts in medicine packaging or for opaque labels, such as the shipping labels enclosed with every Zalando delivery as a return label. This high opacity is produced by adding fillers or a higher wood content (lignin). Visible light and UV light is almost completely absorbed by this material. 

If you have any further questions about the label papers used in the Labelprint24 label printing company, simply contact the printing experts on our hotline. 

Click here to go directly to the materials for paper labels. 

Printing methods for your labels at Labelprint24

To print your personalised labels with us, we offer various printing processes. As packaging experts, we would like to introduce you to the felxo printing process and the digital printing process. First of all, we would like to give you some important information: For labels with a small print run/quantity, we recommend digital printing; for a larger print run, Felxo printing is ideal. In this way, you can roughly determine in advance which print is suitable for your labels.

Flexographic printing process:

Flexographic printing is a direct letterpress process and works with flexible printing plates (clichés), whereby the printing surfaces are higher than the non-printing surfaces (similar to a stamp). The ink is applied to a mirror-inverted cliché. The higher surfaces of the cliché are the supporting element during printing.

The areas are inked with printing ink and the ink is transferred directly to the label. The process offers optimal print quality on different fabrics and copes well with difficult materials. The flexible printing forms give the name to felxo printing and are particularly suitable for soft materials that need to be printed.

You can imagine the printing process as follows: Two rollers moving in opposite directions touch at one point. On one roller is the printing forme (printing forme cylinder) and on the second roller (impression cylinder) is the substrate (in this case the label). A third roller transfers the ink to the printing forme. It is mounted on the side of the printing forme cylinder and therefore faces away from the impression cylinder.

Digital printing process:

With our digital printing process, high-quality labels can also be printed in small or medium print runs. Unlike offset printing, for example, the information is applied to the material without static printing forms. A distinction is made between laser toner-based and inject-based digital printing processes. This is also a direct process. 

The content, information and images that are to be printed must be available in digital form. This information is transferred to the computer of the printing system and transformed into printable data. After that, the actual printing process can begin.

There is the inkjet and laserjet printing process. At Labelprint24 we use the inkjet process. The copy of a print template is produced by means of ink. The ink is transferred to the printing material (the label) via a print head equipped with nozzles.

Materials and adhesives

As versatile as the application possibilities for self-adhesive labels and booklet labels are, as wide is the range of label glues, also at Labelprint24. If you start from the adhesive properties, pressure-sensitive adhesives for adhesive labels can be divided into two different groups. Firstly, label printers speak of permanent adhesion and secondly of removable adhesion. A combination of both are so-called semi-permanent pressure-sensitive adhesives, which can be removed easily at the beginning, but later adhere firmly to certain materials. For the adhesive strength of "removable labels", adhesive force limits of 3 N/25 mm (equivalent to 1.2 N/10 mm) are standard market practice. For permanently adhesive labels, the specified adhesive forces are 9 N/25 mm (equivalent to 3.6 N/10 mm).

Preliminary considerations for the right choice of material in the label printing shop result from the external conditions under which the finished labels will later be affixed. Is it a humid or dry environment? Is the surface smooth or rather rough? Is it cold frozen goods or hot product packaging, as usually found in food production or bakeries? Of course, Labelprint24 is also there to help you if you are not sure about your choice. 

Surface material for label printing

The surface material is the first layer of a label. This layer is printed with a motif during label printing and can then be lacquered, laminated or provided with other finishes/coatings. When choosing a label material, the following questions are particularly important and should be carefully thought through before label printing:

Once these questions have been answered, it is time to choose the most suitable material for your label printing. Although there are also labels made of cardboard, fleece, leather, textile material or aluminium foil, the vast majority of self-adhesive labels are made of label paper or plastic films or a combination of these two substrates. As label printers, we offer both different paper and plastic labels.

Finally, labels can be divided into wet glue labels or self-adhesive labels according to the technique of application. While in the case of self-adhesive labels the label glue is already on the back of the label material before the label is printed, wet-glue labels only have label glue applied to them shortly before they are affixed. This gluing technique is often used as cold glue or hot glue labelling for product labelling of beverage bottles, wines, spirits or cans.

Vegan and environmentally friendly adhesives

While bone glue was often used in the past to glue wet glue labels, most organic food producers have now switched to a glue containing casein. Casein is a protein mixture derived from milk. It is used as a food, binder and pharmaceutical excipient. Glue containing casein is often used in reusable packaging such as glass bottles.

An alternative to casein is vegetable starch. Some manufacturers of vegan products use a starch-based adhesive instead of synthetic adhesives, which is considered 100 per cent vegan. However, starch-based adhesives are more difficult to handle.

Labels attached with starch adhesive often curl or fall off completely. The subsequent, automated removal of labels and adhesive residues from glass containers is also more difficult and costly than with casein. Fully synthetic label adhesives adhere much better than starch adhesives, although not quite as well as casein.

Self-adhesive labelling after label printing

Self-adhesive labelling is now being used more and more frequently for many product markings in all sectors, including beverage and food packaging. Apart from the cost savings due to the elimination of label containers and pallet sets, the high print and adhesive quality as well as the possibility of using labels in the modern no-label-look should be mentioned as plus points.

Here you will find information on industrial labels and special labels from Labelprint24.