Choosing Your Custom Labels: Facestock, Adhesive, and Overlaminate

When choosing the right label for your product, there are many factors to consider. Selecting the best combination of facestock, adhesive, and overlaminate will ensure that your label looks and performs its best in the appropriate environments. We have broken down some of the label options we offer here at Alpine.

Papers and Films

Various types of papers and films can act as the facestock of a label, or the surface that is printed.

• Paper:  This material is offered in a variety of facestocks.  You can choose Hi Gloss, Semi Gloss, or Matte (coated and uncoated) which are all a white facestock available in white finishes.  The colored options for paper materials range from fluorescents to paper foils.
• Films:  If you are looking for long lasting life and durability, we would recommend film from this category. Some of the materials available are: BOPP (Biaxially oriented films), clear, white and silver polyesters (PET).  If you are looking for a durable outdoor label, we may also recommend a vinyl.
• Static Cling: Labels made out of a thin layer of vinyl can be applied to surfaces with no adhesive, using only static electricity (or static cling) to adhere. Vinyl labels are perfect for applications on glass. The absence of adhesive means that these labels leave no residue.

Adhesives

Adhesives rest on the back of the facestock and create the sticky surface that adheres to your product.

• Permanent: Permanent adhesive is used for labels that need to stay put. Once the label is applied, it cannot be moved without damaging the label or leaving a residue.
• All temp (permanent): All-temperature adhesive is developed to provide good room temperature performance and excellent cold temperature performance. Because of its cold-temperature properties and good adhesion to corrugated cardboard, all-temperature is an ideal adhesive for warehouse applications. This adhesive is suitable for applications where compliance with FDA 175.105 is required. This section covers applications where incidental contact between food and adhesive could occur.
• Removable: Designed to form a temporary bond, this adhesive can ideally can be removed after time without leaving residue on the adhered surface. Removable adhesives are used in applications such as surface protection films, masking tapes, bookmark and note papers, barcode labels, price marking labels, promotional graphics materials, and skin contact products.
• Repositionable: Repositionable adhesive can be moved several times. Post-it® notes are a good example of this type of adhesive.

Overlaminates

Lamination covers the facestock of a label to protect the printed material. They can add a glossy, scratch-resistant finish to labels.

Alpine’s Label Engineers can help you navigate the label landscape, and create the highest quality label for your business. If you have questions or want to learn more about our custom printed labels, our Customer Service Representatives are ready to assist you.

More Blog Posts