Label Types
Custom labels for every application
Four label types, one plant in Hillsborough, NJ. Whatever the job calls for — material, adhesive, symbology, finish, or unique data on every label — we make it at scale, and we help you land on the right one.
Find your label type
Start from what you are trying to do
Pick the closest goal and we will point you to the label type that fits, with what it is and where it works. Many jobs use more than one, and that is a conversation we have every day.
I need to…
Best when You want a branded product label built to survive its environment.
Pressure-Sensitive Labels
The self-adhesive label most products wear: a face stock, an adhesive, and a liner, pre-printed with your full design and color. The default construction across retail, food and beverage, personal care, and industrial.
- Paper, BOPP, polyester, vinyl and specialty face stocks
- Permanent, removable, freezer-grade and high-temperature adhesives
- Up to 7 PMS-matched colors; sizes 0.25" x 0.25" to 16" x 24"
Best when The label has to carry a code that scans at a register or a dock.
Barcode Labels
Any label whose job is to scan: UPC and EAN at retail, GS1-128 on cartons, DataMatrix and QR for serialization and traceability. We print every major symbology and grade each job to ANSI/ISO.
- UPC, EAN, GS1-128, Code 128/39, DataMatrix, QR, ITF-14, PDF417
- ANSI/ISO grading with 100% inline video web inspection
- Retail, health and personal care, logistics and industrial programs
Best when You print labels yourself for shipping, warehouse, or point of sale.
Thermal Labels
Labels printed with heat on demand: blank direct-thermal or thermal-transfer roll stock for your own printer, or pre-printed stock we supply. Wound to the core and diameter your printer expects.
- Direct thermal and thermal transfer
- Blank roll stock or pre-printed, spec'd to your printer
- Authorized Zebra and Datamax dealer; SATO, Honeywell, Intermec compatible
Best when Each label needs its own data, not one fixed design repeated.
Variable Data Printing
When every label carries different content: serial numbers, lot and date codes, unique QR or 2D codes, or regional versions, printed inline with the artwork in one pass and verified as it runs.
- Sequential serials, lot/date, unique QR/2D, versioning
- GS1 DataMatrix and SSCC (GS1-128) serialization
- 100% inline verification and ANSI/ISO grading
Choosing a label type
What are the main types of custom labels?
The four we manufacture cover almost every job: pressure-sensitive (self-adhesive) labels, barcode labels, thermal labels, and variable data printing. Most product labels are pressure-sensitive; barcode and variable data describe what is printed on the label; thermal describes labels printed on demand with a thermal printer. Many labels combine them, such as a pressure-sensitive product label carrying a verified barcode.
What is the difference between pressure-sensitive and thermal labels?
Pressure-sensitive is a construction: a face stock with adhesive and a liner, usually pre-printed on a press with your full design and color. Thermal is a printing method: labels printed on demand with heat, either blank stock you print in-house or pre-printed stock we supply. A pressure-sensitive label can be printed by thermal; the terms answer two different questions, what the label is made of and how the image gets on it.
Which label type do I need for a retail product?
A pressure-sensitive product label carrying a UPC or EAN barcode. The pressure-sensitive construction holds your branding and survives the shelf and the cooler; the barcode has to encode your GS1-registered number and scan at point of sale. We build both into one label and verify the barcode to ANSI/ISO before it ships.
Can one label be a barcode label and a variable data label at once?
Yes, and it often is. Variable data means each label carries different content, such as a sequential serial number or a lot and date; a barcode label carries a scannable symbology. A serialized supplement label is often both: a GS1 DataMatrix whose data changes on every label, printed and verified inline as the web runs.
How do I choose the right label material and construction?
Start from where the label lives: the surface it sticks to, the temperature range, moisture, chemicals, and how long it has to stay put and legible. That drives face stock, adhesive, and finish. You do not have to know the answer before you call. Tell us the application and we recommend the material and construction, and send a sample.
Not sure which label type you need?
Tell us the application — the surface, the environment, and what the label has to do — and we will recommend the material and construction, and send a sample. Better a conversation now than the wrong label later.
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