The Importance of Labels
Labels don’t often get the spotlight and recognition that they deserve. The importance of labels is often overlooked, with their functionality being paramount. With over four decades of curating only the finest print, branded merchandise and branded clothing, we’ve garnered a fair amount of experience in these areas. Whilst these are the areas we tend to be best known for, what a lot of people perhaps don’t realise is that our services go way beyond just branded clothing and merchandise. Today we want to dive deeper into our knowledge about labels and the importance of getting them right.
In demand
The decline of print media has been well documented in recent years. The rise (or explosion might be a more accurate term) of digital technology and on-screen media of course means that people are easier to reach on their devices rather than via posters or flyers. Labels definitely fall under the ‘print’ category, however, they completely buck the trend when it comes to demand. There are a whole host of industries and uses that, despite Silicon Valley’s best efforts, will probably always require some kind of printed labelling solution. (On a side note, there’s still very much a time and place for print! But perhaps that’s one for a different blog entry.)
Supplying the NHS
One such industry is that we’re very well versed in providing labels for various uses in healthcare. It’s a great example of a situation that, although it is relying more and more on new technology, still needs physical labels in order to operate. Our clients at NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (GG&C) are the biggest of their kind in the country. In numbers, they take care of around 1.2m patients across 35 hospitals and 240 GP surgeries. Now, you probably don’t need 40-plus years in the business to know that that’s a lot of labels – but for what?
Well, one example of such work that we’ve done for them is in their A&E department. When a patient is admitted to a hospital in Greater Glasgow they’re assigned a colour-coded label to help the A&E team prioritise patients according to their ailments. It’s not only vital for the patient but also for the running of the hospital, especially in A&E. GG&C needed the colour coded system to help its staff identify A&E patients and treat them efficiently in order to keep the backlog to a minimum and avoid overwhelming staff and services. Of course, given the nature of the use, there was a very tight turnaround on this job – but we managed it, thanks to our expertise. Whoever said labels weren’t a matter of life and death?
There are of course many other label requirements in healthcare. Label changes for the sterilisation market, for example. Sample containers that will be sterilised can’t use just any old label, they need something that will easily peel off when they’re being cleaned but retain and clearly display the necessary information while in use.
Labels for the eco-conscious
Recycling is another area that we’re often asked to provide labels for. These days the world is much more eco-conscious than ever and appropriately labelled recycling bins are a mainstay of any waste-producing company. What a lot of people don’t realise is that these bins are exposed to an array of elements and conditions so the labelling here has to be robust enough to survive. The sun can be especially damaging – we’re often asked to produce UV treated labels to combat wear and tear from certain extremes of heat and light.
Similarly, the catering industry has a huge demand for use-appropriate labels. Of course, there are the standard date labels, but there’s also a significant need for labelling solutions that will again withstand high and low temperatures and other environmental changes and extremes.
We even offer labelling services for the publishing industry, through companies such as Harper Collins. We’ve heard the saying about not judging a book by its cover, however lots of creative expertise goes into book design, and aesthetics are something we have to appreciate when creating labels for this purpose.
Get in touch
So, as you can probably tell, we know our stuff when it comes to labels. Not just technically either, we like to understand their application in a holistic way in order to make sure our products perform flawlessly. So, have you got any labelling requirements that we can help with? Get in touch with our experts to see how we can help.