Cask/keg label durability issues

Hello all

We have the recommended paper labels (removable adhesive) for use with our zebra printer for temporary cask/keg labels however we find they don’t stick to our containers very well and over time (presumably due to moisture/condensation) the text on the labels fades so you can no longer see any print. Has anyone else experienced this? Do you have a solution? Any recommendations for an alternative label that resolves these problems?

We’re thinking of trying the gloss (permanent adhesive) labels but are they too sticky as a temporary label? Do they still fade?

Thank in advance.

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Hi Gemma,

I’m sure some others can step in here with comments as we’ve only used labels for testing, but our tests are far from as good as a real-world situation (we don’t run a brewery).

Do you have a ribbon for your Zebra printer? Have you tried printing these labels with the ribbon in place? Labels printed with a ribbon should be much more resistant to fading (and you’re right, sunlight has a big effect on fade-speed!). Although not specifically designed for printing with a ribbon, I believe they’ll work ok (for a test at least). This won’t help with the stickiness, however, but might solve half the problem.

It would be great to hear of others have had this problem, and hopefully found a solution.

We also have issues with the recommended labels. When stuck direct to a keg, they are hard to get off. When stuck to card, they come off too easily. And thermal printing fades quite quickly. Haven’t tried different labels but yet but will report back if I get around to it.

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Thanks everyone for the feedback on this. We’ve ordered a number of new sample labels to do some more internal testing, but it’s harder for us to simulate real-life situations. We’ll feedback here with our findings (and potentially update our recommended labels). Of course, any other testing that others can do would be great to hear about as well.

Thanks guys.

I don’t think the fading is from exposure to sunlight though as they fade even when kegs are stacked, I think maybe it’s either just over time or a moisture thing. We don’t have a ribbon but we’d be happy to try printing with one, we’d like to get the right label from an adhesion point of view too and it seems that you need a particular type of ribbon for a particular label type.

Let us know how your testing goes - if it helps at all we’re trying to stick labels to either plastic casks (which is where we have the adhesion problem) or to card collars (for rental kegs/casks). I’ve attached a photo as an example of the fading we’re experiencing.

Cheers, Gemma.

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Thanks Gemma, this is really useful information :+1:

Hi Gemma,
Just to chip in and say that the ribbon works great. Go for a resin, or wax/resin ribbon and they will last for months. They are still a little prone to scraping off when they get damp from condensation, but they’re ten times better than before.

If you’re still really struggling, or you want something more durable for products going via courier, for example, they also do synthetic labels too. With a resin ribbon and a synthetic label it will stay readable for years. Although, it does make for a lot of annoying plastic when they are washed / peeled off, and the environment probably has enough of that, so we generally find the ribbon and paper works fine for us.

Cheers

Keir.

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Hi Keir

Super stuff, thanks, this is just the kind of thing I was after.

Cheers, Gemma.

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Hi, have you managed to do any tests yet? We’re keen to order some new supplies in and get a resolution on this. Cheers.

Thermal labels will always fade. It’s in their nature. Thermal transfer (or laser / toner) is what you want.

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I’m sorry, I must admit we haven’t tested our samples out yet. A selection of samples did arrive, but we’ve not yet had a chance to test them out. We will try to get this done soon and let you know what we find.

has anyone found any solutions to this?? or more durable labels. Ours are constantly fading :cry:

PLZ HELP

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