Decoding Label Printer Language

Ever find yourself feeling confused by language used by label manufacturers? We've created this list as a go-to guide for some common terms and abbreviations used by our industry, so you can understand them with confidence!

Backing Paper: Also referred to as a 'liner' or 'carrier film', this is the substrate that self adhesive labels are supplied on.

Core: The central cardboard tube that a label roll is wound around. These come in a variety of sizes to suit different applications, so it's important to ensure your manufacturer uses the right one for your requirements.

Corner Radius: A measurement that defines how rounded the corners of your labels are, measured in millimetres.

Die: A die is essentially a cookie cutter for your labels - It is a template that cuts your labels to shape and size during their manufacturing.

Dielines: In graphic design, these are lines used as placeholders to mark where your labels will be cut using a die. This gives you a visual of how your labels will look once they are cut to size and shape.

Direct Thermal: A printing method whereby chemically treated, heat sensitive labels are passed under a thermal printhead. The heat from this printhead 'prints' details (typically variable data) onto the labels.

Lead times: The amount of time required for the production team to manufacture your labels.  Usually measured from date of order to dispatch date.

MOQ: An abbreviation for 'minimum order quantity', this refers to the smallest quantity of a certain label variant that your manufacturer permits you to order. This number will vary depending on what labels you are looking to order, and what is involved in their manufacture.

Plates: Rubber materials custom made to use in label printing machinery. Plates contain your label artwork, with separate plates made for each colour within the artwork.  They are not usually required for digital printing processes.

Prepress: An overarching term used to describe the set up processes that take place before the printing of your labels.

SKU: An abbreviation for 'stock keeping unit', a unique alphanumeric code assigned to a product to keep track of its inventory internally.

Thermal Transfer: A method of printing that uses a thermal printer with heated ribbon to produce durable, long lasting images on labels.

Vector Files: File types containing imagery and/or text that can be made infinitely larger, without loss of quality or clarity. You will commonly see these files in .ai (Adobe Illustrator), .eps (Encapsulated PostScript), .svg (Scalable Vector Graphics), or PDF formats.

Cohesion Labels is an Australian label manufacturer with a passion for Making Labels Easy. We believe it should be easier for Aussie businesses to do business, and to do our part we've set up our entire operation to make labels easy. By de-risking the process and guaranteeing you get the product you want when you need it, we're the strongest link in your supply chain.

Get in touch with us for a quote - We'd love to see how we could make labelling easy for you!