Healthcare labels come in many shapes and sizes. But do you know quite how many?
Or how important it is to choose the right material for these labels? From vial and blood bag labels to pharmacy prescriptions (and from the ICU to the nursing home), precision and quality couldn’t be more essential.
As anyone might guess, labels for use in a medical context must be durable, clear, and tough to tamper with. Much work has been done over the years by labeling companies big and small – including Kingfisher Labels – to ensure these standards are met.
For instance: These days, most healthcare labels are created with chemical resistance to materials like xylene and ethanol by default. And/or they’re made to withstand freezer-level low temperatures and autoclave-level high temperatures. (An autoclave is a heated machine often used to steam sterilise medical equipment.)
This article explores the different kinds of pharmaceutical labels in more detail – and the part we’re overjoyed to play in getting them spot-on for our hard-working NHS…
Our autoclave offerings
As an ISO9001 accredited company and a leading supplier to the medical industry for over 20 years, we understand the complex requirements and standards of quality necessary for anything that will be used in a healthcare setting.
We currently proudly supply various autoclave-friendly labels for medical use. Autoclave labels must be able to withstand incredibly high temperatures without bleeding, fading, or transferring, remaining clear and in place on surgical and medical items as they go through the very, very hot steam sterilisation process.
Usually, these labels are stuck onto envelopes or anti-microbial cloths (depending on the method of sterilisation used). Either way, they must be hugely adherent and temperature-resistant.
All healthcare labels available
Thanks to our continued investment in improving capacity and updating machinery, we have the technology and expertise to provide many other medical and pharmaceutical labels as required. This includes:
- Blood bag labels – These bags are one of the most important contexts in which barcoding is used in healthcare. Codes on blood bags help medical professionals keep track of said bags and decrease the likelihood of error. We can pre-print these labels or supply them blank, with 1D and 2D barcode options available.
- Curved surface and vial labels – We can provide curved-surface-suited labels that are durable and strongly adherent – without creating too much of a raised edge. (An edge too prominent could stop the proper functioning of, say, a centrifuge device.) These labels will also be chemically resistant to many materials. Vial labels will be similarly resistant, including UV exposure, liquid nitrogen, freezer temperatures, and autoclave temperatures. For both label types, a clear tail can be wrapped over the label text to add extra protection.
- Plate labels – We can create microplate and well plate labels that adhere incredibly strongly and hold up in a wide range of laboratory conditions/experiments. These kinds of labels are very rarely displaced, even in a bustling research environment, and they pair chemical resistance (to xylene, toluene, ethanol, and more) with customizability (extra details can be written on/added to these labels throughout the process).
- Pharmacy labels – These labels are direct thermal (often, medical buyers will request top-coated direct thermal labels, which are less prone to sun fading or smudging). They’re made to permanently adhere to containers, boxes, and bags alike. We can supply them pre-printed or blank and customise them according to your layout requirements.
Always thrilled to support our incredible NHS
Whenever the opportunity arises, we’re thrilled to have the chance to support the effective running of our amazing National Health Service. On some days, that might mean supporting charity campaigns designed to lift up NHS workers (as we did during the pandemic). On other days, it might just mean doing our job to the high standard that all our customers enjoy.
Whether you’re in the healthcare industry, the pharmaceutical industry, or any other, our labeling support can perfect your packaging. Contact us today, and you’ll soon see how much we can accomplish together.