The Complete Guide to Asset Labels
NEWS
What is going on at Express and in our industry. New product introductions and other items of interest.
Asset Label Materials
Express only uses the highest-quality materials in manufacturing custom asset labels and tags. All material components—substrate, ink, and adhesive—are critical in forming a premium product durable enough to withstand the toughest business and industrial environments. All asset labels are backed with multi-purpose permanent pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive that secures these premium labels for permanent attachment and extended service life.
Asset labels and tags provide long-lasting and dependable asset identification for indoor and outdoor environments. Proper asset identification through barcode labels and tags increases accountability, deters theft, and tracks asset location and status. Express manufactures durable asset labels and tags to withstand the most demanding environments. Choose aluminum asset labels for lifetime asset identification, polyester and vinyl asset labels for economical identification, or destrutible and void-indicating asset labels for theft-deterrence and security.
Aluminum Asset Tags
- Aluminum asset tags are a rugged identification solution where outdoor durability is essential. Express uses sub-surface imaging and printing to embed the barcode and text deep within the surface of the aluminum tag for permanent lifetime protection from wear and tear. The final product is pure aluminum providing superior resistance to abrasion, chemicals, and harsh environmental conditions.
- Subsurface-printed aluminum asset tags are the pinnacle of this manufacturing art, resisting the most extreme conditions and ensuring solid protection and reliable asset tracking for the life of your assets. For those who prefer the very best, it’s Subsurface-printed aluminum.
Polyester Asset Tags
- Polyester asset tags are an economical alternative to aluminum tags and perform best in moderate environments. The graphic images are printed on the underside of the clear polyester material and fused with a durable substrate. Polyester asset tags deliver flexible, long-lasting protection for years of service.
Vinyl Asset Tags
- Vinyl asset tags are an economical solution for indoor assets and mild environments. The barcode and other information is printed on the surface of .0038” thick vinyl, backed with a general purpose adhesive.
Security Labels
- Destructible asset tags break into small pieces and show evidence of tampering. Void indicating labels show a VOID pattern upon attempted removal. Both are excellent security labels that deter theft and show evidence of tampering.
Custom Asset Labels
How to design custom asset labels?
- The easiest way to design custom asset labels is through our Universal Designer, where you can specify every label element, including size, text, logo, background, corner radius, hole diameter and placement, and data sequence. You may also submit an engineered drawing or call to speak with one of our design specialists. Our design team and 30+ years of industry experience allow Express to evaluate business needs and develop lasting identification solutions for large-scale deployment.
What factors to consider when choosing custom asset labels?
- Environmental Resistance – what type of conditions will your asset label have to endure? Express manufactures asset labels to withstand prolonged exposure to UV radiation, caustic chemicals, repeated abrasion, extreme temperatures, multiple freeze / thaw cycles, moisture, salt spray, and other environmental challenges.
- Surface – what type of surface will your asset label adhere to? Smooth and clean surfaces are best for adhesion. Rough surfaces are more challenging and asset labels may need to be attached with rivets or screws. The surface material is an important consideration because metal and plastic surfaces have different adhesion characteristics.
- Size – asset label size and X-dimension are critical to ensure barcode integrity and machine readability. In a linear 1D barcode (Code 39 or Code 128), the X-dimension refers to the width of the narrowest bar in the symbol. In a 2D symbol (Data Matrix or QR Code), the X-dimension refers to the height and width measurement of one cell (square element). Express has standard X-dimensions and can advise on the proper label size to ensure barcode quality and integrity.
What are the benefits of custom asset labels?
By investing in asset labels solutions with a focus on asset management and tracking, our customers realize significant gains in efficiency, data integrity, and profitability.
- Asset labels eliminate human error – an asset label scan is significantly faster and more reliable than manual data entry.
- Asset labels are extremely versatile – asset labels can be used for any kind of business data collection in any indoor or outdoor environment.
- Asset labels drive business efficiency – because asset labels can accurately track the location, status, and quantity of equipment and inventory, asset labels give managers greater insight into their business operations and enable businesses to save time, reduce inventory levels, and reduce overhead costs.
- Asset labels promote better business decisions – with greater transparency and access to more data, business managers are able to make better decisions that save time and money.
What asset management technologies are supported?
- By focusing on each customer’s experience and producing a truly-custom identification solution, Express can design and manufacture asset labels that are compatible with any hardware or software asset tracking system.
How much do custom asset labels cost?
- The minimum order cost for custom asset labels is $300. Higher-volume orders significantly reduce the per-unit cost of custom barcode labels. Since all asset labels are fully-custom, the exact price depends on the label material, size, and quantity.
Why should I use a custom asset label provider?
- With decades of custom asset label manufacturing experience, Express has honed its ability to understand unique customer requirements and applications, manage complex data sequences, parse complex engineered drawings, satisfy the strictest tolerances, manage multiple shipment dates and locations, and deliver on the tightest deadlines. All these factors make Express a premier manufacturer and a leader in the industrial identification industry.