Linerless Labels and The Benefits They Offer

Packaging plays a vital role in today’s fast-paced business landscape, ensuring product protection, preservation, and presentation. As the packaging industry continues to grow and adapt to changing market demands, it’s crucial for companies to stay ahead and offer exceptional packaging solutions. To provide insights into this dynamic landscape, we have developed Packaging Talks – a series of conversational panels with Crawford’s packaging experts. Whether you’re a business owner, a packaging professional, or simply curious, our panels aim to offer valuable information and inspiration. 

In this installment, we chat with Carey Bedrock, Crawford’s Market Manager, about linerless labels and the benefits they offer.

Could you please explain what linerless labels are?

Linerless labels are a fascinating new type of labels that are gaining popularity across various applications, including fresh produce, meat packaging, bakery and confectionery products and processed food. Think of all the grab-and-go, ready-to-eat meals you can find at your local grocery store, skin-packed meats, apples, and kiwis – the applications are virtually limitless. Unlike traditional labels that come with a liner or backing paper, linerless labels are self-adhesive and don’t require any liner. They are designed to be directly dispensed without the need for a separate liner to peel off.

That’s interesting! And what are the advantages of using linerless labels?

Well, there are several advantages. Sustainability is a significant one – by eliminating the need for a liner, linerless labels reduce waste. They are also fully recyclable. Another advantage is efficiency. With linerless labels, you can fit up to 40% more labels on a single roll, resulting in reduced downtime during label changeover and optimized costs. You can maintain continuous production runs without frequent interruptions. There is also the aspect of flexibility. With linerless label applicators, you can easily adapt to various packaging sizes, shapes, and formats without requiring adjustments or changeovers. This flexibility enhances your production capabilities and saves time.

Can you elaborate more on the sustainability aspects?

Yes, linerless labels are considered a sustainable solution for several reasons. Firstly, as already mentioned, they eliminate the need for liners or backing paper typically used in traditional labels. By removing the liner, linerless labels reduce waste generated during label application. This reduction in waste minimizes the amount of material that ends up in landfills. Moving upstream, linerless labels also reduce the need for transportation and allow for savings on labour and storage costs, which, in turn, leads to reduced carbon emissions. In fact, in 2020 alone, Ravenwood Packaging was able to prevent 12.1 million kg of CO2 emissions. Additionally, linerless labels are fully recyclable, including the waste edge trimmings. They contribute to a more circular economy by being easily recyclable after use. And let’s not forget about the advantage of two-sided printing, allowing companies to feature additional information on the back of the label. This opens up possibilities for including cooking instructions, nutritional information, or additional recipes, maximizing the available space and providing valuable information to consumers.

And what about operational benefits?

Well, as already mentioned, with a linerless label solution, you can fit up to 40% more labels per roll, resulting in longer runs and increased uptime. This allows production employees to focus on other tasks without frequent interruptions. Just imagine the reduction in downtime and increased production efficiency when handling a large volume of packages. Additionally, the linerless label applicators have been designed to be easy to integrate, seamlessly fitting into both existing and new production lines. They offer remarkable versatility, as they can handle a range of different label formats and trays on a single machine, providing flexibility and convenience. Moreover, they are known for their speed and accuracy, enabling you to streamline your production process and achieve consistent results.