Many of us are already familiar with the use of medical labels on tags, bracelets and necklaces to carry medical information – medical ID tags are commonly used by those with allergies for use in emergencies, but there is much more to medical identification bracelets than meets the eye.

Medical ID tags, no matter what form they take, are looked for as part of standard practice by emergency responders and medical personnel.  By alerting doctors and first responders to conditions such as allergy sensitivity, blood group and medications being taken, much time can be saved and there is no doubt that lives have been saved because of the information contained on such identification tags.

Medical identification tags are suitable for many more people than those with an allergy or a condition such as diabetes, in fact there are many more instances where medical personnel need to be alerted and can be easily enough.

If a patient has any of the following, a medical identification tag will assist in identifying both the patient and more importantly, the condition which they suffer from:

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Diabetes (type 1 and 2)
• Angina
• Low Blood Pressure
• Arrhythmias
• Pacemakers
• Surgical issues e.g. heart surgery, cancer treatment
• Transplant
• Epilepsy
• Medicine Use (especially where multiple prescriptions are being taken)
• High Blood Pressure
• Benign Intracranial Hypertension
• Hypertension
• Low Blood Pressure
• Allergy information

Once a medical responder understands you suffer from a set of conditions or are taking a particular type of medication, treatment options can be much more rapidly assessed.  Vitally, avoiding some treatment regimes is essential for certain types of patient – if a patient is recovering or taking medication as a consequence of a heart condition, then certain standard drugs for pain control must be avoided or else there is serious risk to life.

Medical identification tags are also becoming more “intelligent” – the obvious development with tags was to include patient identifiers such as name, address and next of kin, but with advances in technology, a new generation of smart tags are under development.  Using microchips, much more information can be stored and indeed, there is no practical or theoretical limit to the amount of information which can be stored in this way.

Imagine a scenario where an unconscious individual is admitted to an ER facility, and while the patient is as yet unknown, the medical identification tag contains a chip which holds a copy of the patient’s medical records.  By using the appropriate reader, medical responders can access the entire medical history of the individual including such ancillary information as insurance coverage so they know the bill will be settled prior to treatment being provided!  It has not been unknown for essential treatment to be withheld or delivered after considerable delay while such administrative issues have waited to be resolved – cold comfort to you if you are the patient in this instance.

Development of medical identification tags is flowing into other identification and tracking areas.  RFID technology for instance, has been used for some time to track moveable assets, but the application to people has been discouraged in many instances because of the threat to civil liberties. So far, application has been restricted to those prisoners who are sentenced to house arrest but there are obvious medical applications for those who suffer from dementia for instance.

One thing is clear, the days of a simple metal tag with a blood group imprinted upon it have become numbered – the days of the smart medical tag are almost upon us.

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Security Hologram Stickers

The flood of counterfeit goods into the United States from the Far East, and especially China and India, has reached all time highs and is creating significant economic damage at home.  This incredibly damaging, criminal activity is spurring the development of IP protective measures, such as security holograms.

No-one wins when counterfeit products reach the market – the consumer buys goods which are not what they thought they were, while there may be serious consumer safety issues involved. Meanwhile, the manufacturer reaps the adverse reward of negative press and consumer comments because the counterfeit clings like a parasite to their brand image and reputation.  The retail distributor finds they have goods they cannot sell and quite possibly, legal consequences of holding counterfeit products they ought not to have in the first instance.

The issue is how to protect your own brand and intellectual property in a cost effective manner, and at the same time, ensure security measures are in place which will deter counterfeiters from using your product as the basis for a counterfeit operation.  The analogy of a homeowner ensuring all the doors and windows are locked, whilst fitting a highly visible alarm system to deter opportunistic thieves, is very appropriate in this context.

By applying a low-cost security device, design detail or production element to your product, you are making it harder for counterfeiters to profitably reproduce your goods.  Security holograms provide an excellent method for separating your product from the competition, and counterfeiters will be assessing a range of products to see which is simpler, cheaper and most profitable for them to replicate.  Making it more difficult to create a good imitation of your product by the counterfeiters, reduces the risk your product will be targeted by to begin with.

Security holograms can be produced as 2D or 3D images, the design of which is extremely difficult and costly for a counterfeiter to copy.  You can use the hologram on the packaging (where it can act as a tamper evident safety feature) or place them on the actual product themselves.  The presence of a security hologram acts in exactly the same was as a homeowner’s alarm system – it warns potential thieves to steer clear and try their hand at another product which is easier (and cheaper) to counterfeit.

The reasons why security stickers with holograms are highly effective in acting as a deterrent to counterfeiting, are because they are cost effective, deliver multiple security functions and can be easily customized and applied to your products or to protect other intellectual property you own.

Security holograms provide a highly visible guarantee that the goods are genuine and are not seeking to hoodwink customers with fake branding; in this regard, holograms are powerful components of your brand identity if you include them.  Further security functions they perform include providing evidence the goods have not been tampered with and where they are used in conjunction with the brand image itself, they serve to protect the intellectual property which a brand represents.  The hologram itself can be subjected to fast and effective optical validation, which provides an additional layer of protection for your goods and reputation as well as being an additional mechanism to convey data such as stock and handling information.

Security holograms cannot be copied using photocopiers or computer scanners, which is a favorite technique utilized by counterfeiters.  It is also apparent when a hologram is real or not, given the ability to present a moving image to the viewer – the only way a counterfeiter can get around this security barrier is to source counterfeit holograms.  This is prohibitively expensive to do, or the alternative, to leave the hologram off their counterfeit products, quickly serves to mark them out as not genuine.

As counterfeit products rise and the ability of the fraudsters to deceive the consumer increases, it is vital for companies to protect their brand and reputation.  Security holograms are cheap to produce, and very simple to apply and manage through the distribution chain.  The simple presence of a security hologram is enough to deter many counterfeiters from even attempting to replicate your product, which makes it easier to target those counterfeiters who are attacking your intellectual property rights and reputation.

Only the size of a grain of rice, a pet microchip is usually injected just under the skin at the back of the neck of your pet.  The procedure is usually carried out by a veterinarian and is quick and painless.  The chip carries information which is readable by a chip reader, particularly a code which can then be checked against an owners register which can then be used to trace the owner if the pet has turned up at a pound or the police in the event if goes missing.

Kristen Thompson, customer care tech, scans a cat in search of a microchip to identify the pet's owner. (Post / John Leyba)

The Pros

The advantages of inserting a microchip in your pet are numerous:

• As we have already said, the procedure is quick and causes no pain for your pet;
• It is highly effective in returning pets to their owners when they go missing;
• The presence of the microchip and the information contained on the chip register demonstrates who owns the pet in the event someone else takes your missing animal in and decides to give them a “new home”;
• Microchips are usually used for cats and dogs but they are also eminently suitable for a wide range of other pets and animals, including livestock;
• The chip reader information is always clear and will never fade unlike a tattoo;
• Chipping your pet is permanent unlike using a collar and tag; and
• Shelters and the police will automatically scan a found pet to see if the animal has a chip.

Chipping your pet dramatically increases the odds of being reunited with them if they go missing compared to traditional forms of finding a missing animal.

This is not to say that there aren’t any drawbacks to the micro-chipping your pet.

The Cons

• Some microchips are not readable by different types of chip reader, so even if your pet is chipped, unless the shelter is operating the appropriate type of reader, your pet’s microchip may not actually be detected and read;
• Microchips are not visible and there is nothing to say that a pet has been chipped unless there is an additional identifying tag on their collar, though collars and tags may be lost as well – this leads to the possibility that your pet may be “adopted” by the finder who may be blissfully unaware you own the pet;
• The owner must keep the register updated with their contact information and frequently there are costs involved in maintaining the entry and for making any changes to it;
• The chip can migrate within your pet’s body which may make it impossible to read with a scanner;
• Microchips are not GPS tracking devices, so they do not give the animal’s position if it goes missing though many people assume this is in fact the case;
• The technology is not widely known to the general public who may therefore not know that the pet should be scanned in the first place – this means it is essential to still tag your pet and also to make it clear that there is microchip inserted; and
• When a pet does go missing, owners with an animal which has been chipped tend to assume the pet will be returned to them because of this.  As a result, they neglect to take action to locate their pet themselves, such as calling the shelters and placing missing posters around the neighborhood.

Asset Tags by Maverick Label – Mark Trumper

It isn’t often that reading a label will make you sick, but there are exceptions!

Reading labels on medicines has been identified as one cause of phantom illnesses ranging from serious diseases, such as cancer, to minor ailments such as a bout of flu – the latest is the rise in the number of cases of swine flu which fortunately, turn out to be nothing more than a sniffle.

One warning sign is when the doctor writes on your prescription, “Oink, Oink, Boom!”, which is the sound a flying pig makes breaking the sound barrier!

Medications are big business in the US with billions of dollars spent on drugs which are prescribed or are available over the counter.  By law, every medication must come with a label which highlights what the medicine is to be used for and possible side effects or contra-indications.  Frequent side effects are quoted as headaches, fatigue, dizziness, feeling sleepy or having difficulty concentrating.  All are vague in their nature but when they are coupled with warnings that some patients may suffer from an increased risk of something more serious, a stroke or cardiac episode, the effect of reading the label combined with an overactive imagination can lead people to believe they have something  more sinister.

The culprit is how the mind works, and psychiatrists have identified a condition termed the “nocebo effect”.  This is the opposite of a placebo – a placebo will make you feel better though it may be a pill containing nothing more medical or therapeutic than powdered milk.  Nocebos actually invoke feelings of ill-health even though there is, in fact, nothing wrong with the patient, but before you think this is quackery, nocebos can be fatal!

One example of the effect of a nocebo is contained in a study conducted in the 1960’s.  Patients were given a glass of sugar water and told that this would make them vomit as part of a procedure to study their stomachs.  Though there was nothing in the glass except sugar and water, 80% of those taking the drink did in fact throw up immediately afterwards.

Research into nocebos has been limited, not least because with a study group, illnesses will be induced because of the power of suggestion.  The Framingham Heart Study followed a group of women over several decades who believed they were part of a high risk group for heart attacks.  The result of the study was that those women who believed they were in a high risk group had a fatality rate four times higher than those women in the same risk category but who were not told of this fact.  Fear played a part in bringing about the condition precisely because they had been informed of the fact.

An Italian study into men and the taking of medication, found that those men who read the label on the medicine which had been doctored to warn of “erectile dysfunction”, reported a far higher incidence of the condition.  Reading the label and especially, reading about the side effects and what the medication is designed to prevent does in fact result in a far greater incidence of the conditions warned of than those who remain blissfully ignorant – a case of “Don’t Read the Label!”

Mark Trumper

Labels for All Occasions

Labels and stickers have never been cheaper or easier to source and no matter what you need, you should be able to find a print and design partner who can deliver what you need, at the price you demand and without sacrificing quality.  You are only restricted by your own imagination though many printers will offer a very wide range of designs and templates for you to use if you want something quickly – still, there is always scope for your own personal touch given the technology available today.

Many online websites are offering cheap printed labels and other services but you should establish who you are dealing with before you place the order and part with your hard earned cash. You are strongly advised to deal with a US based supplier who will also be directly responsible for producing your order; many online web suppliers are actually sub-contracting the print work overseas, particularly to the Far East, where print work is conducted on old presses (usually sold off as obsolete from the US and elsewhere back in the 1970’s and 1980’s) – the quality is poor, the environmental impact is extremely high and you have very little control over the print process with extended turnaround times and almost no recourse if something goes wrong.

The moral of this story is to buy American!

Many people never even consider how a label can help them in the first instance so here is a brief list of typical label orders which can be fulfilled by a competent print and design partner – remember it will serve you well if you can keep work with the same supplier because it will reduce lead times, decrease design team input and as a supplier gets to know you better, they will be able to help you that much better too.

Here’s the list:

• Barcode labels
• Anniversary labels and seals
• Shipping labels
• Cheap or Value Labels
• Control Panel Graphic Overlays
• Custom integrated Shipping Labels
• Bespoke or Custom Labels
• Custom Wine Labels
• Parking Permits and Stickers
• Custom Short Run Labels
• Embossed Labels
• Four Color Process or CMYK Labels
• Hang Tags
• Medical and Veterinarian Office Labels
• Oil Change Stickers
• Personalized ID Tags
• Short Run Custom Labels
• Waterproof Labels
• Window Decals

In addition there is a growing interest in the personal use of labels and stickers.  It is quite common for orders to be placed for personalized stickers for kids; anniversary and birthday occasions; Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4^th July and New Years celebratory tags and sometimes any old occasion just for the fun of it such as a personalized beer label when you are having a family get-together.  Wine buffs have been getting in on the cheap label act by personalizing their wine for serving at table or weddings and such – it is a lot cheaper and is easier than you may think!

As we said at the very beginning, you are only restricted by your imagination in terms of what you have on the labels and stickers you want and what you are going to use them for – and it is definitely not going to break the bank either.

CMYK or Full Color Label Ordering

Full color label ordering has become a whole lot easier with new technology and the internet making communication so much faster.  Now you can expect to submit your order and receive proofs for the job the next day with a short turnaround time to order fulfillment.

CMYK (which stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (which stands for Black because the other colors are “keyed” against this one) present certain technical issues for the print partner when it comes to ordering, proofing and production.  As a result, many online websites offering full-color printing tend to outsource the work to third parties which is not cost-effective for you as someone else is increasing the margin at your expense and you have less direct control over the process than when you are dealing with the printer fulfilling the order.

Today, all you need is your artwork and access to the internet and with a few clicks you’ll be on your way.  Make a list of what you need to do. You can start your order with as little as 250 units for a standard print run though you can get less than this if you consult with your print partner.  You can also expect a very fast turnaround time from proof acceptance to delivery typically between 3 and 5 days.

You can streamline the design process for your full-color labels by using the template designs and shapes which many established online printers and design shops now offer.  Don’t be afraid to use your own imagination but you can drastically reduce the turnaround time by sticking to templates and established designs which will help you print partner to fulfill the order that much faster.

You can also include one-time or variable data such as serial numbers with or without barcode labels or variable text which will include a different data record, for example a vehicle registration number.  If you have specific requirements which may at first sight appear to be problematic you should always  consult with your print and design partners because they will most likely have encountered the same or similar issues many times before with other clients.

You should also consider the use of laminate materials for superior finish and to increase the life of the label and the laminate process will also avoid smearing of the inks used to maintain a crisp image over the working life of the piece. you can of course, choose a non-laminate finish but there is also a UV varnish which can provide the same look but give the same anti-smear protection as a laminate.

Finally, you also should consider whether you are going to have these labels applied by hand or by machine; this will in turn determine whether you want the labels supplied in roll labels or as separate pieces.  Machines use roll technology to apply the labels in many instances but you will also need to determine the core size of the rolls you will need to have them wrapped around – typically 1 and 3 inch cores are used but again, consult with your print and design partner if you have a different set of requirements.

Reasons to Buy Your Labels and Stickers Online

Buying labels and stickers has never been easier with the advent of the internet and now there are more reasons than ever to click the mouse and place an order – it is really so simple and so very, very cheap!

Sourcing your stickers and labels online is convenient because you can do this whenever you want to – you don’t need to set time aside in a busy, hectic work schedule to get what can be a mundane chore done – order in the middle of the night, first thing in the morning or anytime you want to – the choice is all yours.  When it comes to convenience, nothing beats the internet for putting you in control.

The price is another major reason for sourcing labels online – a good printer will use the internet to reduce their own production costs and in turn will pass on the enormous savings created to you, the customer, in the form of big discounts.  It is not unusual for discounts of 50% or more to be found using online based print and design partners when compared to traditional shop-based suppliers.

A note of caution here – price is important but so is quality, delivery and customer service.  You have to be careful because many online suppliers are actually simply acting as a middleman and outsourcing the orders they receive to third party printers so they can take a cut – this does not pass on the full discounts available in the pricing and you lose control of the quality aspect of the order.  Turnaround times are also longer in these instances and if there is a mistake in the order you are unlikely to have effective or practical recourse.

Online ordering is very simple and provides an enormous amount of flexibility as well as reducing the lead time involved in putting the design and artwork together.  Artwork can now be simply emailed to the printer (though you should check with each supplier for any particular requirements they have for file formats and sizes) and the resulting proof can be rapidly turned around and emailed straight back to you.  You should note that the colors that are produced by proofs may not be truly replicated by your computer monitor but this is usually very marginal and does not impact on the process or finished products.

In addition to the ordering and proofing process, you should be able to gain access to past orders you have made with the print supplier using the online portal – this will allow you to use previous files, designs and proofs from past projects which will result in faster turnaround times and the potential for reduced costs to you.  You may also need to have labels and bumper stickers delivered to multiple delivery addresses and in varying quantities and frequency for repeat orders – a good quality online portal will provide this functionality with simple one- or two-clicks of your mouse.  Once you have finalized your design and agreed the proofs and the order has been placed and is on the way to being fulfilled you will want to track the order through production and delivery and again, nothing beats an online system for enabling you to do this.

How many times have you looked at the Stars and Stripes only to see “Made in China” plastered somewhere not so discretely out of sight as I ought to be?

Let’s be clear – America is hurting and American jobs have been axed by the millions over the last twelve months and it is not going to get easier any time soon.  If we are to put America back on track we have to start thinking about creating jobs and keeping work right here at home first before cheaper and poorer quality plants are established overseas to siphon off more jobs and create more inferior imports to be shipped back here.

Buying American should be the first choice and necessity for every business and consumer here at home and the best way we can encourage buyers to buy American is making sure they know it’s American to begin with!  That means labeling every product and package which is shipped out of your plant and sold from your shop so the consumer knows who made it – American workers!

Sourcing “Made in America” labels is extremely cheap but there is a massive demand for American products right now because the consumer knows buying home-produced goods is on a par with being environmentally friendly.  Labeling your goods as “Made in America” is a positive marketing tool to use right now because you can channel the patriotic consumerism to your benefit which is something many foreign importers have been trying to do in increasing numbers as they too have felt the economic squeeze on their margins.

Do not make the foul mistake of sourcing your “Made in America” labels from overseas – there’s usually something about them which will give you away and in any event, you are asking your customers to buy American and you should too!

Sourcing labels is easy – go online – but beware, because many online label sources and printers are simply outsourcing the printing work to cheap, overseas outlets who sacrifice quality in order to deliver on the price promise.  For a crisp printing rendition of Old Glory, make sure you use a quality printer who operates modern printing techniques and can offer price with a fast turnaround.

You can also customize your Made in America labels and stickers by including your company name and your choice of wording, typically the town and state where your business is based is usual but there is no real restriction on this except your imagination.  You should be looking to pay no more than $100 for a 500 minimum order and certainly no more than $650 for a bulk order of 25,000 which brings the unit cost down to less than 3 cents per label.  For this you will be getting a quality embossed Made in USA sticker, using silver leaf foil with patriotic red, white and blue colors and a wide variety of styles for you to quickly design your own label and you should also expect free reprinting if the printer gets the wording wrong (but be careful because there are usually no proofs used in these instances to keep the prices down).

by M. Trumper, Mavericklabel.com,  buy your labels online

Wine bottle labels contain a lot of important information but while some wineries place a great deal of store and branding credibility on their wine label designs, many others simply don’t bother at all and let the wine do all the talking.  No matter where a winery stands on the use of wine bottle labels for marketing purposes, what information must be included is governed by a host of different laws and regulations which vary depending on the type of wine and most particularly, where the wine has been produced.

First of all, wine bottle labels do not have any impact on the quality of the wine in the bottle; in this respect, those producers who let the wine stand or fall on its own merits have the moral high ground but enjoying wine is simply about drinking it – it is the ambiance, the social setting and the sharing with friends and family.  In this light, an elegant bottle with a well-designed win bottle label simply adds to the sense of occasion which is being created around the simple act of sharing a glass of wine or two.

A counter view is that many younger drinkers tend to be put off by use of terms such as “Chateaux” or “Pouilly-Fusee”; regarding these terms as out-of-date and anachronistic – in other words, such old school wine terms do not go down well with younger, hipster generations.  Branding and proprietal wine bottle labels do become important in this regard, if a winery is looking to be successful in selling its produce.  The success of New World wines amongst US and younger drinkers has a lot to do with the playful simplicity of wine bottle labeling adopted by the wineries.

Now we’ve established that the look of the wine bottle and label have nothing to do with the drinking quality of the wine, let’s take a look at what is important when you read a wine label.

Country distinctions are apparent as different countries have different classification systems and regulations governing what a wine can claim to be.

France has long held onto the international reputation as the gold standard for wine production and classification with a system of “Appellation Controllee”; literally, controlling the name of the wine.  This system of wine classification is often confusing and intimidating to buyers who are unlikely to know that in Bordeaux there are 151 chateaux appellations while Burgundy has 110 – many buyers would not know where either region or area is on a map of France never mind what the differences are which establish the criteria for each appellation.  Spanish and Portuguese wineries guarantee authenticity by using a seal on the wine bottle label or by use of a band over the cork and which is overseen by the local wine growers association.  German wine labels are renowned for the detail they must carry including quality and style – a rough guide is that the longer the name of a German wine, the better quality it is.

New World wines are much more simplistic and contain clearer information for consumers notably, what the wine is, where it originates from and the grape variety.  Many winemakers in the US and Australia have moved away from using generic names for their wines because of the threat of litigation from the Old World areas where the name originates from, Champagne being a very good example.

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Whether you are an established business sending products to customers through the mail or a first-time seller on eBay looking to clear out the garage, getting the shipping basics correct is vital if you expect to make money and enjoy satisfied customers rather than paying out for the bad publicity and having your day consumed by an irate buyer.

First off, get the shipping label right!

The shipping label needs to clearly identify who the recipient is, there address and whether they have to sign for the package on delivery.  It should also contain precise and simple instructions on what to do in the event the recipient is not available to collect the package or it cannot be delivered – your return address and telephone contact number are the bare minimums required here.

It is not unusual for shipping labels to utilize barcode technology to enable efficient tracking of the package using an online tracking system which you may give your customer access to so they can see for themselves where the package delivery is within the schedule.

Secondly, packing materials are frequently second-rate or the packing method used is not effective.  Make sure you use appropriate packing materials for the contents of the package – it is pointless shipping a fragile object wrapped in newspaper and then left to rattle around a box which is too large for the item it contains.  Making sure you use good quality packing materials is essential not only for the protection of the item, but also for your reputation as a seller with your customers.

Another important point to remember is that if you ever have a need to claim on insurance for any loss or damage caused in transit, the insurance company will probably want to see that you used a properly addressed shipping label with good packaging.  Insurance is not there to cover improperly addressed and packaged goods but to compensate when they are damaged in transit – you as the insured must take all reasonable steps to ensure loss does not occur.

Another hint is to make sure that if you are sending fragile or delicate items, you must make sure this is clearly visible on the packaging.  Combining a brightly colored warning sign with your shipping label is a good way of making sure you have all the materials in one place that you need to address and warn the handlers and recipients of what is contained.

By far the most effective method for making sure your package gets from A to B is to concentrate on the shipping label.  The mail service can work wonders with minimal information, but you can ensure a faster delivery time if the information they need is available to them clearly and easily; it goes without saying that if the recipient information is not clear or is lost, the package not likely to be delivered in the first instance!  When you are sourcing shipping labels and packaging materials, consult with your print partner for the best method to achieve the results you are looking for and especially if you are shipping delicate or non-standard items.