Unfortunately, labels and materials have an expiration date; however, there’s a difference between how long a label is built to last (service life) and how long the material itself is good for (shelf life).
Here’s the difference:
Shelf Life:
- This refers to how long a manufacturer can hold onto unused material before it can no longer be used to manufacture a reliable solution.
- We have some material in stock; however, we usually order materials as needed.
- A reliable manufacturer will monitor how long materials have been in stock in order to prevent the quality of a label from being compromised.
Service Life:
- This is the minimum length of time a label is built to last, not the maximum.
- Based on your unique requirements, our label solutions specialists will provide you with a solution built to perform in its intended environment.
- For example, a label that will be applied to a machine outside that needs to be waterproof or endure extremely cold temperatures will be manufactured differently than one applied to a file kept indoors and used as a tamper-evident label.
