Any product is incomplete without a label. The identity of any product lies in its label and without a label it cannot be differentiated from others. A label provides all the information about the product like the name, manufacturing and expiry date, its price and moreover the ingredients of the product. This information is very vital for the customers as they rely on the facts before purchasing it.

The labeling is generally a time and labor consuming process and in the beginning it was done manually. With the introduction of labeling machines, the whole process of label dispensing and applying is done by machines. The labeling machines come in different types that would be suitable for different industries including pharmaceutical, food and beverage, cosmetic, agricultural, electronics, construction, data collection, communications etc. The machine is used for applying labels on tubes, bottles, boxes, packages with high speed, efficiency and accuracy. Several drawbacks of manual labeling like time consumption, wastage of material, rejection of label and excessive labor have been solved by the labeling machines.

The labeling machines commonly come in three types; manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic machines. A label dispenser and label applicator constitutes the labeling machine. The label dispenser dispenses the label from the back liner while the label applicator applies it to the product. The type of labeling machine is determined on the basis of the volume of the work. The labeling applicators which are small, hand-held and portable are used in small scale industries where the work volume would be less. At the same time, machines that are completely automated with the print and application process would be used in high production units.

Manufacturers select the labeling machines based on the requirement of the product, type of label and product package. The manual label dispenser is used to hold the roll of labels and to give support in pulling the backing from the label. This kind of hand held label applicators are ideal for repetitive labeling of boxes and bags. For slightly less volume of production, the semi-automatic label dispenser is used. Here the label is applied mechanically while the item to be labeled is placed in the machine manually.

Automatic labeling machines are used for high unit production where the whole process would be automated. The machine is connected to the production line of products or packages where the product directly reaches the machine. A conveyor belt is used to move the product into position as the machine senses it and applies label. Later the item would be moved to the packaging section through the belt itself. Different types of label dispensers are used to handle different products and workload.

Apart from being an information provider, the label is also used to decorate the product or its package and also to enhance the appearance of the product. A quality label attracts the attention of potential buyers thereby improving the sales and also image building for the manufacturers.

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