The Importance of a Quality Laboratory Label

Without taking into consideration the current climate and the pandemic - it is said that more than 800 million test samples travel through the NHS domain during a ‘normal’ 12-month period, therefore traceability is crucial to managing this vast volume of test data. A freezer full of test samples - weeks' worth of research work - could easily be jeopardised due to poor quality labels, resulting in compromised traceability due to illegibility, smudging or even missing labels, causing chaos within the laboratory.

Unlabelled or spoilt specimens create extra work and further investigation to review any problems, wasting precious time and resources. This can cause inevitable delays in processing and patients are left even longer than normal awaiting test results. Choosing and managing the labelling aspect of this process is of paramount importance and should be carefully considered to ensure the success of all labelling with the laboratory environment.

For these problems to be preventable, labelling techniques need to be reviewed and ensure that the process adopted is providing the level of durability that will survive handling and multiple freeze/thaw cycles, where each scan of the barcode or 2D matrix code needs to be as good as the first scan. These are essential qualities for a label within this environment and they need to be a specialist laboratory label formulated for use in extreme cold, moisture and resistance to solvents and excessive handling.

Fine Cut’s medical labels are designed for durability, performance and quality. Manufactured from high quality materials, featuring a range of permanent and high tack adhesive combinations for long lasting performance. Catering for both short and long run batches and providing solutions for a variety of medical applications for a broad spectrum of hospital, laboratory and pharmaceutical equipment. 

To discuss your requirements, contact us today.