High Resolution Bar Codes – Kapton Labels?

If you are in the electronics industry, you probably have to use Kapton (polyimide film) label material to ensure that your labels survive the temperatures and solvents found in the manufacturing process.

As electronic components continue to get smaller, the need for information is increasing, meaning that the Kapton labels have to be printed with high resolution barcodes.

Since a lot of the Kapton based laminates used for electronics labeling were designed some years ago, they were never intended to perform well with 600 DPI label printers – often resulting in poor quality printed barcodes. However, not all Kapton labels are entirely the same.

Various adhesives and topcoats (ink receptive coatings) are made available on the base Kapton material and should be used in certain applications.

In particular, matching the appropriate topcoat with the printing method is crucial to ensuring high quality bar codes. For high performance printers that deliver 400 or 600 dpi (dots per inch) Winco ID has a range of Kapton label materials that have been specially engineered to give the best possible image quality for both barcodes and text.

As a bonus these new Kapton label materials are designed to handle the extra temperatures encountered in a RoHS lead free manufacturing process.

So, while you may be tempted to tweak your printer, blame the printer manufacturer, or call your service provider, consider if you have the right Kapton label to get the best results. For more information, or for help selecting the right bar code label for your application call me at 800-325-5260 ext 257, or email to john@labelingnews.com.

Kapton® is a registered trademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.