The Challenges of Printing Waterproof Labels
As you probably are aware, not all labels are created equally, particularly when soaked in water. Some labels will fall off in water, and on others the ink printed on the label can bleed off to such an extent that you cannot even recognise the original writing. There are several ways that you can acquire true waterproof labels for use when you need them. Many times you will need to print labels that need to be waterproof. If you have a laser printer, this can be very convenient. There are a wide variety of polyester labels that are completely waterproof once you have printed them on a laser printer. However, if you have an inkjet printer finding high quality waterproof labels is more complex. You cannot use polyester in an inkjet printer, so vinyl labels are made as a substitute. However, these could at best be described as water resistant and not waterproof. These labels all have a top surface that is designed to prevent the ink from bleeding out when applied. Unfortunately, if you use too much ink in printing, some ink can bleed when exposed to water. To prevent problems with these vinyl labels you should adjust your inkjet settings to limit the amount of ink applied to the paper. You can also expose the label to cold water several minutes after printing to try to wash off any ink that was not properly absorbed before it sets. Additionally, you can supplement the top coating by applying your own using a product such as Krylon's Preserve It. This same trick can be used to dramatically cut the cost of creating water resistant labels if you are only looking for superficial waterproofing and do not need to be worried about it being submerged for extended periods of time. Simply buy plain white paper labels and print on them as you would any label. Then apply the varnish coating to supply the top coat that prevents bleeding. Any time you apply a top coating you need to make extra sure that the surface is clean first. Otherwise if you have small marks like fingerprints, they might all of a sudden become more prominently visible. After you shake the can, hold it about six inches from the label and make sure you cover the surface evenly. Do not apply so much that any drips off the surface. The coating should dry after it has set for 15 minutes. If you want to be absolutely sure that your labels turn out correctly, you can always outsource the printing to a reliable third party such as a FedEx or a UPS Store. This will cost a little bit more money,