Vinyl labels have long been a mainstay for the printing industry because of their excellent tear, chemical, and moisture resistance. On top of that, they are highly conformable, cost-effective, and are perfect for outdoor applications.

But they’ve been getting a bad rap lately.  Environmental concerns involving the European Union’s RoHS and REACH Directives have put vinyl, particularly PVC, under the microscope. Most vinyl products contain phthalate plasticizers, a chemical compound certainly no stranger to controversy, but which dramatically improves flexibility and cold temperature performance. Vinyl also requires heat stabilizers that could contain derivatives of heavy metals such as lead or cadmium, not to mention flame retardants, smoke suppressors, and other additives during the manufacturing process.

Will vinyl labels soon become extinct?

The demands of RoHS and REACH, as well as the changes in printing technologies, have led to the extensive development of PVC label alternatives, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, and other polyolefins. While these choices are often powerful alternatives, they each come with their own limitations. For instance, polypropylene is not suitable for long-term outdoor exposure.

Vinyl labels will continue to sell, however. They’re a top choice for bumper stickers, decals, and warning labels because they are cost effective. Their conformability allows for application on a wide variety of surfaces including tightly curved areas. While they tend to tear a bit more easily than some other plastics and they are not quite as chemical resistant, simply adding a protective over laminate is an easy remedy. They are perfect for GHS Drum labels.  Thanks to special topcoats, you can achieve high resolution printing with thermal transfer, inkjet, and laser printers.

We stock a variety of vinyl label materials for many applications: