Guides
Lab labelling guides
How to label things so the label is still there, and still readable, when someone needs it.
Labelling fails in a few predictable ways, and almost none of them are about what was written on the label. A cryovial label comes off because it was applied to a cold vial. A reagent label goes unreadable because a direct thermal print met 70% ethanol. A freezer label lifts because water has been freezing under its edge. These guides are about what breaks, and what to do instead.
- How to label lab reagentsMost reagent labelling standards fail because they ask for too much. A standard people follow beats a complete one they do not.
- How to print cryo labelsCryogenic label failure is nearly always an application problem wearing a materials problem's clothes.
- Lab label size guideEvery label size table on the internet tells you the dimensions. This one also tells you how much text will actually fit in them, measured rather than guessed.
- Ethanol-resistant labelsA label wiped with 70% ethanol twice a day is being tested harder than one in a freezer. The print gives up long before the adhesive does.
- Labels for −80 °C freezersA −80 °C freezer is not simply cold. It is cold, wet, and cycled — and it is the cycling that takes labels off.
- Thermal vs laser lab labelsThe choice is usually made on price per label and regretted on durability. Here is what each method actually gives you.