Brief History of Labels

Labels are a crucial part of the world we live in. Whether they feature addresses on packages, clearly identify individual products or tell us exactly what is within a tin of food, labels are a key part of our everyday lives.

They have also evolved over some 150 years from simple paper labels enabling product identification to the sticky back variety in the 1930s', to the digital versions you find today.

Labels first appeared in Europe in the early 1880s' with one simple goal - to catch the eye of consumers with stylish designs and fonts. With the commercial marketplace rapidly growing, businessmen found themselves with more competition than ever before. As such, they had to make their products stand out in the marketplace and labels were the answer. Using gum to stick them to their products, sellers hired artists to create labels that would draw attention to their wares; and of course, they needed printing and lithography was used to produce them. It was not long before every market in Europe were using labels on wine bottles, food cans or even for cigarette packaging.

Labels soon made their way across the Atlantic where they evolved into how we think of them today. During the 1930s', an American businessman called R. Stanton Avery financed and produced the worlds first self-adhesive label. As well as having a paper front, the label had an adhesive rear that allowed shop owners to easily and efficiently place them on all their products. Avery’s business boomed and his development in silicone-based release liners transformed the industry making sticky labels, a crucial part in the marketplace whilst remaining simple to use.

Printing is also a crucial part of label conversion and over the past 30 years, the growth of printers, both in industry and in the home has transformed how people use them. The rise of home computers has seen more and more inkjet printers feature as an essential asset, and those running businesses from home, has made label printing an increasingly domestic process rather than industrial. It has transformed how labels are used with many people printing them for mailing lists or simplifying their Christmas cards. There was however a momentary slump in the market as the price of inkjet printers and ink started to rise; but as templates for label printing became more common, with Microsoft Word, making the whole process so much easier, its popularity soared again.

Even more so, the growth of laser printers has made the whole printing of labels at home, one of higher quality and easier with many people able to afford and launch home based businesses and distribute their wares directly. The ease of label printing and the number of companies online that offer bulk purchasing or the design of personalized labels has seen high growth in home-based businesses in recent years.