Robust solvent resistant printable labels for Agilent's customers

Background

Agilent Technologies is a global provider of laboratory consumables. They focus their expertise on six key markets; food, environmental and forensic, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, chemical and energy and research.

Challenge

Agilent Technologies turned to CILS to create an ultra-solvent resistant label for slide labelling kits which they sell to laboratories across the globe. They needed to be able to survive prolonged exposure and submersion in Xylene (and other aggressive solvents such as IMS and IDA) without text smudging, lifting or labels falling off the slides. It was also essential that the label would not stain when exposed to slide/tissue staining processes.

The problem with the existing slide labels used was that they had to be separately over-laminated to achieve the desired solvent resistance before slide kits could be sent out to laboratories. This over lamination process added additional cost and time to each order.

What we did

After understanding Agilent Technologies unique requirements, challenges and the impact that the current labels had on the cost and time of sending out orders and also that failed labels can have on their customers, we sent out appropriate samples so that they could be tested for resistance against 15 hours submersion in xylene.

Once we had the test data and feedback from Agilent, we could then work towards manufacturing a custom label specific to their requirements. Our label specialists created, a brand new thermal transfer printable slide label, with ultra-solvent-resistant properties when printed with a CILS RRD ribbon.

The new labels are engineered not to discolour in sample staining processes and can withstand xylene submersion for up to 15 hours without falling off the slides. Label data remains clear and legible even when exposed to temperatures ranging between -40°C and +150°C, making these labels ideally suited to histopathology and other harsh laboratory processes.

Outcome

Once the labelling solution was validated, the new label kits were supplied to Agilent Technologies and they rolled them out to sell to customers as part of their slide labelling kits.

The addition of this new label meant that Agilent Technologies were able to provide an even better kit, that would save their customers both time and money due to label related problems.