The Label Applicator: An Essential Piece of Equipment

A label applicator is an essential piece of equipment for any business that applies a large volume of labels on its products. The actual printing of the labels can be outsourced if need be, or the job can be completed in house. However, applying the labels must be done during the assembly process and since it is impractical to do such a task by hand, a label applicator is employed.

Label applicators come in various sizes and shapes in order to handle differing types of labeling jobs. The ‘top and bottom’ label applicator looks and functions similar to a flat conveyor belt. The product moves along the belt and passes through the label applicator’s arms which apply a label to either the top of the product, the bottom, or both.

The ‘front and back’ type of label applicator works similar to the ‘top and bottom’ except the product is standing upright when it passes through the applicator; therefore the labels are applied to the front and or the back.

Labels can also be applied to round shapes such as bottles using a label applicator. This process can be totally automated by running the bottles in a straight line down a belt through the applicator which rolls the bottle while adhering the label. Applying labels to odd shapes can also be accomplished in a semi automated fashion by using a roller type applicator which resembles a paint roller. The product moves through the labeling area on a conveyor belt and the labels are fed through automatically, but an operator is required to roll the label onto the product.