Label Shrinkage - PSA (1 Viewer)

Wifey

GEAR LABELS
Site Vendor
Joined
Nov 12, 2014
Messages
481
Reaction score
2,495
Location
Canada
Hey everyone - this is something I have had to type out a few times so I thought I would put out a PSA.

Shrinkage.png


There is such a thing as shrinkage!
These labels are little circles cut out of large sheets of stretchy vinyl that are 20" wide and over a hundred feet long...
The backing this vinyl is put on gives little to no resistance, to ensure easy removal.

This means there is nothing to resist the very stretchy vinyl from contracting/shrinking in size, since there isn't a wide spread out force holding it on the backing.
We actually factor this shrinkage in when cutting unlaminated labels meant for over labelling. They experience this phenomena the most.

Laminate applied on top helps reduce and slow the process, but those labels shrink up over time too.

Once the labels are applied to the chip, this is no longer a major issue.
The adhesive against the hard surface of the chip is enough resistance to prevent shrinkage for both laminated and unlaminated labels alike.

The longer your labels stay on the sheets and not applied to the chips, the more likely it is the size of the label will be smaller than expected or desired.

I feel like there should be some sort of GI Joe reference here...but I never watched that so I can't say for sure.
(I was an old school Spiderman cartoon fan. It was on at the same time on Saturdays where I grew up.)
 
Hey everyone - this is something I have had to type out a few times so I thought I would put out a PSA.

View attachment 934698

There is such a thing as shrinkage!
These labels are little circles cut out of large sheets of stretchy vinyl that are 20" wide and over a hundred feet long...
The backing this vinyl is put on gives little to no resistance, to ensure easy removal.

This means there is nothing to resist the very stretchy vinyl from contracting/shrinking in size, since there isn't a wide spread out force holding it on the backing.
We actually factor this shrinkage in when cutting unlaminated labels meant for over labelling. They experience this phenomena the most.

Laminate applied on top helps reduce and slow the process, but those labels shrink up over time too.

Once the labels are applied to the chip, this is no longer a major issue.
The adhesive against the hard surface of the chip is enough resistance to prevent shrinkage for both laminated and unlaminated labels alike.

The longer your labels stay on the sheets and not applied to the chips, the more likely it is the size of the label will be smaller than expected or desired.

I feel like there should be some sort of GI Joe reference here...but I never watched that so I can't say for sure.
(I was an old school Spiderman cartoon fan. It was on at the same time on Saturdays where I grew up.)
Wow, I was just thinking about that yesterday. Given that my chip inlays have not yet been removed and I recently received the labels. About how long do I have before shrinkage sets in?
 
Wow, I was just thinking about that yesterday. Given that my chip inlays have not yet been removed and I recently received the labels. About how long do I have before shrinkage sets in?
The short answer is: We don't know.

The longer non answer is: It depends.
Size of label (RHC vs. SCV), laminate type, if any, play roles.
It also depends on your personal perception of what is tolerable or not.

We are big proponents of the scientific methods of testing, and we have not done any of that to come up with any hard data.
(I swear no pun intended! Well OK I saw the pun after and didn't change it...)

Our loose un-proven recommendations would be:
Laminated labels, we wouldn't leave it longer than a month or so.
Unlaminated...get those applied ASAP.

Of course your mileage may vary...I am sure there are a plethora of people on both sides of this fence willing to prove us right or wrong.
 
FWIW, I just applied laminated labels to chips last week that were at least four years old and I didn't notice any size/shrinkage issues.
Good to know!
We have seen it most with unlaminated...but have not been able to rule out laminated so best to warn for all.

For "Hard Data" sake...What size (SCV or RHC) and what laminate type?
 
Good to know!
We have seen it most with unlaminated...but have not been able to rule out laminated so best to warn for all.

For "Hard Data" sake...What size (SCV or RHC) and what laminate type?

SCV, textured lamination
 
I visited to see Costanza...
I was not disappointed....
 
Wish this had been posted a while ago

I had some labels I didn’t get around to
Maybe from a year ago
They shrunk
ALOT

To the point they look weird now trying to use them
That makes me a little concerned for the ones already applied…is the label going to try to shrink and fight it against the adhesive?
 
That makes me a little concerned for the ones already applied…is the label going to try to shrink and fight it against the adhesive?

From @Wifey above
Once the labels are applied to the chip, this is no longer a major issue.
The adhesive against the hard surface of the chip is enough resistance to prevent shrinkage for both laminated and unlaminated labels alike.


(somehow *I* screwed up quoting this properly... :oops:)
 
Wish this had been posted a while ago
So do we!
It is hard to know before people start sending in the questions as to why their labels are too small...
We didn't realize so many labels we sent out didn't get applied!

We don't have many labels just hanging around.
If we print some for ourselves, we apply them.
Our sample sets are intentionally cut small, to make sure they fit into all inlay recess areas.

This kind of issue takes time to show up.
Once I sent out this explanation more than once, I made sure to post it.

In regards to shrinkage after application:

I won't say none, but it is minimal.
My hard evidence is our Stardust 25¢ overlabel of the T1000.
Stardust overlabel 8 years later..JPG

This was our test label 8 years ago, to see if overlabelling could be done!
We applied these as a test run, then used them to see if there were any stacking/spinner issues.
I took this picture today...

So yes there is a bit of space there, we don't have a "before" photo to make a direct comparison.
But in my eyes this is just fine 8 years down the line.
 
So do we!
It is hard to know before people start sending in the questions as to why their labels are too small...
We didn't realize so many labels we sent out didn't get applied!

We don't have many labels just hanging around.
If we print some for ourselves, we apply them.
Our sample sets are intentionally cut small, to make sure they fit into all inlay recess areas.

This kind of issue takes time to show up.
Once I sent out this explanation more than once, I made sure to post it.

In regards to shrinkage after application:

I won't say none, but it is minimal.
My hard evidence is our Stardust 25¢ overlabel of the T1000.
View attachment 975582
This was our test label 8 years ago, to see if overlabelling could be done!
We applied these as a test run, then used them to see if there were any stacking/spinner issues.
I took this picture today...

So yes there is a bit of space there, we don't have a "before" photo to make a direct comparison.
But in my eyes this is just fine 8 years down the line.
This is great news!
My initial concern was that over time, the shrinkage would win out over the adhesive and it might begin to peel. So great to see that is NOT the case.
Thanks for the confirmation!
 
Boo...
Looks like size does matter too.

Rieguy and Bentax both didn't have problems...their situation was:
  • 11 months or so with Textured laminate for the TH&C size (see the above thread posts)
  • 4 year or so with Textured laminate for the TH&C size (see the above thread posts)
As for HaRDHouSeiNC in the photo above, our records show this was:
  • 12 months or so, with a smooth laminate for the RHC size.
Well I guess this is a good PSA in general.
I say this because all after market labels, regardless of manufacturer, come on big rolls of vinyl and get cut out, just like ours.
In fact ours is likely the smallest roll out there!

Now we know...and knowing is half the battle.
 
The short answer is: We don't know.

The longer non answer is: It depends.
Size of label (RHC vs. SCV), laminate type, if any, play roles.
It also depends on your personal perception of what is tolerable or not.

We are big proponents of the scientific methods of testing, and we have not done any of that to come up with any hard data.
(I swear no pun intended! Well OK I saw the pun after and didn't change it...)

Our loose un-proven recommendations would be:
Laminated labels, we wouldn't leave it longer than a month or so.
Unlaminated...get those applied ASAP.

Of course your mileage may vary...I am sure there are a plethora of people on both sides of this fence willing to prove us right or wrong.
I sure hope the 800 or so labels that have been sitting on my shelf the past half year waiting for me to get around to murdering all those chips aren’t useless now. :oops:
 
I sure hope the 800 or so labels that have been sitting on my shelf the past half year waiting for me to get around to murdering all those chips aren’t useless now. :oops:
They won't be useless. They'll just be a little extra chip showing on the side.
Some people like seeing a little side-chip. :sneaky:

But seriously, you have to look close to see it.
20220627_215255~2.jpg
 
They won't be useless. They'll just be a little extra chip showing on the side.
Some people like seeing a little side-chip. :sneaky:

But seriously, you have to look close to see it.
View attachment 1007356
That's a pretty huge gap to me. More than I'd want to live with.

I guess I'll have to get around to murdering those chips and, worst case, re-order all the labels...
 
That's a pretty huge gap to me. More than I'd want to live with.

I guess I'll have to get around to murdering those chips and, worst case, re-order all the labels...

If you can get the label centered in the recess, then it will be way less noticeable. I put this label on with one edge against the other side of the inlay recess.

But yeah, re-ordering is a sure-fire way to avoid the gaps.
 
For hard data's sake, Carnth's labels were:
  • delivered around 7 months ago, cut for RHC with smooth laminate
 
I have textured labels for THCs from ~2 years ago and haven't noticed any change in label size
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom