views http://www.bradyid.com/polyimide-infographic Labeling printed circuit boards (PCBs) for traceability can be tricky. Your labels may need to survive wash and reflow processes. In most situations they will need to be ESD-safe and some may need to have a rigidity designed for auto-apply applicators. If any of those things go wrong, your labeling efforts could be much more costly.

1. YOUR PROCESS
PROPERTIES YOU NEED
FOR
PCB LABELS:
PROPERTIES
HIGH TEMPERATURE
RESISTANCE
• Needed for pre-process labeling

2. RESISTANCE
300˚C (572˚F)
• Needed for pre-process labeling
• Labels need to survive temperatures as high as
ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE
A high performance ESD label should INCLUDE:
• ANSI Grade A topcoat
designed to dissipate
a static charge.
• Adhesive with a short
static decay time.
Labels can create a static discharge that
can ruin PCB components.

3. PROCESSES
INLINE AND BATCH
WASH SYSTEMS
AUTO-APPLY COMPATIBLE
The label topcoat and adhesive
MUST PROTECT AGAINST:
ABRASION CHEMICALS PRESSURE HEAT
Wash processes attack a label in
many different ways.

4. AUTO-APPLY COMPATIBLE
BARCODING
TRACEABILITY
BENEFITS:
• Data rich • Error correction
• Consistency • Small
• Omnidirectional • Good contrast
Label rigidity designed to lay at
to maximize performance in automation
equipment or applications.
ABRASION CHEMICALS PRESSURE HEAT
flat

5. TRACEABILITY
• Omnidirectional • Good contrast
BENEFITS:
• Reduce labor
• Reduce material waste
• Improve asset utilization
• Improve reliability
• Reduce rework
• Reduce product recall
• Reduce cost of warranty
• Improve root cause analysis
LABELING VS.
DIRECT PRODUCT MARKING
Labels are the most flexible way to
maintain traceability in manufacturing.

6. BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
BRADY
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_transfer_printingz
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Electrostatic+Discharge
http://www.europe.fasson.com/FRE/planets/deposit.nsf/vObjectStore/FINAL%2028582-1_Avery%20Brochure_EN.pdf/$file/FINAL%2028582-1_Avery%20Brochure_EN.pdf
https://www.google.com/search?q=reflow+definition&oq=reflow+definition&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.3870j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=91&ie=UTF-8
LABELING VS.
DIRECT PRODUCT MARKING
Labels are the most flexible way to
maintain traceability in manufacturing.
LABELING:
• Low capital investment
• Cost ef cient
• Easy to read
• No additional cleaning
LASER:
• High capital investment
• Marking errors increase
scrap rate
• Cost efficient