Cryogenic Pharma & Cold-Chain Tracing with Linerless Labels
Hospitals, biobanks, and vaccine manufacturers need labels that stay readable from the bedside printer to liquid nitrogen storage. Linerless media engineered for cryogenic duty removes liner waste while delivering the extreme durability regulators expect.
The Challenge
Deep-freeze environments can reach -196C, and sample containers are routinely sterilised in autoclaves or exposed to gamma radiation. Traditional paper labels crack, curl, or lose barcode contrast once they leave ambient conditions, risking compliance with the US Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and similar traceability rules.
Why Linerless Works in Cryogenic Labs
- Specialised films: Synthetic linerless stocks such as cryogenic-rated polyester or products like Zebra 8100T CryoCool retain flexibility and barcode legibility down to liquid nitrogen temperatures.
- Adhesive chemistry: Low-temperature adhesives stay tacky on glass, polypropylene vials, and foil pouches without delaminating after freeze–thaw cycles.
- No liner, fewer touchpoints: A continuous roll feeding a cutter (for example, Star Micronics mC-Label3) limits media handling that could compromise sterility.
Implementation Blueprint
- Pair cryo-rated linerless film with a resin ribbon optimised for chemical resistance to Xylene and Acetone, so printed codes survive histology and cleaning agents.
- Calibrate cut length for unit-dose medication, specimen aliquots, and bedside wristbands to eliminate over-labelling.
- Enable on-demand printing at the point of care - no pre-printed liner stacks that risk mix-ups or particle shedding in sterile suites.
Compliance and Quality Gains
A linerless cryogenic workflow maintains scan reliability across the cold chain, minimises foreign-object debris from discarded liners, and simplifies record-keeping for DSCSA audits. The result is fewer relabel events, higher specimen integrity, and safer bedside dosing.