Asset Tracking That Survives Heat & Solvents: Linerless on the Factory Floor
Tracking PCBs and metal parts through curing ovens and solvent baths is impossible with standard paper labels. High-performance linerless films enable continuous, waste-free serialization that survives the harshest process windows.
Process Reality
Short-term temperatures can spike to 537C during reflow or curing. Parts are also cleaned with aggressive solvents such as Xylene and Acetone. Conventional adhesives liquefy, and inkjet or direct thermal images disappear.
The Linerless Specification
- Substrate: Polyimide or high-grade polyester linerless film maintains dimensional stability under heat.
- Ribbon: Resin formulations like Zebra Image Lock fuse to the film, delivering chemical and abrasion resistance.
- Adhesive: High-temperature, permanent adhesive bonds to metal and FR-4 without residue post-process.
Why Continuous Rolls Help
A linerless roll carries more labels, so engineering teams can print sequential 2D codes without mid-run changeovers. That keeps serialization aligned with build records and reduces handling errors on takt-driven lines.
Deployment Tips
- Print validation: run sample parts through your full thermal/chemical cycle and verify barcode grades after each stage.
- Adhesion audit: check for edge lift on small PCB real estate; switch to smaller radii cuts if needed.
- Traceability: log ribbon, media lot, and oven profile in your traveller to prove label robustness during audits.
With the right film and resin pairings, linerless labels become a reliable asset tag that lives through heat, solvents, and sterilisation - keeping your process data intact.