Self-adhesive printing is a type of printing using paper, film, or other special materials as the face stock, coated with adhesive on the back, and with a silicone-coated release liner as the backing. The products are mainly product labels and signs, and are therefore often referred to as trademark printing or label printing.
Self-adhesive material is a three-layer composite material, consisting of a surface substrate (printing surface), a silicone-coated release layer (backing liner), and an adhesive layer. During printing, special rolls of material pre-fabricated by paper processing plants are used. Self-adhesive is pre-coated on the back of the substrate (besides paper, this also includes metal foil, film, etc.) and adhered to the easily peelable release liner. After printing, die-cutting and other processing are usually done in-line. To use, the finished product is simply peeled off from the backing liner and pasted.
Self-adhesive labels have various other names in the industry, commonly including self-adhesive labels, instant labels, pressure-sensitive paper, etc.
Based on the main printing methods, self-adhesive label printing can be divided into offset printing (lithographic printing), screen printing, hot stamping, letterpress printing, and gravure printing. Offset printing (lithographic printing) can be further subdivided according to printing plate size, number of colors printed per pass, whether it supports double-sided printing, and the brand of the printing press.
With technological advancements, digital printing is increasingly used in the self-adhesive label industry, meeting the needs of small-batch, customized, and variable data printing. Furthermore, printing technology is continuously developing towards higher precision and intelligence; for example, high-speed water-based label printing presses with a maximum printing resolution of 1200dpi × 1200dpi have emerged, along with intelligent solutions integrating AI quality inspection and end-to-end digital production.