Thermal labels are used in many industries but are particularly popular in the areas of freight & logistics as well as retail information labelling where they are overprinted using thermal printers . Labels can be printed using direct thermal (by applying heat directly onto special stock to imprint the image on the label) or thermal transfer (by using a thermal ribbon to lay the image on the label).

Retail information labelling use a combination of thermal direct and thermal transfer stock for price marking & scale labels when catch-weight labelling. By printing on pre-printed base labels it allows you to have multi-coloured base labels that can be both decorative and informative while maintaining your branding. Popular in delicatessans and fruit shops they have expanded from the traditional labelling of fruits and vegetables to a whole myriad of in-store products produced under local branding . The life of the label will dictate which of these methods is applicable as direct thermal tends to darken over time and exposure to light.

Many companies now use base labels for products with multiple styles where the branding is important but there are many styles with variable information and an economy is required without colour differentiation.