Plastic totes and trays have become a packaging staple as much as cartons and pallets. Totes and trays have become a critical element in warehouses where order fulfillment frequently involves processing pick and pack components with less-than-full unit-of-measure orders (i.e. less than full carton quantities). As these orders are being picked from the shelves or racks, they are placed in a plastic tote or tray.
In adjacent production functions including assembly and fabrication, totes and trays are also used to move components and completed products through the system.
The tracking and identification of totes and trays is achieved through the use of bar coded labels. Totes and trays are subjected to constant handling in a production environment. Scuffing frequently happens as they are constantly moved about. Additionally, they are frequently nested to reduce storage space, or for returning to a vendor for replenishment. As they are nested, labels will be scuffed resulting in potential scanning problems. As a result, it is recommended that the labels be over-laminated. Over-laminating the bar code image is clearly easier with preprinted labels than those printed onsite on demand.
Most plastic totes and trays are made from molded polyethylene or molded polypropylene, both having low surface energy characteristics. Plastics like polypropylene tend to bleed plasticizers over time. These plasticizers adversely affect many permanent adhesives. As a result, specific adhesives should be used to adhere to this surface. Labels with the wrong adhesive WILL fall off in a matter of weeks or months.
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