Rated for -20°F and below
BS5609 marine compliant
Apply at sub-freezing temps
Food, pharma, 3PL cold storage
Standard labels fail in cold storage. The adhesive won’t bond at sub-freezing application temperatures. Paper substrate absorbs condensation and turns to mush within weeks. Wax and wax-resin ribbons crack and flake in freezer environments. Standard rack labels delaminate at the corners after a few frost cycles. By the time anyone notices, the LPNs are unreadable and cycle count is broken across the affected zone.
Cold storage labeling is a substrate-and-adhesive engineering problem, not a print problem. Conti Systems has been working on this since 1993. We spec polyester face stock with cold-rated adhesive that bonds at sub-freezing temperatures, resin ribbon that holds up to frost cycles, and the printer configurations that actually work in a 35°F room. For BS5609 marine compliance and FDA-compliant pharma cold chain, we produce to the test passes the spec requires.
OUR EXPERTISE
Cold Storage Labeling Challenges We Solve
HARDWARE
Equipment That Works in Cold Storage
Barcode printers in cold environments fail without modification. Condensation forms on cold print engines pulled out of a chilled rest cycle, slowing ribbon transfer and degrading print quality. Battery life on scanners and mobile computers collapses below 0°F. Triggers freeze. Touch screens become unresponsive through cold-rated gloves.
We supply printers configured for cold environments (heated printheads, condensation-protected enclosures, sealed media compartments) and scanners with cold-rated batteries and gloved-hand triggers. Equipment selection for cold storage is as important as label selection — the wrong printer in a freezer is just expensive paper-jamming furniture.
OUR LABELS
Cold Storage Label Types We Produce
WHO WE SERVE
Industries We Serve in Cold Storage
Cold storage labeling is required across multiple industries with different compliance requirements and operational rhythms. We supply 3PL cold storage operations running multi-client freezer warehouses, food storage and distribution operations from production through retail delivery, pharmaceutical cold chain operations with FDA compliance overhead, and ice cream and frozen goods manufacturers running production line through finished-goods cold storage.
THE DIFFERENCE
Why Cold Storage Operations Choose Conti
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Polyester substrate with cold-rated adhesive is rated for -20°F and below in service. Specialty adhesives are rated down to -65°F for deep-freeze and cryogenic applications. We spec to your actual service temperature, including the lowest temperature the label has to survive — not the average.
Yes — cold-rated adhesives bond at sub-freezing application temperatures. Standard adhesives require room-temperature application; ours don’t. This matters when labels have to be applied to product that’s already in the freezer rather than at a room-temperature staging area.
Yes — labels passing all three sections of BS5609: seawater immersion, weathering, and abrasion. Required for marine cold-chain shipping. When compliance documentation is required for shipping or audit, we provide the test pass documentation.
Resin ribbon. Wax and wax-resin ribbons crack and flake in freezer environments, leaving barcodes unscannable within weeks. We always spec resin ribbon for any cold-storage labeling, and we match the resin formulation to the printer model.
Standard printers don’t reliably — condensation forms on cold print engines, slowing ribbon transfer and degrading print quality, and electronic components can fail at low temperatures. We supply printers configured for cold environments with heated printheads, condensation-protected enclosures, and sealed media compartments.
Yes — FDA-compliant substrate and adhesive for pharmaceutical cold chain shipments, validated for the temperature range and condensation cycles typical of pharma cold chain. We coordinate with your regulatory team on documentation requirements.
High-tack and specialty adhesives for less-than-ideal application surfaces. Tell us the surface condition — frosted metal, oily cardboard, powder-coated steel, condensation-coated plastic — and we spec the adhesive that bonds reliably to that specific surface.
Yes — ANSI MH10.8 compliance labels on cold-rated substrate. Compliance labeling for cold-chain shipments has to meet both the regulatory format requirement and the environmental durability requirement, and we produce to both.
Yes — food cold-storage labeling including production line labels, finished-goods labels, and rack labels. Different parts of the operation have different temperature exposure profiles, and we spec accordingly rather than applying one cold-storage default everywhere.
It can vary but anywhere from 14-20 business days is standard. Typical 7–10 business days from approved proof — slightly longer than standard custom labels because of the additional substrate and adhesive validation. Rush production is available for compliance-driven or supply-chain deadlines.
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