QuickLabel Systems, an Astro-Med, Inc. business unit, is announcing the worldwide release of its exclusive breakthrough laminating solution, Lustro-Lam. According to QuickLabel, Lustro-Lam is a gloss overcoat film formulated to laminate inkjet-printed labels.

Lustro-Lam is an optically clear film that mates with the surface of an inkjet-printed label to produce a glossier, more durable label surface, according to the Company. The Lustro-Lam pairs well with the Kiaro! inkjet label printer to produce water and chemical resistant labels with a rich, glossy finish, according to QuickLabel.

The Lustro-Lam System, which consists of Lustro-Lam overcoat film, a Pronto! label printer, and NiceLabel® or Custom QuickLabel® software, is being demonstrated this week at Pack Expo in Las Vegas as well as at LabelExpo in Brussels, and at Fachpack in Nuremberg.

“Lustro-Lam is our revolutionary laminating system that costs tens-of-thousands of dollars less than other cumbersome finishing systems,” said General Manager Eric E. Pizzuti. “We’re proud to give our customers the capability to apply Lustro-Lam to their products in any number of ways: in spot areas, or over an entire label, and on labels large or small.”

A New Laminating Solution

QuickLabel says that they have been developing this exclusive labeling solution for more than a year. According to the Company, Lustro-Lam can be applied with a QuickLabel Pronto! printer, a family of single-color barcode label printers. Because it is digitally applied to the label on-demand, users can choose to add lamination to a spot area or to cover an entire label.

QuickLabel Systems states that the Lustro-Lam labeling solution is a cost effective labeling solution. “The cost to apply Lustro-Lam to standard size labels is less than $0.01 per label for standard size labels,” said Pizzuti. “The cost of the total solution is tens-of-thousands of dollars less than competitive labeling solutions.”

According to QuickLabel Systems, Lustro-Lam can be used with die-cut labels so that there is no need for the user to purchase a die-cutter.

Added Durability and Gloss

Lustro-Lam, when applied to Kiaro!-printed polypropylene gloss labels, enhances resistance to chemicals, water, and abrasion.

The company says that Lustro-Lam has been tested to be 1000% more chemically resistant to water, alcohol, essential oils, hydraulic fluid, and cleaning chemicals than un-laminated polypropylene printed labels.

The lamination provided by Lustro-Lam protects labels and enhances gloss. The gloss level of Lustro-Lam is rated at nearly 3x higher than non-laminated gloss paper labels printed by an inkjet label printer, according to QuickLabel.

User Friendly Design

QuickLabel says that the Lustro-Lam Solution is compact and easy to use. When used with a specially designated QuickLabel Pronto! printing system, the Lustro-Lam solution becomes a standalone laminating station. The user can simply download the print file to the onboard memory of the system and apply laminate as desired.

Both NiceLabel® software and Custom QuickLabel® software, which is included with the Kiaro! inkjet label printer, can drive the Pronto! system and be used to intelligently apply the laminate to the surface of a printed label.