A Guide to Pallet Labelling

For Warehouses

What are pallets?

Pallets are flat transport structures that support goods in a stable fashion

while being lifted by a forklift or other jacking devices. Quality pallets are

commonly made of either wood or plastic and can weigh between 20 and 70

lbs. Pallets should be large enough to accommodate the shipment without

overhang. Anything overhanging the pallet edges will be subjected to

impacts that can result in punctures, abrasions, and compression damage.

How to stack a pallet?

For shipments that contain boxes or stackable pieces:

Ensure cartons are new and of proper strength to withstand

stacking;

Securely close, staple and/or seal cartons;

Protect product from internal vibration with proper amounts of

padding within the cartons; leave no void areas/spaces between

product or on top of the carton;

Align boxes in columns, corner to corner, for the greatest stacking

strength;

Boxes should not extend past the pallet edges;

Keep the top layer flat to prevent damage from the top loads;

Use a slip sheet under the load and every third layer to help

distribute the weight evenly.

How to secure a pallet?

Use strapping or banding to secure your shipment to

the pallet, and stretch wrap (use minimum of 60 gauge,

five revolutions recommended) to prevent pieces from

getting lost or separated from the load.

The labels should then be adhered to the plastic

wrapping on all four sides, as well as on the top boxes.

Label Printer for Pallets

For a warehouse environment it is important that the

label printer you choose for pallet labelling is rugged

and durable. We tend to recommend the Xi4 series.

They provide high volume application and offer the user

superior print quality. They are perfect in a warehouse

as they are built for harsh environments.

What information should I include on the label?

When labelling a pallet that is going out for delivery it is important to include

the following details:

Name of recipient

Company name

Complete postal address

Telephone number

A purchase order number (if relevant)

When labelling a pallet that will be stored in a warehouse, it is important to

include the below details:

Date of storage

Location of storage

Company name

Name of employee storing pallet

What kind of pallet label do I need?

When purchasing labels specifically for pallet labelling it is

really important to ensure you choose the right solution. The

first thing is to decide on the label face material. Are your

labels specifically for transport and storage purposes? If so,

then standard paper labels would be suitable.

If the pallets need to be stored in any sort of extreme

temperatures then a paper label may not be suitable and you

might have to look into plastic materials.

Once the face material is decided upon, you will then have to

consider adhesives. As the labels used in warehouses have to

endure travel, storage and movement we would always

recommend a permanent adhesive to our clients, as it ensures

the labels will not be lost in transit.

For the size, we would recommend a 4” x 6” label. This is the

size all our warehouse and transport clients use, as it is large

enough to legibly include all the details needed. Once the label

has been determined, we would recommend the

corresponding ribbon.

For more information on warehouse solutions, please do not hesitate to contact us.