The last 10 years has seen the number of products bearing a label increase dramatically due to the proliferation of brands, more inventive use of bright dynamic labelling and specifically for Coates Screen, plastic container decoration that has moved away from direct printing onto the container.

It was not so long ago that virtually all cosmetic and household cleaning products were packaged in plastic containers featuring direct print or gummed paper labels, but things change and a Śnewą substrate became available that could be applied to a coloured or clear container without showing, and the so-called Śno label looką was realised. This substrate spawned a whole new area of label printing, particularly for screen printing, which, it was discovered has specific benefits for this type of work. These are that it can provide very bright, opaque colours on the substrate or an opaque backing white over which a number of other printing and decorating techniques can be applied. The need to apply these screen inks in repeatable patterns on a web press at high speeds led to the enhancement of an otherwise little used screen printing technique (well outside of its normal home in the textile industry), rotary screen printing. Rotary screen printing involves forming a cylinder of either a woven or etched metal mesh, to which a stencil is applied and exposed in a similar way to standard screens. This is then fitted to the machine in-line and turns as the web passes by, touching the web at a point tangential to it.  The screen has a squeegee inside, which is fixed as the screen rotates around it, forcing the ink through the screen onto the substrate, no Śsnap offą is required as the screen is a cylinder and moves off contact as soon as the ink has been applied.

The web then moves through a UV curing unit onto the next decorating station, be it more screen printing, letterpress, lithography, flexography or hot or cold foil stamping, the labels are then die cut, the excess removed before finally being rewound at the end of the line. This all happens at up to 50 metres per minute, although speed is dependant on the suceeding processes. The screen printing and foil blocking techniques tend to be the most usual rate-determining processes. Labels produced in this way find uses in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, drinks, industrial and household chemicals and other personal care products. There are also some other more specialised areas of use; a tactile warning triangle can be applied to dangerous products labels, a grip finish added to shower products and sterilisation stripes added to medical products.