CASE STUDIES
Discover how Only Imaging provides professional TTR solutions to global partners.
Case Study: Weatherproof Barcodes for Agriculture & Plant Nurseries
The agriculture and horticulture industries operate entirely at the mercy of the weather. When managing a commercial plant nursery or forestry operation, tracking millions of saplings, shrubs, and trees across hundreds of acres is a logistical nightmare.
Every plant requires a wrap-around tag (a “loop tag”) to track its species, age, and pricing. But these tags live outdoors 24/7.
The Problem: The Elements Erasing Inventory
The Client: A massive commercial wholesale plant nursery supplying big-box retail garden centers across the country. The Issue: The nursery printed PVC loop tags and attached them to the branches of the plants. However, the inventory cycle for a tree can be 12 to 24 months.
During that time, the printed barcodes faced a relentless assault:
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UV Radiation: The sun was bleaching the standard Wax/Resin ink, turning the black barcodes into faint grey lines.
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Constant Water: Daily overhead sprinkler irrigation was physically washing the weakened ink away.
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Chemical Fertilizers: Pesticides and liquid fertilizers acted as solvents, degrading the ink binders.
When it was time to load the trucks for the spring retail rush, workers couldn’t scan the tags. They had to manually identify and hand-write new tags for thousands of plants, causing massive labor overruns.
The Solution: Only Imaging SP-500 Outdoor Resin
We replaced their standard consumables with the Only Imaging SP-500 UV-Resistant Resin.
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UV & Fade Resistance: The SP-500 is formulated with encapsulated carbon pigments that do not photo-degrade under direct sunlight, ensuring the text remains stark black for 2+ years.
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Chemical & Waterproof Bond: When printed on their standard PVC loop tags, the resin fuses with the plastic. It becomes 100% waterproof and highly resistant to agricultural chemicals and fertilizers.
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Mud & Abrasion Proof: The tough resin layer easily survives being dragged through the mud, loaded onto flatbed trucks, and handled roughly by retail staff.
The Result
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Outcome: The nursery tested the SP-500 tags through an entire brutal winter and a scorching summer. Zero fading. Zero wash-outs.
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Business Impact: The automated scanning system worked flawlessly during the peak shipping season, allowing the nursery to load trucks 40% faster and completely eliminating the cost of manual re-tagging.
Conclusion: Print for the Great Outdoors
Your plants survive the elements; your tracking data should too. Stop using indoor ink for outdoor jobs.
ONLY IMAGING is a leading supplier of labels, printing equipment and associate consumables, including TTR products in various widths and lengths. Please take the opportunity to learn more about our range of high-quality thermal transfer ribbons and explore our other products for any further questions you may have click Here.
