Labels are so familiar that it is easy to overlook just how important they are. A label can identify a product, communicate instructions, reinforce a brand, support workplace safety or help a parcel reach the right destination. Long before barcode scanners and thermal printers, people still needed ways to answer the same basic questions: What is this? Who made it? Where is it going? Is it safe?
The materials and technology have changed dramatically, but the purpose of the label has remained remarkably consistent.
The earliest labels: identity before advertising
The earliest forms of labelling were simple marks, seals and tags used on containers. Merchants and makers needed to identify contents, ownership, origin or quantity, particularly when goods were stored or traded.
A symbol pressed into clay, a mark painted on pottery or a tag tied to a container could carry essential information without anything resembling a modern printed sticker. These early identifiers were practical first. Yet they also established an idea that continues today: a mark attached to an object can build recognition and trust.
Paper, print and the rise of branded goods
As paper-making and printing became more accessible, labels grew more detailed. Apothecaries, merchants and manufacturers could add product names, directions and decorative elements to bottles, boxes and packages. The Smithsonian records, for example, that prescription labels from around two centuries ago could be colourful, artistic and tied to a bottle with string.
Industrialisation changed the role of the label again. Goods were being produced in larger quantities and transported farther from their makers. Customers could no longer rely solely on a familiar local shopkeeper, so packaging and labels began doing more of the communicating.
Advances in colour printing helped turn labels into powerful sales tools. By the 1880s, American fruit growers and shippers were using colourful paper labels on wooden crates. These labels identified the grower while using memorable illustrations to make one shipment stand out from another. The label was no longer only saying what was inside; it was helping customers decide what to choose.
The self-adhesive breakthrough
For much of history, attaching a label involved string, paste, glue or another separate fastening method. That changed in 1935, when Ray Stanton “Stan” Avery developed a die-cut labelling machine and the first self-adhesive label. Early examples were simple round price stickers, but the invention helped make labels faster and easier to apply.
Pressure-sensitive labels—labels that adhere when pressure is applied—went on to become part of everyday retail, manufacturing, logistics and office life. Rolls of labels could be produced in consistent sizes, applied efficiently and adapted to many different surfaces and environments.
This was a crucial shift. The label became not just more convenient but more scalable.
When labels became machine-readable
Another major step arrived with the barcode. On 26 June 1974, a pack of chewing gum became the first retail product scanned with a Universal Product Code at a supermarket checkout in Ohio. That familiar beep signalled a much bigger change: labels could now communicate with computer systems as well as people.
Barcodes made faster checkout possible, but their influence spread far beyond the retail counter. Machine-readable labels now help businesses receive stock, track inventory, identify cartons, manage warehouses, fulfil online orders and trace goods through the supply chain.
Modern labels may also carry QR codes, serial numbers, batch details and other variable data. A relatively small piece of material can connect a physical item to a large digital record.
Labels today: communication, compliance and control
The modern label has many jobs. A food label may carry handling or traceability information. A dangerous-goods label provides a visible safety warning. A warehouse label helps workers find and move stock efficiently. A shipping label connects an order to a carrier and destination. A retail label may combine brand design, pricing and product data in one compact space.
Different jobs demand different materials, adhesives and printing methods. A label exposed to moisture, heat, refrigeration, abrasion or outdoor conditions needs to perform differently from one used temporarily on a clean cardboard carton. The printer, ribbon, surface and environment all affect the result.
This is where specialist knowledge matters. PDQ Labels supports Australian businesses with labels, printer ribbons, label printers and practical printing solutions for applications including logistics and warehousing, manufacturing, retail and ecommerce, healthcare, and food and beverage. Its range also includes custom printing and dangerous-goods labels—modern examples of the identification and safety roles labels have served throughout their history.
Small object, lasting importance
From a hand-marked tag on an ancient container to a thermal barcode label moving through a busy warehouse, every label exists to make something clearer.
The best modern labels may look simple, but behind them are centuries of progress in materials, printing, design and information systems. They help people recognise products, make decisions, work safely and keep goods moving.
Labels have travelled a long way—and they remain one of the smallest tools capable of doing some of the biggest jobs in business.
Need the right label, ribbon or printing setup for your application? Explore PDQ Labels’ range or request expert help finding a reliable solution.