You may not have a clear idea in your head of what exactly you want from barcode labels, but what we can give you is 6 things that will not faze their usage, and thus convince you of their quality and competence under certain conditions.

So, let’s begin:

1. Water – Depending on where you’re planning to stick these labels, this feature could definitely come in handy.

2. Rubbing – Now, we all may enjoy a rub from time to time, but excessive rubbing can leave stickers damaged and unreadable – not ours though.

3. Abrasion – Much like rubbing, abrasion can cause your labels to crack, peel, or fade, which is why we manufacturer ours to cope with such pressures.

4. Chemicals – Some of the very corrosives our labels warn of could – ironically – do harm to the labels themselves, which is why ours are resistant to such terrors!

5. Temperatures up to +90˚C – Although 90˚C is a pretty extreme heat, our stickers will stay stuck in such warmth.

6. Temperatures above -30˚C – Minus 30˚C is pretty damn cold, not for our labels though, they’ll stay put even if you can’t.

Over the past few days, we've seen a flurry of news reports about "petty" health and safety rulings and the complaints that they've been eliciting. According to these articles, the Health & Safety Executive's 'myth-busting' panel has received hundreds of complaints this summer from disgruntled members of the public who have run afoul of seemingly arbitrary health and safety precautions. Here are some examples, as reported by various news sources:

• According to The Independent, a Crufts show in Keswick has banned all events involving Frisbees over fears that dogs might be injured whilst trying to catch them.
  
  
• The Guardian reports that donkey rides have been banned on a beach in an undisclosed location to prevent accidental injuries to sunbathers.
  
  
• The Metro account of this story notes that some schools in London have told their pupils to wear long-sleeved shirts instead of applying suncream.
  
  
• Finally, there's the incident that no reporter has been able to resist: a Bedford café allegedly refused to add strawberry sauce to a customer's ice cream, citing "health and safety reasons" as their excuse.

Now, we at Label Source have always harboured our reservations about stories like these. They make health and safety seem like a joke, using ludicrous examples such as those listed above to paint the whole H&S industry as nanny-state foolishness that only gets in the way of common sense. If people are constantly reading stories about how daft this country's H&S laws are, how long will it be before they start dismissing important things like mandatory signs and safety labels as yet more 'elf 'n' safety' silliness?

It would be nice to occasionally see the other side of health and safety reported in the big British newspapers. For example, a Scottish company was recently fined £100,000 after an employee was crushed to death on their premises; proper health and safety protocol might have prevented this man's death, and yet his story will not receive anywhere near as much exposure as Strawberry Sauce-gate already has.

However, we cannot simply blame the newspapers. They wouldn't report the silly H&S stories if they didn't happen, and one could argue that the so-called "jobsworths" who were responsible for incidents like the Crufts Frisbee ban are doing just as much to give health and safety a bad name.

The following statement was issued by Judith Hackitt, chair of the HSE, in response to the recent stories:

"Real health and safety is about protecting people in the workplace from life- and health-threatening risks - not about refusing to apply suntan lotion, or put sauce on an ice cream."

We agree with Ms Hackitt. It's time to stop worrying about petty matters like donkey rides, and start showing the journalists just how much difference H&S protocol can make when properly observed.

Earlier this week, The Daily Express reported that West Midlands Police have paid out a staggering £589,000 in health and safety compensation over the past year.

This money was awarded to officers for such incidents as:

• Slipping on a wet floor
• Getting bitten by dogs
• Falling off a chair
• Tripping over in the dark

The Express article contains a short interview with Ray Egan, who used to be part of the force. Mr Egan is quick to blame Britain's "claim culture", adding:

"It's like a disease and people are jumping on the bandwagon. It's embarrassing."

But while there can be no doubt that £589,000 is a ludicrous sum of money, we at Label Source are a little worried by Mr Egan's eagerness to blame the claimants. The "claim culture" to which he alludes is very real, but the backlash against this culture - neatly exemplified by that Express article - is equally real, and it could cause big problems if it goes unchecked.

We'll use the 'wet floor' claim as an example. If a floor is wet enough to cause slips, it is the EMPLOYER'S responsibility to place wet floor signs around the area in question. If the West Midlands force failed to fulfil this basic safety measure, then the officer who slipped is entitled to compensation - and why shouldn't he claim it?

It's also worth noting that the reported figure (£589k) does include legal costs. The actual amount given to officers was £328,100; this is hardly any more encouraging, but it's important not to exaggerate when it comes to stories like this.

We see a lot of 'health and safety gone mad' news stories every week, but while silly things do occasionally happen (see this story - also from the Express, as it happens - about a suspected burglar in a tree), we shouldn't be turning the British public against H&S as a practice. Likewise, we ought not to blame the victims for the mistakes of their employers; companies MUST adhere to health and safety guidelines or suffer the same consequence as the West Midlands Police.

For organisations of all sizes, there can be a range of site security issues, requiring you to prevent unauthorised entry to your site or premises. This can be to deter loss or damage to company property, or to look after the health, safety and welfare of staff, contractors, visitors or the general public. This refers not only to buildings, but also construction sites, temporary outdoor events, car parks, vacant property and grounds.

Label Source has a range of security signs, which comply with the latest health and safety legislation, fulfil your obligations under the Data Protection Act to safeguard the rights of the individual, and assist in meeting insurance policy requirements. Also, we have produced many more signs to meet our customers' pecific requirements.

Common signs cover such things as CCTV surveillance and recording, use of security guards and patrol dogs, and use of physical security measures such as the use of razor or barbed wire, wall spikes, electric fencing or anti-vandal paint.

Therefore, if you believe that you may be susceptible to vandalism, tampering, arson, theft, fly tipping or any other malicious damage, our signs can clearly identify your security measures on your property to act as a deterrent to illegal entry.

Click here to see our collection of site security signs.

If your business is after warehouse labels or shipping labels, we believe we have both the stock and hallmark for quality to earn your custom. We make warehouse labels for a broad selection of different uses, and the effort we put into our quality guidelines means that once you’ve stuck them down somewhere, they are staying there!

The warehouse and shipping products we produce include label dispensers, packaging labels, stock control tags, floor markers, and shelf identification labels. No matter how you intend to use the warehouse labels you purchase from Label Source, we are mighty confident that we can produce a product that's perfect for your needs.

As anyone who is responsible for dispatching orders will tell you, identification is key! A wrongly-marked package or shipment can end up costing your company a fortune, so it really pays to be proactive and prevent this from happening - and how do you that? With adequate labelling, of course!

The shipping labels we create come with a range of optional features, including flouresenct designs for increased visibility, magnetic strips for metal surfaces, anti-slip properties for floor markers, and a whole host of other customisable options that are available should you need them. Basically, we have gone to great lengths to make sure your labels are purpose-designed for their use, and they are not going to go unnoticed either!

If you wish to have a closer look at our shipping and warehouse labels, you can do so here!