Small Label, Big Story – A Series on Linerless Labels

Imagine this: You’re in the warehouse, packing a large number of orders that need to go out fast. Chaos is looming — sticky paper scraps cling to your fingers, and backing paper piles up everywhere. Some has even fallen on the floor, and your colleague is about to trip over it. What if we told you there’s a better solution? With linerless labels, you can say goodbye to mess and waste and hello to a more efficient, hassle-free workday.

With more than nine years of experience at Brother, Torben Christensen has become an expert in labeling solutions. Stefan Andersen, owner of LabelPro, has more than 15 years of experience in label production and has printed over 10 million linerless labels in the past two years. These two know the labeling industry inside out and have worked together for years to solve technical challenges in label production.

Their partnership started in a funny way: Stefan called Torben, frustrated that his inkjet printer only lasted three weeks. That was the beginning of a strong collaboration, and now they’ve teamed up to spread knowledge about linerless labels.

Growing Market Demand

Linerless labels may be relatively new to most people, but the technology itself isn’t new. In fact, the first linerless media hit the market more than 10 years ago. Linerless labels differ from traditional labels in a very specific way:

Stefan: “The big difference between labels with backing paper (and linerless labels) is that the traditional label has that yellow paper you need to peel off. With linerless labels, you use less paper, create less waste, and make handling easier in production.”

Linerless labels can generally be used in the same applications as traditional labels, such as shipping labels, industrial labeling, or product marking. The technology is also making its way into the food industry.

Although linerless labels aren’t widespread yet, interest and demand are growing. This is partly due to the increasing focus on producer responsibility, waste management, and associated costs:

Stefan: “Demand has gone from non-existent two years ago to being real now. First, it was the big customers who came on board, but smaller customers are also showing interest.”
One challenge in implementing linerless has been the lack of suitable label printers. Brother has addressed this by offering a wide range of 2- and 4-inch label printers.

Stefan: “Brother has launched a great linerless label printer. It’s a technically solid printer. This means it’s now possible to get equipment that fits into production. Two years ago, options were very limited.”

Torben: “As a printer manufacturer, it’s been a challenge because it’s a different type of label printer and a different type of roller you need. That development has taken time, but now we finally have devices that can use this smart new media.”

Time and Waste Are the Big Wins

With benefits like less waste, increased productivity, and significant cost savings, linerless labels are the optimal solution—both environmentally and practically. For companies handling large volumes of packages, even small-time savings add up:

Torben: “The immediate advantage is that you don’t have backing paper to remove before applying the label to a box. That saves time. Even if it’s just 3–5 seconds per operation, Stefan knows that when you have 3 million packages to ship annually, those seconds add up to many days.”

Stefan: “Beyond the obvious time savings, you have 30% less waste and 30% less to transport to your warehouse. When you receive a pallet of labels, you get 30% more usable material per pallet space instead of waste.”

Eliminating backing paper, which costs around 3,000 DKK (390 EUR) per ton according to Torben and Stefan, can lead to significant savings over time. Plus, linerless labels improve the work environment for employees because they’re easier to handle.

Stefan: “Operators who work with these label printers in warehouses appreciate that the label is ready to apply without dealing with backing paper. It makes their daily work easier.”

Denmark Leads the Way

Stefan and Torben believe Denmark is leading the charge in the Nordics.

Stefan: “I think within e-commerce and intralogistics; Denmark is moving fastest among the Nordic countries. There’s some demand in Germany too — they’ve heard about it because waste disposal is very expensive there. But we’ll see it grow.”

Brother is focusing heavily on linerless labels across all its markets, including the rest of the Nordics, the Baltics, and countries like the UK, France, Germany, and Spain.

Torben: “There aren’t major success stories yet, but interest is huge, and the technology is gaining ground.”

Linerless labels are a small technology with big benefits: time savings, less waste, and happier employees. But stay tuned—there’s more to come! In our next articles, we’ll dive deeper into the technical aspects, show you where they can be used, and explore future possibilities.

Want to get started with linerless? Contact us today to learn more about your options.

You can also test one of our label printers completely free for 30 days — read more here.