Ester, Ethylene, Or Olefin: Which Poly Will Make You Jolly (Happy With Your Label Purchase)?

We supply three types of marine waterproof labels for laser printers; MWP, MWPE, and MWPO.

All of these labels are waterproof labels that are extremely tough and durable, and suitable for a whole range of label applications – including both indoor and outdoor uses.

This might mean that you're not sure which of these waterproof labels would be the best for you – this post aims to give you a quick fire guide to the differences between these three materials to help you make up your mind.

THE MATERIALS
The principle difference between these three label products is the face material used to make the labels; MWP is made with polyester, MWPE is made with polyethylene, and MWPO is made with polyolefin. All three are similar synthetic materials but have slightly different properties that give each label certain advantages (or disadvantages) over the others depending on the application you have in mind.

The key differences are as follows:

• MWP: this material is white in colour, less flexible, and thinner than the other two materials (it also offers slightly better chemical resistance than MWPE and MWPO, although all three offer excellent resistance to most common chemicals).
• MWPE: this material is slightly off-white in colour, is the most flexible, and the thickest of the three materials.
• MWPO: this material is white in colour, is more flexible than MWP but less flexible than MWPE, and is thicker than MWP but thinner than MWPE.

THE ADHESIVE
All three of these labels are made with a marine adhesive, which conforms to the BS5609 part 2 standard for marine immersion – this standard is awarded to adhesives that are suitable for use in marine conditions and is also considered a marker for high quality adhesives that are tough, durable, and suitable for a variety of applications and environments.

Due to the flexibility of each material type, however, under certain circumstances the adhesive strength of these labels does differ slightly – making MWPE the stickiest of the three, followed by MWPO, and then MWP. This is because MWPE and MWPO have the flexibility to allow these labels to conform better to different surface types – including rough, curved, or unusual surfaces – while the rigidity of the MWP can cause it to struggle slightly on certain surfaces. Therefore, while you would see very little difference between the three if you were to apply them all to a clean, flat metal surface, you may get different results on a curved metal surface.

THE PRINTING EXPERIENCE
While MWPE and MWPO can both be printed on inkjet printers or laser printers, MWP can only be printed using a laser printer. The MWP labels are the easiest to print, however, because the thickness of MWPE and MWPO requires a little more care when printing (with some smaller printers being unable to process materials of this thickness at all).

THE PRICE
If you are looking at smaller quantities (i.e. less than 500 sheets), there is absolutely no difference between these three product ranges so the label you choose will entirely depend on the characteristics and properties you want your labels to possess. Once you move into bulk boxes of 500 sheets, there is some slight variation in price with MWPO being the most cost-effective choice and MWP being the most expensive choice.

If you’re still confused, we’ve put together a simple table to show the differences between our marine labels (with 1 being the best option for that particular feature).

You can find all of our Marine Labels on the Waterproof Labels page or you can take a look at our Product List to find out more about all of the different self adhesive labels available from Label Planet.

If you’re still not sure which marine label is the best one for you, remember, you can always request a sample to give each one a try before you buy!