{"id":4990,"date":"2019-08-06T18:24:10","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T23:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/?p=4990"},"modified":"2019-08-06T18:24:10","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T23:24:10","slug":"stop-using-sticky-stickers-as-product-labels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/stop-using-sticky-stickers-as-product-labels\/","title":{"rendered":"STOP USING STICKY STICKERS AS PRODUCT LABELS!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>STOP USING STICKY STICKERS AS PRODUCT LABELS!<\/h1>\n<p>We&#8217;ve all done this 1,000 times&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>You purchase a piece of wood, or worse, a piece of fruit, peel the sticker, and it completely self-destructs, leaving bits of sticker, and a sticky residue.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>First of all, Did YOU SAY FRUIT?<\/h2>\n<p>Yep.<\/p>\n<p>Scientifically, pretty much any portion of a plant with seeds in it is a fruit.<\/p>\n<p>According to the law, what differentiates a fruit from a vegetable is mostly intangible, but has consequences around taxation.\u00a0 And most recently, nutrition.<\/p>\n<p>Apparently, by the court, &#8220;anything that is normally served with dinner&#8221; is a vegetable, while &#8220;anything normally served as desert&#8221; is a fruit.<\/p>\n<p>So, yes, the following are fruits, and for whatever reason, fruit (or vegetable?) vendors seem to think that putting a sticker on it, makes it a better product:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tomatoes<\/li>\n<li>Peppers<\/li>\n<li>Squash of various types<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The problem is that you don&#8217;t normally\u00a0<em>skin<\/em> these fruits.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to put a sticker on a fruit, citrus makes the most sense &#8211; I give not one thought about stickers on an orange, tangerine, lime, lemon, or even avocado because these specific fruits are encased in a thick, bitter, pithy skin that one normally removes before use.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, if a sticker is attached to that skin, and if said sticker leaves a sticky, disgusting residue, who cares?\u00a0 I remove the skin before use, and the sticker with it.<\/p>\n<p>BUT&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you put a sticker on a pepper or a tomato or an eggplant, unless I scrub the crap out of it, or remove that portion of the skin, I get to eat your tasty glue residue.\u00a0 Yummmy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Why Stickers?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Can be applied automatically<\/li>\n<li>Simple way to attach the UPC code<\/li>\n<li>Branding (If you put a sticker on fruit for the sole purpose of brand recognition, you&#8217;re a jerk)<\/li>\n<li>(Theoretically) removable without damaging the product<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Why I HATE Stickers<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>They NEVER come off cleanly, even if they are designed to do so.<\/li>\n<li>Even good stickers leave behind a sticky residue.<\/li>\n<li>BAD stickers simply shred apart, leaving paper AND a sticky residue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Stuff that Stickers Ruin<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Buying a stuffed toy for your child (or someone else&#8217;s)?\u00a0 A sticky patch of fur makes your gift so much better.<\/li>\n<li>Anything with a refined or finished surface?\u00a0 YEP, LET&#8217;S SLAP A STICKER ON IT!\u00a0 So, literally, removing the sticker messes up the exact reason I was buying whatever the surface happens to be attached to.<\/li>\n<li>Sticky stickers on clothing results in sticky clothing that sticks.\u00a0 To you.<\/li>\n<li>I have cookware, such as plastic bowls, that I know for a fact are 10+ years old, that still have a sticky blob of goo on the bottom.\u00a0 YES, they have been scrubbed.\u00a0 YES, they have gone through the dishwasher more times than I can count.<\/li>\n<li>Etc&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Frangible Stickers<\/h2>\n<p>The only thing worse than stickers are stickers that are DESIGNED to break apart.<\/p>\n<p>Presumably, this keeps people from shoplifting, or swapping labels.<\/p>\n<p>However, attempting to remove a frangible sticker results in THIS mess:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5007 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171100_HDR-600x338.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171100_HDR-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171100_HDR-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171100_HDR-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5008 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171138_HDR-600x338.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171138_HDR-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171138_HDR-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171138_HDR-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5009 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171628_HDR-600x338.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171628_HDR-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171628_HDR-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/20190803_171628_HDR-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Better Options<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Use lasers.\u00a0 A laser can quickly burn or etch a product logo and \/ or UPC code on just about anything with a smooth surface.<\/li>\n<li>User better glue.\u00a0 Use stickers with a modern glue (like post-it notes) that are much easier to remove.<\/li>\n<li>Attach stickers to areas of the product that are normally discarded.\u00a0 For example, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant all have a stem or core that won&#8217;t be used.\u00a0 Wood has two ends &#8211; by definition, the minute you make one cut, you&#8217;ve discarded one of them.<\/li>\n<li>Use tags instead.\u00a0 A loop and tag can be installed in an automated fashion, probably almost as inexpensively as a sticker.\u00a0 Those plastic loops aren&#8217;t exactly trivial to remove, and a tag can do anything a sticker can do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Self-destructing stickers SUCK!\u00a0 Please stop using them!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>STOP USING STICKY STICKERS AS PRODUCT LABELS! We&#8217;ve all done this 1,000 times&#8230; You purchase a piece of wood, or worse, a piece of fruit, peel the sticker, and it completely self-destructs, leaving bits of sticker, and a sticky residue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-good-design-bad-design","post_format-post-format-aside"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4990"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5011,"href":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4990\/revisions\/5011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justinparrtech.com\/JustinParr-Tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}