Custom Cryogenic Labels

Why Standard Labels Fail at Cryogenic Temperatures

Conventional self-adhesive labels are manufactured with pressure-sensitive adhesives based on acrylic or rubber chemistry. These adhesives have a glass transition temperature — a point below which the adhesive becomes rigid and brittle and loses all tack. For standard acrylic adhesives, this transition occurs around -10°C to -20°C. At -196°C, a standard adhesive is not merely weak — it is a rigid solid with essentially no adhesive properties, and the act of removing a tube from liquid nitrogen creates enough thermal and mechanical shock to cause the label to shear off completely.

Cryogenic-rated labels use adhesive formulations with glass transition temperatures below -80°C, maintaining bond integrity through the full cryogenic temperature range. The facestock — typically a biaxially orientated white or clear polyester — remains dimensionally stable and flexible rather than becoming brittle, so it moves with the curved surface of the tube rather than cracking.

Condensation is a secondary failure mode. When a cryogenic tube is warmed to room temperature, moisture condenses on the surface before the adhesive has fully warmed. Cryogenic adhesives are formulated to maintain bond strength through this wet re-warming cycle, which would cause a standard label to lift at the edges.

• Rated to -196°C (liquid nitrogen) — adhesive and facestock both cryogenic grade
• White and clear polyester facestocks — dimensionally stable at ultra-low temperatures
• Cryogenic-rated acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive — no delamination or peeling
• Print survives LN2 immersion, dry ice (-78°C) and cryogenic freezer (-80°C) storage
• Barcodes, QR codes and sequential numbering printed inline
• Autoclave compatible variants available (134°C, 30 min cycle)
• DMSO and solvent-resistant variants for cell biology applications
• Minimum order 25 labels; custom sizes from 6 mm × 13 mm tube cap to full cryobox label