Self-adhesive labels are present everywhere in modern, everyday life. They’re in supermarkets, attached to almost every product, used for shipping packages, organising folders and way more. But when and how was the self-adhesive label invented?
Back in 1935, a man named R. Stanton Avery created a labelling machine using a motor from a washing machine, parts from a sewing machine and a saber saw. This became the first ever machine to make self-adhesive labels also birthing the sticker. He did all this with a $100 investment from his friends and then-fiancé.
Avery’s labels started taking off so he created a coating for the back of the label allowing for it to be peeled off easily with no damage to the surface it was stuck on. He also improved the production process and made it so he could print an entire label run in one production line, saving time and money. A $100 investment soon turned into a multi-billion-dollar company, Avery’s company is still going strong today, making billions each year.
Stan Avery was born in 1907 in Oklahoma and died in 1997, he lived to be 90 years old. When he first started up his label company it was named Kum-Kleen Adhesive Products Company and was based in Los Angeles.
The company is now called Avery Dennison Corporation and the headquarters is in California.
Before his inventive breakthrough, Avery was so poor he lived in a rented chicken coop, he tried various business opportunities before going from rags to riches such as selling smoked Tahitian bananas.
The history of the self-adhesive label is a lot more interesting than you would think! Here at Auto ID Systems, we produce a range of self-adhesive labels in different sizes, shapes and quantities that you can order. We also manufacture custom labels, so if you have an enquiry about them, please get in touch.