Thermal Transfer Label Market By Material Type (Paper, Polyester, PP, PE), By Printer Type (Desktop printer, Industrial Printer, Mobile Printer), By Application (Healthcare, Food & Beverage, Retail Labels)- Global Market Insights 2021 to 2031

Thermal Transfer Label Market Outlook

The global thermal transfer labels market is poised to expand at a CAGR of more than 5% over the 2021 to 2031 forecast period. Application in trading, logistics, and transportation will account for around two-third of overall market share. Thermal transfer labels are used in logistics for packaging, labelling, tracking, and identifying in industries such as e-Commerce, food & beverages, transportation, retail, semiconductors, and other industries. These labels can be printed using a desktop printer, mobile printer, or even industrial printers.

A latest revised report by Fact.MR on the global thermal transfer labels industry dives deep into the trends, restraints, and opportunities for market players across regions. The report also provides detailed insights on the COVID-19 impact on the market.  Additionally, this report presents a comprehensive analysis of the government policies on the market along with the key factors driving the growth of the thermal transfer labels market over forecast period 2021 to 2031.

Historical Trends Vs. Future Market Projections

Sales of thermal transfer labels experienced a growth rate at a CAGR 2.8% from2016 to 2020. Growth of the e-Commerce industry is one of the prominent reasons maintaining steady market growth. The market is estimated to rise at a CAGR of more than 5% over the forecast period of 2021 to 2031.

COVID-19 impacted the market to a large extent where industries consuming the product were under force majeure. This restricted the overall trade of the product across regions. Despite, COVID contracting market, thermal transfer labels have seen a major uptake since Q4 FY2020.

Innovation in thermal transfer label manufacturing procedures such as using RFID technology, increase e-Commerce physical stores and warehouses, and increased demand for multi-language labels to facilitate transportation to other countries are factors augmenting market expansion.

How are Government Policies Affecting Sales of Thermal Transfer Labels?

There are some government policies such as anti-dumping duties and reducing use of plastic, resin, and other polymer that affect this industry. Resin and polyester are used as raw materials while manufacturing thermal transfer labels. To develop local resin manufacturing industries, governments are imposing anti-dumping duties on other countries. For example, in 2019, India imposed anti-dumping duties on China, which is set to negatively affect the prices of thermal transfer labels. Prices of raw material are set to cascade the effect to the prices of the product as well.

For environmental safety, governments are releasing many polices to reduce the use of plastic, carbon compounds, and other polymers. Plastic and polymers cannot easily decompose and affect the surrounding environment. As such, related polices will, to some extent, directly affect the sale of thermal transfer labels over the coming years.

Country-wise Analysis

Why are India and China Dominant Markets for Thermal Transfer Labels in the APEJ region?

APEJ contains numerous developing countries such as India, China, Malaysia, and others. Among these countries, China held a major market share of around two-fifth in 2020, and is set to capture around half of the market share over the forecast period 2021 to 2031. China has numerous semiconductor and electronics industries as compare to these other countries, where the use of thermal transfer labels is high.

India held nearly 25% of the market share in 2020, which will increase to 27% over the forecast period. India is the second-largest country and has many semiconductor & electronics industries, considering the APEJ region.

In APEJ, the semiconductor industry is growing continuously, which uses thermal transfer labels for product labelling, features printing, and also for transportation. As the population in this region is more as compared to other regions, increasing food supply and product delivery will surge the sales of thermal transfer labels across the region.

Category-wise Analysis

Who are the Major End Users of Thermal Transfer Labels?

Thermal transfer labels have numerous applications a large scale of end users. Following are the some applications and end users of thermal transfer labels.

• Food & Beverage industry: Extensive usage of thermal transfer labels is observed for the packaging of food and beverages. Growing food and beverage industry is set to boost demand for thermal transfer labels across regions. Over the long-run forecast period, dynamics are anticipated to change where food and beverage packaging containers will contain low VOC and food grade labels. This is anticipated to increase investments in research & development over the coming years.
• Industrial goods and manufacturing is the second dominant sector demanding thermal transfer labels.

Detailed insights about other segments have been provided in the revised report recently published by Fact.MR.

How is the e-Commerce Industry Boosting Demand for Thermal Transfer Labels?

The e-Commerce sector is one of fastest-growing industries in the world, and uses thermal transfer labels for various labelling and shipping procedures. At e-Commerce warehouses, thermal transfer labels are used to label shelves because of their long-lasting and chemical-resistant properties.

During the historic period (2016-2020), the e-Commerce industry has been attracting more customers with attractive offers, due to which, people were showing interest in online shopping apart from traditional shopping. This trend is surging the need for thermal transfer labels in this industry.

Why is the Food & Beverage Industry becoming the Backbone for Thermal Transfer Label Manufacturers?

Growing importance of traceability and identification in food and beverages will raise the demand for best quality thermal transfer labels. Labels with high accuracy will reduce upstream and downstream traceability. In the food & beverage industry, thermal transfer labels are used for many applications, including empty labels with product descriptions visible to customers, which help customers while purchasing any product. The F&B industry is continuously growing, and requirements of thermal transfer labels in this industry are constantly rising.

Why are Thermal Transfer Labels More Useful than Direct Thermal Transfer Labels?

Direct thermal transfer labels are a substitute for thermal transfer labels. These direct labels are useful for only a short term, whereas, thermal transfer labels are useful for both, short term as well as long term. Direct thermal transfer labels have less chemical-resistant properties than thermal transfer labels. Besides, most direct thermal transfer labels are available in small sizes, while thermal transfer labels are available in any size.

Competitive Landscape

The global thermal transfer labels market is a distributed market, with key players present across all regions.

For instance:

• 3M Company is one of the leading manufacturers of thermal transfer labels, and its manufacturing plants are distributed all over the world.
• CCL industries Inc. is gaining more revenue by acquiring different companies across regions, which will help it increase its annual revenue.
• TSC Auto ID Technology Co., Ltd. is acquiring other companies and expanding its manufacturing capacity, launching new products, and focusing on innovation in manufacturing, such as using RFID technology.

Report Scope

Key Market Segments

• Material

  • Paper Thermal Transfer Labels
  • Polyester Thermal Transfer Labels
  • PP Thermal Transfer Labels
  • PE Thermal Transfer Labels
  • Other Materials

• Printer Type

  • Desktop Thermal Transfer Labels
  • Industrial Thermal Transfer Labels
  • Mobile Thermal Transfer Labels

• Application

  • Thermal Transfer Labels for Food & Beverages
  • Thermal Transfer Labels for Healthcare
  • Thermal Transfer Labels for Trading, Logistics & Transportation
  • Thermal Transfer Labels for Industrial Goods & Products
  • Thermal Transfer Labels for Semiconductors & Electronics
  • Retail Thermal Transfer Labels
  • Thermal Transfer Labels for Other Products

• Region

  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Europe
  • Japan
  • APEJ
  • Middle East Africa