WHY DO YOU NEED FOOD TICKETS?

Ever look at a display in a shop and see something that catches your eye but doesn't show a price?  Do you walk away? A lot of people do. Retailing is all about telling a story and food retailing is no different. We don't have time to ask a shop attendant the price of every article so correctly labelling food displays is an important aspect of food retailing.

WHAT TYPE OF TICKET?

The good news is no matter what type of fresh food outlet you have, within our range you'll find the correct type of ticketing for your store.  Your first decision is what type of ticket? We carry 2 styles of food tickets:

Spiked Food Tickets - have a spike incorporated into the ticket which pushes directly into the product.
Standard Food Tickets – These tickets have connectors to allow the ticket to be attached to trays or bowls for example.

DISPLAY OF STANDARD FOOD TICKETS

On the bottom of a standard ticket is a little bulb that is made to accept a Hinge Block. Once you have a Hinge Block on a ticket, you can then use one of our many accessories to, attach the ticket to a bowl or tray (using a Tray Clip), or to free stand the ticket (using a Round or Square Base). You may also want to raise the height of your ticket, to do so, simply push an Extension Rod onto a Hinge Block and push the other end on one of the previously mentioned accessories. Our tickets have been used in the food industry for more than 25 years so every application for displaying a ticket will be covered.

LABELLING OF FOOD TICKETS

A most popular method was to write on a ticket using a spirit marker and some people may still do this but they are in a very small minority. Today the easiest, quickest and most attractive way to label food tickets is by using an electronic labeller such as the Brother P-Touch. This produces a self adhesive laminated tape that is waterproof and extremely durable. You can use the P-Touch to produce either the product name, description or price ...or all three if you choose. On our Standard Tickets, another option is to use Push-In Numbers. Most of our Standard Tickets have 4 pairs of holes in them to accept the  Push-In Numbers which are available in 3 colour choices.

ARE FOOD TICKETS SUITABLE FOR HOT AND COLD AREAS?

All of our food tickets (spiked and standard) are made from polycarbonate plastic which is an extremely durable type of plastic. It is scratch and impact resistant and is virtually unbreakable. Polycarbonate is quite often used in bulletproof windows in banks and drive throughs. In addition, it is extremely temperature resistant and will not even start degrading till above 150 degrees Celcius which is much higher than a normal bain marie temperature for example so for food ticketing applications it is ideal and can be used anywhere.

HOW TO CLEAN FOOD TICKETS

Our food tickets are stain resistant so blood, vegetable juices etc will just wipe off. Usually, washing a ticket in warm soapy water should suffice. If tickets do get covered in fat or oil, use of something like isopropyl alcohol or even window cleaner is recommended. However to keep your tickets in pristine condition, never use scourers or steel wool and also avoid strong solvents such as acetone as this will react with the plastic removing the high gloss surface.

AN OVERVIEW OF STANDARD FOOD TICKETS

All our standard food tickets share the following characteristics:

- They all are made from tough polycarbonate plastic
- They all have a “bulb” on the bottom for affixing accessories
- They are all available in either black or white
- With the exception of the small size 1 ticket, they are all available either plain, plain with holes for push in numbers, or plain with holes and printed with “$ . kg”

COLOUR OF TICKETS

Your first choice is colour and this is one of personal preference. Keep in mind the type of container in which your food is displayed. For example, if using black bowls or trays a black ticket looks good whereas a white one may be too much of a contrast. Coloured bowls quite often look good with white tickets. The choice of colour accessories also depends on the ticket colour  but we'll get to this in a minute.

SIZE OF TICKET

There are 4 sizes of tickets available (Width x Height):

Size 1  65 x 50mm
Size 2  88 x 65mm
Size 4  90 x 90mm
Size 7  90 x 120mm 

Choosing which size ticket to use is crucial. If, for example, you have a small display, using a large size 7 ticket will make your display look like a sea of tickets. Conversely if you have a very large cabinet with many cuts of meat, a small size 1 ticket will disappear. As a rough guide, we have found the following:

Size 1 ticket – ideal for bain marie hot food displays or small cake fridges.
Size 2 ticket – commonly used in small deli or larger cakeshop displays
Size 4 ticket – very popular in average to large deli displays and some butcher displays
Size 7 ticket – used commonly in butcher shops or seafood displays

Again, the above is a guide. Contact us if further information is required.

LABELLING OF TICKETS

By far the easiest and most professional looking method of labelling food tickets is using an electronic labeller. This gives you full flexibility in what you put on your label and which colour label you prefer. The label is very robust, waterproof and can be easily replaced. The following picture shows the correct method that should be employed when labelling food tickets. For further information on machines and tapes, see the “Labelling Barcoding” section on our website.

PRICING ON TICKETS

Once again, you have a choice. Some retailers prefer putting a price on a food ticket using the electronic labeller however many choose the option of push-in numbers. These numbers are supplied in packs of 20 of one digit and suit standard ticket with holes in them. This allows easy price changes and the numbers are much larger than one would get using a labeller.

CHOICE OF ACCESSORY

There are a number of options with regard to choice of ticket accessories. If you're displaying food in bowls or trays, a Tray Clip is the best choice. It keeps the ticket attached to the tray not the food and can be easily taken off for top ups. The Tray Clip will actually clip onto most items even plates. To free-stand a ticket, choose either a Round Base or Square Base. The Square base allows you to tuck it under product if display space is a problem. We also have a number of circular clips for attaching a ticket to salamis, knobs of polony or cheese blocks. Finally, match your accessory colour to that of  your ticket – in most cases you'll have this option and it makes the display look more professional.

CLEANING OF TICKETS

With proper care, our tickets should last you many years. Don't clean them with scourers and don't use strong solvents to clean them. Warm soap and water will normally suffice in the cleaning of our tickets and if you use an electronic labeller on the tickets, you can even wash them with the label on as they're waterproof.

THE BOTTOM LINE...

Food ticketing should be quick and simple. It should look good and present clear pricing, and other information, to your customers. As well, it should be hygienic and clean. Our tickets do not have any “food traps” where small particles of food can lodge causing the growth of bacteria over time. This is something health authorities frown on and is not something you want as a retailer. In the end, it's all about presenting a crisp, professional image to your customers and … telling them a great story about your product.

DELI MAKE OVERS TO MAKE YOUR PRODUCT SHINE!