{"id":22960,"date":"2026-07-15T08:09:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T08:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/?p=22960"},"modified":"2026-07-15T08:20:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T08:20:56","slug":"epson-colorworks-on-demand-label-printers-bring-organization-and-efficiency-to-california-academy-of-sciences-entomology-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/15\/epson-colorworks-on-demand-label-printers-bring-organization-and-efficiency-to-california-academy-of-sciences-entomology-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"Epson ColorWorks On-Demand Label Printers Bring Organization and Efficiency to California Academy of Sciences\u2019 Entomology Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bio-Geographic Color-Coding System Improves San Francisco Museum\u2019s Research Access and Long-Term Collection Management<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. \u2013 The California Academy of Sciences, home to one of the largest entomology collections in the world, has transformed how it organizes and manages its 18 million insect specimens with ColorWorks\u00ae on-demand color label printers. Housing an acre of historic cabinets containing 35,000 wooden drawers filled with insect specimens collected from every corner of the globe, the Academy replaced an outdated, geography-based color-coding system with a newly designed, bio-geographic color labeling standard using ColorWorks label printers.

\u201cFor decades, many museums used a color-coding system tied to geography that has problematic roots,\u201d said Chris Grinter, collection manager of entomology, California Academy of Sciences. \u201cWe moved away from that system years ago, but only recently developed a new one that reflects bio-geographic regions in a way that\u2019s inclusive, color-blind friendly and scientifically useful. The ColorWorks printer made it possible for us to implement this change at scale.\u201d

Reimagining 18 Million Labels
The Academy\u2019s entomology collection includes millions of specimens stored in standardized trays dating back generations. Each tray requires an individual label, and with scientific names constantly evolving due to advances like DNA analysis, updates are frequent. When the Academy was looking for a new labeling solution, they turned to Elisha Karan with Kenco Label, who recommended the ColorWorks CW-C6000A color label printers in combination with BarTender\u00ae label design software to create durable, perforated, standardized labels that can be printed on demand.

\u201cThe Academy was looking for a reliable solution to modernize their collection, and ColorWorks label printers were my first thought for the ideal fit,\u201d said Karan. \u201cThe on-demand nature of ColorWorks allows for rapid change and operational efficiency, while the reliability and ease of use make everyone\u2019s job easier.\u201d

The new system assigns 10 bio-geographic regions both a distinct color and a numeric identifier to ensure accessibility. \u201cWe print labels every day,\u201d Grinter said. \u201cWhether we\u2019re replacing outdated species names, updating taxonomy or rolling out a new regional system, we can generate exactly the number of labels we need without wasting full letter-sized sheets or spending hours cutting them by hand.\u201d

Previously, staff printed sheets of tray labels and manually cut each one, a time-consuming process for a department responsible for millions of specimens. \u201cThe biggest saving is time,\u201d Grinter said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have enough people to manually create custom labels for 18 million insects. Now we design templates once, upload a spreadsheet and print as often as needed. The quality of ColorWorks is consistent, even after thousands of labels.\u201d

Durable and Flexible for Research Demands
Because entomology collections must endure decades of handling and environmental exposure, durability was a key consideration. Unlike thermal labels that fade over time, Epson\u2019s inkjet technology is designed to create long-lasting, durable labels that withstand heat and moisture. The Academy team also selected perforated label stock to streamline production, and after printing thousands of labels, consistency and reliability have remained high.

Beyond tray labels, the Academy also uses a WorkForce\u00ae WF-M1030 printer with pigment-based ink to create labels for jars and vials containing insect specimens stored in alcohol. The ability to print directly onto high-quality, alcohol-resistant paper has improved clarity and longevity compared to handwritten lids.

\u201cWe\u2019ve even designed round stickers for vial tops,\u201d Grinter noted. \u201cEventually, we plan to add a second ColorWorks printer so we can operate both a tray-label station and a round-sticker station simultaneously.\u201d

Supporting Global Scientific Access
Organization is critical to ensuring researchers can quickly locate and request specific specimens, whether beetles from South America or insects from a particular habitat. Each specimen\u2019s scientific name ties it to a precise location within the collection. \u201cWhen a researcher asks, \u2018What is this bug?\u2019 we need to know exactly which tray holds that specimen,\u201d Grinter said. \u201cClear, standardized, color-coded labeling helps us maintain accessibility across an enormous and constantly evolving collection.\u201d

The Academy\u2019s transition to on-demand printing also eliminates the need to outsource label production, which is an impractical option given the volume, frequency and customization required. \u201cScientific names change all the time. This is not something you can standardize and order in bulk once a year,\u201d Grinter added.

\u201cWe love to see the creative ways ColorWorks label printers are put to work \u2013 whether adding brand logos to a consumer label or organizing a scientific collection,\u201d said Connie Kuo, product manager, Epson America, Inc. \u201cColorWorks has brought organization and efficiency to the Academy\u2019s entomology collection with can\u2019t-miss-it color, improving inventory management and operations.\u201d

With plans to further integrate its database systems with the BarTender label printing software in the next year or so, the California Academy of Sciences continues to demonstrate how thoughtful technology adoption can advance scientific research, improve accessibility and modernize the stewardship of natural history collections. \u201cWe have invested in a piece of technology that simply works and makes everyone\u2019s job easier,\u201d concluded Grinter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bio-Geographic Color-Coding System Improves San Francisco Museum\u2019s Research Access and Long-Term Collection Management LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. \u2013 The California Academy of Sciences, home to one of the largest entomology collections in the world, has transformed how it organizes and manages its 18 million insect specimens with ColorWorks\u00ae on-demand color label printers. Housing an acre of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[1870],"class_list":["post-22960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-print-labelling","tag-epson-colorworks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22960"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22962,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22960\/revisions\/22962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}