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Short Run Labels
Hi! Everyone,
I need to create Product labels for mock ups. Between 20-30 labels per version. I will appreciate advice on this. Last year I bought a Primera LX 900 and didnt like it. Ink is very expensive and yield is very low. Any ideas? I found some online suppliers but I couldn’t find anything cheaper than $36 per 20 labels + shipping. Thanks!!! Javier -
7 Replies
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A local print shop should be able to produce quality labels for around $1 each.
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Thank you Belassi! I will do a local search.
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We also bought an LX900 to create short-run labels. I completely agree that the ink yield is absolutely horrible and the toner is ridiculously expensive. However, we found a 3rd party you can buy replacement ink/chips from at a fraction of the cost. PM me and I can get you their details
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The problem with trying to do labels in-house is that you really can’t get proper professional quality.
Inkjets are useless because they cannot print on to plastic. Printing on paper looks completely amateurish and paper labels fall apart in the bathroom.Colour Laser printers, you would think, will get the job done. But they don’t, actually. The problem is that they don’t get the fuser temperature high enough to reliably fuse the image on to a professional material such as MacTac. I have tried it using my CP1525 a HP laserjet that produces great 600dpi colour prints but on MacTac… it looks great but even with the fuser set to max temp, the print rubs off in normal use.Also bear in mind that you cannot buy professional label material in letter or A4 size sheets, it comes in large sheet formats and needs to be cut to size to use in a home printer.And not only that, but cutting and peeling curved labels is a time-consuming nightmare that will give amateurish results, believe me.Which is why, when I have a new product, I print maybe a dozen temp labels on the colour laser - for photography - and then I ask a local print shop to run me off 100 or 200 or whatever I need. The labels come pre-cut, just pull and stick.For large runs in the thousands you will probably find it economical to source labels on a roll from China. -
Regarding print shops:
One of my friends runs a print shop. It is what they call a “large format” printer; they make printed vinyl canvases that get really huge. I can’t recall what size bed their largest printer is but it looked about 10ft across.There are small print shops that you find everywhere these days on street corners. (Well, here, maybe not in the USA) but what you want to watch out for is that these very often cut corners by using grey-market inks. You can usually tell because the place will stink of dangerous solvents if they’re into that. And their printers generally can’t get the resolution the larger print shops can.The big print shop if asked nicely will be able to do a short run for you at the same or better price of a corner shop, and with better quality. -
Hello Javier,
I’m a graphic designer that works with some local printers. Let me know the size and type of materials for your labels you are looking for maybe I can check with my printers for quote. I’m in Southern California…Cheers,
Juliet
byDesign Studio -
Juliet.
My filling people are in California, can you give me the lead on any printers who do foil and clear labels? Thanks
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