What to Look For in a Label Printer

What to Look For in a Label Printer

In case you are considering buying a label printer for your business, you are certainly on a right track to gain more independence and control over your business. There are many issues that arise while using an outside printing source. Delayed shipments and the costs could really go out of control. Now the real question is what you really have to look for in a printer.

Every business has its unique labeling needs, which means that the perfect printer for every business will vary. However, there are certain requirements and specifications that your printer must meet if you want your products to be competitively placed among others.

Size of the labels

Printers come in all shapes and sizes, therefore, it is important to identify the right size before making the buying decision. The width and length of the labels depend on the type of products they need to be used for. A label for an e-liquid bottle of e-cigarettes will require a printer that can print a smaller label of up to 2.48 inches in width. Similarly, a label for a beer bottle would be considerably larger in size.

Meeting Regulations

There are certain requirements by FDA that your labels must comply with. Depending on the type of your business, the requirements may change and you must check with the associated government regulatory authority to see the regulations. Nutrition facts, warnings, expiry dates and other alerts are an integral part of labels, which must be complied with. Your label printer must be able to clearly print this information over designated space without interfering with the creative element of your design.

Do you have to print barcodes? 200dpi or 600dpi

Retail products mostly come with a bar code as it is prerequisite to have one printed. A 600dpi barcode label printer is for sure better than a 200dpi as it has a higher quality print and consumes less space on a label because of a smaller print. However, these can be expensive, which makes the 200dpi printer to come into play. You can improve its quality by printing a larger label but of course, this will result in overutilization of space. You can do your own cost-benefit analysis and choose the right option for yourself.