The Pitfalls of DIY Label Printing

_{Ian Renton  | 10/10/2018 | Food Labels,Label Printing - Miscellaneous,Uncategorized}

The pitfalls of DIY label printing are many. You can get caught out if you attempt to do your own plumbing or your own electrical work. The ramifications are not so severe if you do your own label printing but you will lose sales both initially and repeat as the presentation of your products to your customers is vital. You could even have some legal problems so here are five reasons why you are better off using a professional label printing company like Renton's Labels to print your labels.

1.  Getting The Best Design: If you have a good product to sell, then it is worth showing it off. It is important to get the right design for your printed labels because it is the label as much as the product itself which stands out. This applies whether you are selling online, selling at weekend markets or in a supermarket or other retail outlet. Your design, if it is done well, will even prompt futures sales as your label will contain details of your product and a recognisable brand. Yes, you need a brand for your labels that will be memorable. Once you have that memorable brand, then the images and text will follow.  
2. Getting The Right Stock: The biggest problem we encounter in the label printing industry is the choice of stock for every situation. A DIY label printing option will most likely result in the wrong stock. There are just so many options available but the most important thing to do is to choose label material types that will stay adhered to your stock. Two things can happen to DIY label printers. The label will come off the container or the printing on the label will get damaged and eventually be illegible. Many professionally printed labels go through two printing processes, i.e. the actual printing followed by a varnish or laminate for extra protection. This extra protection is vital if the labels are exposed to moisture, oils, cold or heat and can't be achieved with a typical desktop printer.  
3. The quality of the printing: If you engage in do-it-yourself label printing, then you will most likely be printing your labels in low resolution. We typically print labels to the quality of at least 1200 dpi (dots per inch). Most laser printers are only 300 dpi in resolution so the resolution will not be as good. Some problems might include fuzzy printing, i.e. unclear text. Images may be printed in colours that are less vibrant and any detail in the label will be easily lost.  
4. Ensure your labels are legal: Suppose you produced some food and someone became sick after they ate your product. What if it wasn't just accidental food poisoning but the buyer suffered an allergic reaction? Some allergic reactions can be fatal. The temptation for DIY label printers is to ignore details such as the ingredients that go into the food product. If you are selling food of any kind it is important to get professionally printed food labels because there are laws governing your food labels. As a label printing company, it is not our responsibility to ensure you comply with the law but we can direct you to the appropriate government websites.  
5. Cost and Time: A professional label printing company such as ours can actually save you both time and money. We can get your labels right the first time so you don't have to experiment with different labels that may not even stick easily to the container you choose to use. We actually offer advice on containers so one big advantage of using Renton's Labels is that we provide preliminary advice before we print your labels. Also, when I have visited weekend markets, the labelling and packaging is often crude to put it bluntly. I have seen handwritten gift tags with holes in them for string to be tied around the lid of the container. Now that is very time consuming in comparison to one or sometimes two labels on a container.