Label Planet
We have our own codes for all of our labels, based on this easy to follow system.
When is a label not a “label”? When it’s a sticker, a sticky thing, a tag, adhesive paper, or any of the other words our customers commonly use. Even sizes of labels are referred to in different ways. Some people use the phrase “X up” – referring to the number of rows on the sheet. Some use the number of labels per sheet. Some use exact measurements – in mm, cm, or inches as they prefer. And that’s before we consider the various materials available. We also get queries using manufacturer’s codes, template codes, software codes, and even codes that neither us nor our customers are quite sure where they’ve come from or what they mean.
We have created our own simple system to create codes for all of our labels, which works like this...
All of our codes have two main parts to them, with further extensions as required. The first two parts are always “LPXX/XX” and apply to ALL of our products. The values are determined as follows:
LP: all of our codes start with “LP”, which simply stands for “Label Planet”, and lets us know that a product code is definitely one of ours!
XX/XX: the second part is two numbers separated by a forward slash. The first number refers to the number of labels per sheet, while the second number refers to the approximate width or diameter of the labels. Thus a rectangular label measuring 99.1mm wide and 42.3mm high, with 12 labels on a sheet, will be given the code LP12/99.
For our standard paper labels, the two part code gives enough information to identify the sizes available. For the rest we have extended codes to indicate the shape, material, or colour of the labels.
Shapes: our circular, square and oval labels have a shape extension added to their codes. For circles this is “R”, for squares “SQ”, and for ovals “OV”. So a circle with a diameter of 25mm, with 70 labels on a sheet, has a code of LP70/25R; a square measuring 51mm x 51mm, with 15 labels on a sheet, is LP15/51SQ; and an oval measuring 90mm at it’s widest point and 62mm at it’s highest point, with eight labels on a page, is LP8/90OV. Some of our square cut rectangular labels have the extension code “S”, which indicates that these labels have a selvege (or blank strip) along the top, bottom, or sides of the sheet to help avoid issues with printers being unable to print to the edge of the page.
Materials: each material has its own extension code based on the name used to describe the material. Thus gloss white paper becomes “GW”, matt silver polyester becomes “SMP”, laser gold paper becomes “LG”, and matt white polyethylene becomes “MWPE” (not to be mixed up with matt white polyester, which is “MWP”).
Colours: where a label is available in a variety of colours, the general extension code of “C” indicates that there is a choice of colour. When a specific colour is chosen, the appropriate code will replace this “C”. For example, our range page for coloured round labels features a product with the code LP35/37R C. This tells the customer that there are 35 labels on each sheet, each label measures 37mm in diameter, the labels are circular in shape, and the labels are available in a variety of colours. On the individual product page, the customer can select from six colours, which are coded as follows: blue (“B”), red (“R”), yellow (“Y”), green (“G”), cream (“CR”), and pink (“PK”). For our fluorescent colours the general code “FC” indicates that different options are available, with the individual codes being FL (fluorescent yellow/lemon), FG (fluorescent green), FR (fluorescent red), FO (fluorescent orange), and FM (fluorescent magenta).
The one main exception to this coding formula is our CD/DVD labels. These codes begin with “LP”, followed by “CD”, followed by the diameter of the labels. For the two CD labels measuring 118mm, the code ends with either an “N” (indicating that the labels are compatible with the “Neato” range of CD labels and labelling software) or a “P” (indicating that the labels are compatible with the “Pressit” range of CD labels and labelling software).
Hopefully this post makes it easier for our customers to understand how we label our labels, making it easier for them to search our site and place their orders!