Label Planet
We often get asked to recommend software for designing labels - here's our advice.
The short answer is we don't recommend any particular piece of software or any particular applications for designing labels.
We’ve found that our customers need labels for a variety of applications, have completely different styles, attitudes, and approaches to designing their templates, have different computer hardware (and software) available to use, and have different levels of experience and technical knowhow when it comes to setting up and designing a template.
Therefore, we don’t have one particular bit of software that we recommend to our customers – we believe that customers should source and/or use software that is suitable for their requirements and that they are comfortable using, based on their existing knowledge of computer software or any training they are willing to undertake, and if they are willing to spend money on purchasing specific software or not.
Most of our customers will simply use whatever software they have to hand. For many of them, this means using Word (or a similar piece of software) and either taking advantage of the built in templates (where they have a compatible label size), setting up their own template, or using one of our templates (available to download here).
When using Word, you need to remember that this is Word Processing Software and, as such, is designed to work specifically with text rather than design elements. The templates you can create with Word will be limited in the design tools available to use and the accuracy of positioning you can achieve. However, Word is a familiar program that many people have access to and is perfectly capable of creating professional and decorative templates for most label applications.
PDF templates will offer more control and accuracy over the design of the template – because they need to be edited with graphics packages. These pieces of software are intended specifically for design work and so will offer a wide range of sophisticated tools for designing templates and will usually offer a far greater level of fine control over the accuracy of positioning within the template.
Examples of graphics packages that you can use to design templates include InDesign and Photoshop. These packages are PAID FOR software packages, so it is up to the individual customer to decide if their requirements justify the cost that they would need to spend to purchase these packages (and potentially the cost – both financially and in terms of time – of learning to use the package). Of course, you may already have one of these pieces of software, in which case you are ready to go!
The third option is specific labelling software, which – as the name suggests – is software created specifically for the purpose of designing and printing labels. There are many, many, many different pieces of labelling software out there, so it would be up to customers to find one that is suited to their requirements. There are both free and paid for packages available, so you would need to investigate the benefits and limitations of each one to determine which one (if any) is suited to your particular needs.
We are always happy to help our customers with their template problems but please note that if you have an issue with specific labelling software or design software you may wish to consult with the company who designed the software first. They will be familiar with how their own software works and may even already have the answer to your problem to hand. We can do our best to help with speciality software BUT due to the vast variety of software available we cannot provide in depth information or solutions for all available software.