Label Planet
Here are our top tips for printing your own self adhesive labels.
This year, we’ve got a series of adverts in the Business Network Magazine and each issue we’re focusing on a different area of labelling. For the first issue, we’ve put together a list of key quick tips to help get you started with label printing.
- DO choose your printer settings carefully
Always use media-specific printer settings. The “Labels” or “Heavy Paper” setting automatically adjusts your printer to get the best print results for labels. Page/paper size settings should always be A4; printers can default to different settings, which distort how your template prints. - DON’T forget to check if you need laser or inkjet products
Use laser labels with laser printers and inkjet labels with inkjet printers. These products are tailored to suit the inkjet or the laser printing process; ink won’t dry on laser labels and toner won’t bond to inkjet labels. Waterproof labels must be printed with a laser printer; inks are water based and run when wet. - DO load your paper correctly
Sheets should be fed into a printer narrow edge leading; paper grain lies predominantly in one direction (top to bottom of A4) and going against the grain reduces print quality and causes labels to separate inside the print. Labels mustn’t go through a printer twice; this decreases their moisture content (reducing print quality) and causes label separation. - DON’T leave your labels lying around
Labels should be kept in their original packaging and stored in a cool, dry place. When labels dry out the print quality decreases; moisture content is particularly important when bonding toner to laser labels. - DO use the media bypass tray
Usually located just above the paper tray, the bypass tray is specially designed to process thicker print media such as labels. It reduces the number of rollers that sheets go through, which improves the print alignment as there is less page rotation during printing.
You can find more hints and tips on our Help & Advice pages.