How to Print Large & Small Labels Efficiently

How to Print Large & Small Labels Efficiently

BY: ANTHONY BIENIEWSKI / DATE: 10/19/2023 / TOPICS: LABEL DESIGN, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

There are thousands of uses for labels across industries, from product identification to shipping to marketing and more. Depending on the use of the label, size may vary from less than an inch to letter (or A4) size. At TEKLYNX, we see customers printing very small and very large labels, and everything in between. When you need to print large and small labels, choose label design software with unique and powerful features that make your label printing process efficient.

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Printing large & small labels with the same information 

There are several things to consider when you need to print different-sized labels for a single product or order.  

Label stock considerations 

Label stock, or paper, is the main determinant of your label size, so it’s important to find the right stock first! There are a few types of label stock to choose from, each with pros and cons: 

Pre-sized label stock with a gap between each label is the most common type of label stock. The printer can “see” the gap and self-calibrates to achieve accurate printing. The simplest solution to print large and small labels is to use different pre-sized label stock for each of your labels.  

Continuous label stock allows you to print variable label lengths. The label printer’s cutter cuts the label down to size. Keep in mind that variable length labels could result in uneven product packaging that doesn’t look polished, and label cutters dull quickly and need replacing. 

Learn more about pre-sized label stock vs. auto-cut label stock from our friends at Smith Corona. 

A more customized, yet complex, solution is to use die-cut label stock with multiple-sized labels printed in one template. You can use an unprintable background image on your label template to assist with design. Custom die-cut labels can be more efficient in allowing you to print different-sized labels in one run, but they require careful calibration and attention to detail. 

Label printer considerations 

Always ensure that your label stock is the correct type and width for your label printer. To print large and small labels with the same information, you may need multiple printers. 

The most straightforward setup for printing different-sized labels is to have a separate printer for each width of label that is needed. For example, you might have a 2-inch label printer for your smallest labels, a 4-inch label printer for your wider labels, and an 8-inch printer for large format labels. This reduces the need to constantly change out label stock to print labels of various sizes. 

When printing small labels, make sure to choose a label printer with high DPI, or dots per inch. The higher the DPI, the more finely details can be printed. A low DPI printer may make your labels look pixelated or blurry.  

Some businesses may try to minimize the cost of their labeling system by only using one printer and switching out the label stock on-the-fly. While this might save money in the short run, it’s sure to cause mistakes and waste down the road. Not only might users forget to change the label stock, but there’s a higher risk for misalignment when label stock is constantly being changed. Remember that labels are critical to your business’ ability to produce, ship, and sell products, so investing in the proper equipment is worth it! 

When selecting the right label printers for your labeling environment, seek out printer manufacturers who partner with label software developers like TEKLYNX to develop native printer drivers that ensure accuracy and efficiency. 

• Zebra barcode and RFID label printers are widely used and offer a vast variety of durable printers 
• TSC Printronix Auto ID offer reliable label printers with innovations such as ODV-2D barcode verification 
• Epson ColorWorks printers produce high quality color labels 
• BIXOLON linerless printers support low-waste and sustainable labeling 
• Brother offers a range of commercial and industrial thermal barcode label printers  

TEKLYNX works with hundreds of printer manufacturers to provide native printer drivers for over 4,000 label printer models.  

Label software considerations 

Choosing the right label software to print large and small labels is critical to getting the right data on your labels. The following features are built to facilitate an efficient label design and printing process. 

High resolution label design interface

Even if the label dimensions are very small, the design interface should allow you to zoom in with no quality loss so you can get the fine details right. 

Background image feature 

A background image can serve many purposes in your label design process.  

• Import high quality artwork from your graphic design software to print attractive customer-facing product labels and overlay variable data on top of the image.
• Use variable background images to print product labels for different varieties with the same template.
• Use an unprintable background image (also known as a hidden object) to align your label designs on custom die-cut label stock or pre-printed label stock. 

Variable data sources 

When printing large and small labels with the same information, variable data is key. Your label design software should offer a wide variety of data sources including database connections, date and time stamps, formulas, text files, validated form inputs, and external devices. Shared counters are a particularly important feature when printing large and small labels for the same product or order. 

Advanced label printing options 

Printing different-sized labels in a single print job is more complex than your average label printing process. Your labeling software should offer advanced features to help you design your ideal label printing workflow, such as VBScript for conditional printing and GridField for document printing. Keep in mind that features like VBScript are highly technical, and you can request TEKLYNX Professional Services for assistance.  

CODESOFT label printing software offers all these features and more.  

Large and small labels use case 

CODESOFT helps a major cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer efficiently label their products with a variety of label sizes. The company’s staff manually labeled every product container one by one with a brand label, safety seal, strain label, drug analysis label, and dispensary label. By the time they were done labeling one product, it would have four or five different-looking labels on it. This resulted in an extremely slow labeling process against a rapidly growing cannabis market and demanding retail sales. 

After implementing CODESOFT, almost every product requires just two labels: the marketing label with variable fields and a dispensary label with the same data. “There’s ROI all over the place because CODESOFT allows the end user to print from a single label file for every different cannabis product they have,” said Rob Wienhoff, Chicago Coding Systems President. Chicago Coding Systems is a value-added reseller of TEKLYNX software. 

Read the full cannabis retailer case study. 

Choose the right label software for printing large and small labels 

CODESOFT has powerful and unique features that enable users to print large & small labels efficiently. Thousands of customers use CODESOFT every day to get the right data on their labels, no matter what size. 

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