Label Planet
Laser labels can only be printed with a laser printer and inkjet labels can only be printed with an inkjet printer.
This is because these labels are made with materials that have been chosen because they work more effectively with one of the printing methods – laser printing or inkjet printing. Laser printers and inkjet printers work in two very different ways and one way to improve the quality of print that they can achieve is to make sure that you use materials that are compatible with one of those printing methods.
Laser Printers – Heat & Pressure + Toner
Laser printers work by using heat and pressure to bond toner (a dry powder) onto the surface being printed. This means that the materials used to make laser labels will be chosen because they can withstand exposure to high temperatures (without being damaged or deformed by the printing process) and offer a smooth surface that the toner can bond with more efficiently. Paper laser labels will also have a higher moisture content to prevent the paper from drying out and cracking during the printing process.
Our label products designed specifically for use with LASER printers are: Freezer Paper, Gloss White Paper, Gloss Transparent Polyester, Removable Gloss Transparent Polyester, Matt Transparent Polyester, Gloss White Polyester, Matt White Polyester, Removable Matt White Polyester, Silver Polyester, Silver VOID Polyester, Fluorescent Paper, Gold & Silver Paper, and Translucent Paper.
Inkjet Printer – Dispersal Of Ink
Inkjet printers deposit ink onto the surface being printed, where the ink dries in place with some or all of the ink being absorbed by the material being printed. This means that inkjet labels tend to be made with materials that have a porous surface, which will help to absorb the inks and allow them to dry in place more efficiently (creating a higher quality of print).
Our label products designed specifically for use with INKJET printers are: Gloss Clear Polyester and Matt White Polypropylene.
We also have a range of label products that can be printed with EITHER a laser printer OR an inkjet printer:
Permanent Matt White Paper, Removable Matt White Paper, Super Removable Matt White Paper, High Tack Paper, Gloss White Photo Quality Paper, Premium Quality Paper, Opaque Paper, Matt White Polyethylene, Matt White Polyolefin, Coloured Paper, Removable Coloured Paper, Kraft Paper, and Recycled Paper.
These days, both inkjet and laser printers are capable of producing high quality, high resolution print, which means there isn’t a great deal of difference between the two. Some prefer to use inkjet printers if they are producing high resolution prints of photographs or graphic designs, while laser printers will ALWAYS be the better option if you need to produce WATERPROOF print (inkjet inks tend to be water-based, which means they will run or smudge if they are exposed to water or handled a lot). We supply one specialist material (Matt White Polypropylene) designed to create waterproof inkjet labels.
You should always make sure that you use a laser printer to print laser labels and an inkjet printer to print inkjet labels; if your labels are NOT compatible with your printer you will find that AT BEST your print will be of poor quality (and likely to smudge or flake away) while AT WORST you could actually damage both your labels AND your printer.
If you aren’t sure what sort of materials your printer can process, it’s always worth checking your printer’s manual because the manufacturer will have created a specification list that indicates the materials that your printer can (and cannot) process; you may also want to take advantage of our free sample request service so you can test your printer to see how well it handles different materials before you make an order.
All of our label products are listed along with their printer compatibility on our Product List; click on the “View Products” links to find out more about each label range (including the sizes available) or to place an order. For more printing tips and advice, take a look through our Help Section and our Blog Posts.