Label Planet
There are thousands of different label products available, which can make it tricky to choose the right ones for you.
While there might not seem to be anything terribly complicated about picking a label, there are more options out there than many people realise – with many of these options being designed specifically to suit specific types of label applications.
Many of our customers approach the purchase of labels with an assumption that they simply need a “label”– even though they actually have specific requirements that not all label products will be able to fulfil.
To make sure you pick the best label for the job we recommend creating a list of “Musts” – things that your label absolutely MUST be – and using that list to narrow down your search to products that can meet those requirements perfectly. With this in mind, we’ve put together a checklist to get you started:
DO YOU NEED TO PRINT YOUR LABELS?
Some label products are designed specifically for laser printers or inkjet printers only, which means if you only have one type of printer to hand, you have to pick a compatible product. If you intend to leave your labels blank or to handwrite them, you can take your pick from all of our label products.
You can find the printer compatibility of all of our label products on our Materials List page.
DO YOU NEED A PARTICULAR SIZE?
We do not offer bespoke label products, so if you have a specific size in mind you should check if we supply the size you need. Next you should see if we offer that size in a material option and quantity that is appropriate for your needs; popular and standard sizes are available in a wider range of material options with many also available to order from stock in packs of 25 sheets. Less popular and less common sizes are only available in a limited range of material options, with some only available as Made to Order items with a minimum order quantity of 500 sheets.
If the size you want isn’t available (or is available but not in the material or order quantity you prefer), then you can switch to a close size that is available, choose a larger size that you can cut down, or source a label manufacturer who can produce it as a bespoke product.
Search through our available label sizes using our Label Finder.
DO YOU NEED A PARTICULAR SHAPE?
We offer a basic range of shapes, including rectangles (with rounded or square cut corners), circles, ovals, and squares. Rectangles and circles are the most popular shapes and so are available in a wider range of sizes and material options than the ovals and squares.
DO YOU REQUIRE A PARTICULAR FINISH (GLOSS, SEMI-GLOSS, MATT)?
We have three different finishes available; gloss, semi-gloss, and matt. If you want a shiny decorative finish you should look through our range of gloss label products. Likewise, if you prefer a non-shiny finish, you should focus on products with a matt finish. For a compromise between the two, you should consider our semi-gloss labels.
Our gloss labels are grouped on our Gloss Labels page, our semi-gloss labels can be found on the Semi-Gloss Labels range page, and the rest of our labels all have a matt finish.
DO YOU REQUIRE A SPECIAL ADHESIVE?
We have a range of different adhesives, which are designed to suit a variety of label applications. We offer a number of different adhesive strengths, including a strong “High Tack” permanent adhesive (for labels that should be difficult to remove or suitable for surfaces that standard adhesives struggle to adhere to), a standard permanent adhesive (for a strong bond on a variety of surfaces – this adhesive is found on most of our products), a removable adhesive (for temporary labels that remove cleanly and easily when they are no longer needed), and a super removable adhesive (for delicate items made of glass or paper).
We also have a number of speciality adhesives that are designed for specific conditions and environments; our Freezer Adhesive is designed for items that are to be stored in freezer conditions (e.g. food or medical samples), our Marine Adhesive is designed for outdoor conditions or applications that involve exposure to or immersion in water (e.g. kitchen or bathroom products), and a “VOID” Adhesive that is used on our tamper evident security labels to provide visual proof that an item has been tampered with.
All of our products with special adhesives are listed on our Special Adhesives page.
DO YOU NEED WATERPROOF LABELS?
We have a range of waterproof labels, which provide our customers with a choice of finishes and adhesive types. Most are suitable for laser printers only. Standard inks used in inkjet printers are water based, which results in the print running or smudging if it gets wet. Laser printers, however, use a dry printing process (using heat and pressure) to bond toner in place, which produces waterproof print.
You can find a list of all of our waterproof options on our Waterproof Labels page.
DO YOU WANT A PARTICULAR COLOUR OR A TRANSPARENT LABEL?
We have a range of colours and transparent labels for customers to choose from including: seven pastel colours, five fluorescent colours, metallic gold and silver, mirrored silver, brown Kraft labels, and standard white, along with transparent labels in a choice of matt or gloss finishes and permanent or removable adhesives.
View all of the options available on our Coloured Label Products and Transparent Label Products pages.
DO YOU HAVE A BUDGET?
If price is your main concern, then you may need to think about choosing a standard material in a standard size, rather than a more “specialised” product. For example, our paper products will always be cheaper than our synthetic and coloured materials, while a standard permanent adhesive will always be cheaper than a special adhesive. Likewise, we have a range of “standard” sizes that are available to purchase from stock in packs of 25 sheets, which may prove much cheaper than less common sizes with a minimum order quantity of 500 sheets.
Of course, if you know that you will need to repurchase these labels in the future, it may be worth considering buying a larger quantity now (and storing away the labels you don’t need immediately) to get a better price. Our prices include price breaks, which means that larger quantities offer much better value for money in terms of unit price. If you know that you would be able to store your extra labels away safely, then it may be much more economic to place a small number of orders for larger quantities than to place frequent orders of smaller quantities.