Whether you run a small or large manufacturing company, having the right labeling machines can make a huge difference in your production and marketing activities. Label printers are essential for a variety of applications including stocking, inventory control, packing and shipping, as well as regulatory compliance. For this reason, it’s important to choose a machine that can perform its intended task and good for your business.

Printers like the Primera label printer can be used across different tasks like receiving and putaway, and shipping labels. Some label printers, however, are only designed for specific printing application. Considering there are different printers brand options available on the market with varying print types, sizes, and costs, it’s almost easy to get overwhelmed.

So how do you know which is the right printer for your business? Here are 5 factors of considerations when buying a label printer.

1. Print Quality and Durability

Print permanence is a key factor when choosing a label printing machine. Here, you’ll to consider where the immediate application of the labels and where exactly they’ll be used. For instance, if your labels are going on skincare and cosmetic products like shower gel, conditioner and shampoo or used on health, warning and safety signs you might need something long-lasting. This means you need to invest in a pigment-based and dye-based color or laser technology inkjet label printers. These types of printers produce quality labels that are UV secured and waterproof. Avoid choosing water-based label printers as they produce labels that take time to cure and easily susceptible to damage. A good example is the Primera label printer which uses color laser technology.

2. Printing Speed

This is another important element to keep in mind when choosing a label printer, especially if you’re looking to mass-produce labels for your products. Ideally, you’d want a machine that takes less time to print lots of labels with less printer ink refills. However, print speed will vary a lot across different brands of printers and therefore you’ll need to compare different machines and their printing speed and see what suits your needs. And although the speed will depend on the type of document being printed, a good machine will print about 12 inches per second without compromising the quality. Some versions of Primera label printers, for example, can print labels at speed of 12 inches per second in full colors.

3. Printing Costs

Perhaps this should be your first consideration when buying a label printer. Essentially, the high the cost of a label printer the less it costs to print, as well as minimum running costs. However, this is not entirely true and understanding your running costs can help you determine which printer to choose. The quality of a printer isn’t always reflected in the price, some printers will cost less but have high printing costs.

4. Label Size

Before buying a printer you need to know the size of labels you’ll be working on. Most standard label printers will support 4″ to 8″ in label width (100 mm wide) while others, particularly the biggest label printing machines, are effective in printing labels with a diameter of 220 mm. However, you can invest in a wide printer of about 6″, and still be able to print both wide and narrow labels. Here, you’ll have to print the narrow edge first by turning the labels around, but it only works if the narrow edge has a width of 100 mm.

5. Mode of label application

Typically, there four main types of label application techniques namely: Handheld Label Applicators, Handheld Price Marking Guns, Automatic Label Applicators, and Manual hand application. Hand application requires no caution unlike using automotive methods. However, this method is not efficient as it takes a considerable amount of time to apply the labels. Automated label application, on the other hand, will need more caution and you need to ensure the labels can be resized perfectly to fit your products or rewound onto rolls. Many of the Primera label printers using color laser technology support both roll and sheet fed input making it easy for label application.

These are just some of the things to keep in mind when buying a label printer. Consult with an expert who can help you make the right choice.