A 4″ x 3″ label fits most standard 12 oz (355 ml) bottles. For 500 ml or tallboy cans a 4″ x 4″ gives more design space. Neck labels are typically 3.5″ x 1.5″. Measure the flat panel on your bottle first, that is the maximum print area.

Glossy Polypropylene is the standard choice for beer labels. It is water-resistant, handles condensation and ice bucket exposure, and takes ink well from both dye and pigment colour label printers. Matte Polypropylene gives a craft-look finish. Paper labels are not recommended for refrigerated or wet applications.

It depends on the printer. Dye-based printers like the CW-D3800 benefit from lamination for maximum water resistance on PP labels. Pigment-based printers (CW-C4000, CW-C6000A) produce labels that are water-resistant straight off the printer with no lamination needed for most beer applications.

Label count depends on label size and roll diameter. A 4″ x 3″ Polypropylene roll (3″ core) holds approximately 850 labels. Smaller labels yield more per roll; larger labels fewer. Each product page shows the exact count for that roll.

Yes. Variable data printing (batch numbers, best-before dates, QR codes) is one of the main reasons breweries invest in in-house label printing. Set up a template in label design software like NiceLabel or BarTender, and the printer pulls the variable fields each run. No stickers over stickers, no manual corrections.

At very low volume, outsourcing is often cheaper on paper. But once you factor in minimum order waste, vendor lead times, and the cost of any label changes, in-house printing becomes competitive quickly. Most small breweries find the break-even around 500 labels per month. Above that, in-house printing consistently wins on total cost.

Canadian beer labels must include the product name, net contents (in metric), alcohol by volume (ABV), and the brewer’s name and address. Labels sold nationally require bilingual English/French text. Federally regulated bottles also carry a standard drink disclosure and health warning, with updated requirements phased in through 2026. In-house printing makes last-minute compliance updates fast: revise your template today and print the updated version tomorrow, with no reprints wasted.

The Epson CW-D3800 and CW-C4000 both run at roughly 4 inches per second (ips). The CW-C6000A steps up to 11 ips. For a 4″ x 3″ label that is approximately 1,100 labels per hour on the C6000A, enough for most small and mid-size craft brewery production runs. High-volume operations can step up to the Epson CW-C8000, which prints at up to 12 ips on media up to 8.5″ wide.

The black ink finish on the CW-C4000 and CW-C6000A is a one-time choice: it is set when the printer is first powered on and cannot be changed later. For beer, most breweries choose the gloss model, because glossy polypropylene is the standard beer label stock and gloss black makes blacks and colours pop on it. Gloss black also prints well on matte stock, so it is the flexible choice if you are unsure. Choose matte black only if you will always print on plain or matte media. Both finishes use the same colour inks.

No. According to Epson’s label cost guide, ink runs about 2 to 7 cents per label across the ColorWorks line, even for bold full-colour can art. The blank label roll is usually the larger share of the per-label cost, and there is no print vendor markup, no plate fees, and no minimum order.