Buying a Printer

Before You Buy a Color Label Printer: Things to Consider

If you are looking to bring an in-house solution in your business by buying a colour label printer, there are several things to think about before taking the plunge.

Inkjet Color Label printers start from $1,500 and skyrocket to over $10,000 depending on the specifications and features, so learning precisely what you want from your label printer is essential to generate an informed decision. When you’re looking around for a colour label printer, you have to understand the benefits, key attributes and value of what you are getting.

There are a whole lot of options available on the market for colour label printers. It is tempting to buy the lowest priced printer on the market and call it a day, but part of figuring out the total cost of ownership of your colour label printers is considering what you are getting for your investment. One aspect to recognize is that a low-cost entry-level printer is not really the cheapest choice, if it uses up the most ink and consumables in comparison to another printer on the market.

What size labels are you printing?

It’s important to define what size labels you will be printing because particular printers have size restrictions regarding print width. For instance, the Epson TM-C3500 can only print up to 4.25 Inches in width, whereas the Afinia L301 prints up to 6 Inches.

You wouldn’t get the identical label printer used for lip-balm labels as to get a chemical drum label. The printer you purchase has to be able to give you exactly what you and your product require

Cost Per Label

Label prices also need to be taken into consideration when choosing a label printer. Usually, label manufacturers offer a less expensive price the more label rolls your order. But you don’t want to be stuck with overstock.

It’s essential to have a good understanding of the number of labels you would need to produce each month so that you may have a steady supply of labels rather than having them sit there and take up storage space.

Calculate your costs of printing it in house and purchasing a colour label printer vs getting it outsourced to a label producer. If you are producing different label designs in short-runs, the overhead start-up costs may make sense to bring in a colour label printer.

Printing Volume Requirements

Depending on the number of labels you will be printing and the plan of your labels, your requirements may not be best served with just any colour label printer.

If you need to print considerable amounts of colour labels regularly, you will need a high-speed colour label printer. Printers with slow printing speeds will stifle your productivity and end up costing you money in the long term.

Print quality can vary on the same colour label printer depending upon what print speed you choose. Some colour label printers are capable of printing at high speeds, but that doesn’t mean you will get the highest quality label.