New inkjet color label printers are an affordable and flexible solution that can help companies bring their color label operations in house, saving money and reducing downtime. Product labeling demands more flexibility than ever before. New products are introduced with a much higher frequency, and changing regulatory requirements for goods like food, beverages, or medical items can lead to multiple label design changes, even within a given year. Because of this, holding large stocks of preprinted labels can lead to waste or costly labeling errors. Inkjet color label printers help you overcome these challenges and much more.
Nine key benefits of inkjet color label printers
- Cost-effective. Buying labels from a printer usually requires a minimum print run of 500 to 1,000 labels, and small batches often come at a premium price. Inexpensive color inkjet printers allow companies to print as few or as many labels as they need at a much lower cost. For example, the Epson C7500 printer provides up to 50 percent lower printing costs than comparable thermal transfer or laser printers.
- Eliminate the need for pre-printed label inventories. For companies in industries where labeling requirements frequently change, or where small batches of new products are the norm (for example, craft beers), having large stocks of pre-printed labels can present an investment risk. If the inventories are optimized, large stocks of labels can wind up scrapped when they are obsolete.
- On-demand printing. Inkjet color label printers allow companies to print just the amount of labels they need, when they need them.
- Less production downtime and fewer lost orders and late shipments. Having an on-demand color label printer also helps avoid downtime caused when preprinted labels run out or have to be reprinted to accommodate design changes. Labeling delays can also result in late shipments or lost orders.
- Complete control of the color label process. Users can quickly alter label designs or change label elements in order to meet customer or regulatory requirements. Hazardous material labeling, for example, requires color labels that may require a different design for each SKU.
- Generate labels on an ad hoc basis as demand changes, without the expense of purchasing preprinted labels. The Epson C831, for example, can create color labels that comply with GHS chemical labeling, BS5609 container labeling, and other standards.
- Excellent prototyping for new products. Creating prototypes and packaging can be time-consuming and expensive. Ordering new label proofs from a professional printer adds time and cost to the process. With an in-house color printer, you can easily create multiple iterations of a label design at a minimal cost.
- Affordable labeling solution for test marketing new products. Manufacturers can easily test market multiple variations of a product label simultaneously. These small batch label runs would be prohibitively expensive to order from a print shop.
- Highly durable. Unlike laser printers, inkjet color label printers can create labels on a variety of durable label stocks using smudge-proof inks that are designed to withstand exposure to moisture, chemicals, and weather. Epson offers DURABrite pigment-based inks that are highly resistant to moisture, smudges, fading, chemicals and abrasion, and its printers can accommodate a variety of different label stocks that are designed for harsh environments.
Inkjet color label printers are an excellent solution for product labelers that need greater design flexibility at a lower cost. By creating high-quality, custom color labels in-house, companies can improve their labeling operations without the downtime or expense associated with preprinted labels.
For more information about our Epson Color On-Demand solutions, contact Imprint Enterprises.
