Buying labels and stickers has never been easier with the advent of the internet and now there are more reasons than ever to click the mouse and place an order – it is really so simple and so very, very cheap!

Sourcing your stickers and labels online is convenient because you can do this whenever you want to – you don’t need to set time aside in a busy, hectic work schedule to get what can be a mundane chore done – order in the middle of the night, first thing in the morning or anytime you want to – the choice is all yours.  When it comes to convenience, nothing beats the internet for putting you in control.

The price is another major reason for sourcing labels online – a good printer will use the internet to reduce their own production costs and in turn will pass on the enormous savings created to you, the customer, in the form of big discounts.  It is not unusual for discounts of 50% or more to be found using online based print and design partners when compared to traditional shop-based suppliers.

A note of caution here – price is important but so is quality, delivery and customer service.  You have to be careful because many online suppliers are actually simply acting as a middleman and outsourcing the orders they receive to third party printers so they can take a cut – this does not pass on the full discounts available in the pricing and you lose control of the quality aspect of the order.  Turnaround times are also longer in these instances and if there is a mistake in the order you are unlikely to have effective or practical recourse.

Online ordering is very simple and provides an enormous amount of flexibility as well as reducing the lead time involved in putting the design and artwork together.  Artwork can now be simply emailed to the printer (though you should check with each supplier for any particular requirements they have for file formats and sizes) and the resulting proof can be rapidly turned around and emailed straight back to you.  You should note that the colors that are produced by proofs may not be truly replicated by your computer monitor but this is usually very marginal and does not impact on the process or finished products.

In addition to the ordering and proofing process, you should be able to gain access to past orders you have made with the print supplier using the online portal – this will allow you to use previous files, designs and proofs from past projects which will result in faster turnaround times and the potential for reduced costs to you.  You may also need to have labels and bumper stickers delivered to multiple delivery addresses and in varying quantities and frequency for repeat orders – a good quality online portal will provide this functionality with simple one- or two-clicks of your mouse.  Once you have finalized your design and agreed the proofs and the order has been placed and is on the way to being fulfilled you will want to track the order through production and delivery and again, nothing beats an online system for enabling you to do this.

Creating an asset register is as simple as creating a spreadsheet – for those who are not computer literate, all you need is a sheet of lined paper with several ruled columns indicating the date, the name and type of asset with an allocated serial number and any other information you wish to track, such as location or staff member responsible for it for instance.

Each asset needs to be marked or affixed with a suitable asset tag or label.  Asset labels need to be robust and capable of withstanding hard use as well as dealing with environmental factors such as being stored outside where the weather and elements operate.  Typically, they are coated with a very strong and weatherproof adhesive which also makes them remarkably difficult to remove by thieves.  It is not uncommon to find asset labels and tags to be made from sturdy aluminum foil which makes them virtually indestructible and suitable for the most hard-wearing environments.

Arranging for sequential asset numbers to be printed is simple – asset label printers who are experienced in providing these products are very capable of delivering asset tags which can be sequentially numbered and ready for you to allocate as a serial number to individual assets.  More advanced asset labels can carry a barcode which contains much more detailed information than a simple serial number.

Barcode labels can carry a wide range of information including inception and termination dates, maintenance and upgrade information as well as simple identity markers demonstrating ownership.  With a cheap barcode scanner you can also integrate asset tracking directly into your computer based asset register and software packages such as QuickBooks, provide a simple means of integrating your asset tracking with your accounting system.

Asset labels are at the core of protecting your business assets – they provide a visible marker and stamp of your ownership which in itself, acts as a deterrent to thieves or those looking to use your property when they are not authorized to.  They also will simplify your asset tracking and especially when you have equipment being used off-site or by contractors – this is essential if you are to protect your property and engender a sense of responsibility in users.  Asset tracking  is also an essential requirement for your accounting when it comes to being able to demonstrate that the assets you own and are reflected in your balance sheet and accounts, are in fact in your physical possession and do exist.

Talk to your print partner about how asset labels can be put to work for your business – they are simple to source and easy to use and the cost is minimal compared to the value of the assets they track and protect.

Labeling provides a key weapon in the war against the imitators as packaging is one of the hardest things for a counterfeiter to replicate.

Holograms provide a great way of ensuring the product is genuine as they are exceptionally difficult to replicate; so useful and effective are holograms than many currency notes in circulation overseas use holographic images as part of the overall design – something actively being considered by the U.S. Treasury in the war on counterfeit money operations.  A drawback of holograms is that they can still be stolen as a separate item of value in themselves and many counterfeit DVD operations in the Far East have found ways to actively source holographic stickers or in fact replicate them to an acceptable standard.

Luckily, there have been significant advances in the development of digital printing and colored inks which have been combined with barcode technology to provide an extra layer of differentiation as well as carrying important information about the history of the product package.

Color barcode labels have been actively developed by HP with several pharmaceutical companies who have been looking at ways to ensure the end-user readily sees the medicines they are using are genuine and also are able to access vital information concerning that batch of medicine product.  In some instances, the ability to trust the “medication” is a matter of life and death with an enormous black market for illicit, counterfeit medications.

Before you think this is an issue which affects only the undeveloped world consider that one Viagra pill was selling for over $100 on the black market when the drug was initially launched and only available after an exhaustive medical screening session.

Beating the counterfeiters is a seriously thorny issue!

Hoodia Gordonii was the diet supplement extracted from a cactus which only grew in a specific and restricted location in East Africa and was subject to very strict certification standards but at one point it was thought that over 75% of the supplement was actually counterfeit goods.  These two examples alone have resulted in billions of dollars of sales to unwitting consumers – a direct loss to the manufacturers and the consumer.

photo credit: number657

First of all, when you are looking at ordering your window decals you should decide exactly what they are going to be used for.  The reasoning is simple in that if you make sure the supplier is aware of how they will be used and the job they have to perform they can then help you avoid making silly mistakes that will cost you dear down the line.  If you are using a window decal outdoors, this will affect the quality and type of adhesive that is required to make sure there is a firm fix, indoor decals don’t need to have adhesive if they have a poly cling feature (you know the ones which are simply applied to the window and stick using friction).

You are not limited by design either; window decals are eminently adaptable and lend themselves to using your imagination whether it is for personal or business use.  They reflect your business logo as a simple advertisement or they can carry important messaging information such as security access to an area for an employee or customer vehicle.  The size is also unrestricted with window decals being capable of production using almost any size, and certainly any you are likely to need in your day-to-day operations.

Finding a supplier can be problematical as there is no shortage of companies who will quote for your business and take your order and money; the real issue is finding a partner who will actually deliver the window decals as you specify and also add to the mix when it comes to giving you helpful advice and recommendations for how to achieve the results you are looking for.

Make sure you take the time to find a label supplier such as MaverickLabel.com who is experienced in producing window decals and certainly ensure that they are doing the work themselves.  Many suppliers are acting as simple order takers with the work then farmed out to third-parties which means a loss of control in the quality as well as delays and increased expense when it comes to getting the decals in your own hands.

You should be looking for a supplier with a good web site which is easy to use for your ordering and allows you to see samples of finished work produced for other customers.  You also will need someone who can take you through the design and ordering process and is prepared to listen to what youhave to say and in particular what your needs are so they can bring their own experience to bear in giving you the right materials at the right price.

Typical standards for ordering, design and delivery are around 5 to 9 business days for standard window decals while the supplier should allow you a color choice from 3 to 30 colors on the decal; they also should provide you with the ability to customize the shape of your window decals too but you need to bear in mind that this may then affect the delivery times if you start heading off the standard template track.  In addition to these factors, your supplier should allow you to order job runs with as few as 250 units without hammering you on the price but be careful to enquire what the re-order pricing will be too as you need to restock.

Roll labels can be designed with as much artistic flair as you wish to apply or they can be mundane and packed with the information you wish to convey with a minimum of fuss and effort.  The only major limitation of roll labels is that they are not generally suitable for outdoor use; if you are going to expose roll labels to external conditions they are not going to last very long and they usually degenerate very quickly.  That being said, there are pretty few other limits to be concerned about.

Roll labels are not simply confined to paper rolls and stickers either; you can play around with foil labels using gold and iridescent colors while many of you reading this on a PC will see a Microsoft “Windows” sticker with a holographic image embedded on it – this is a roll label simply applied to the PC unit as it comes off the manufacturing assembly line.

Choosing the color scheme for your labels is simple and straight forward because they lend themselves not only to multiple color schemes (4 or more colors) but also to more sophisticated color schemes such as CMYK or process color as well as foil printing and blank or stock labels.

Deciding what you are going to use the label for, indoor or outdoor use is important because as we have already noted, roll labels are not particularly good for outdoor use though there are some products which are durable – it is essential for your supplier to know whether you are going to be using the labels in outdoor situations where they will be exposed to the elements.

Any label is only as durable as the adhesive which is used to stick it to the object you are working with; some label adhesives are excellent for glass but not very good for use with clothes, so once again you need to think about what the roll label will be affixed to and ensure your label supplier is made aware of it so they can quote you for the right product.

You can source roll labels in virtually any size, large or small, depending on your requirement – bumper sticker size or larger can be produced though generally roll labels or stickers are of much smaller dimensions.  You do not need to be restricted to having them on a roll either – many labels are printed onto sheets for easier storage in the office or can be produced as stand-alone items.  You may also wish to consider perforations around individual labels so they can be easily separated from the rest without having to remove the label itself which will subsequently affect the sticking quality of the adhesive.

by Mark Trumper

There are a wealth of internet sites offering personalization services for wine for special occasions such as weddings and holiday celebrations but what is also remarkably ignored, are the services available to personalize any bottle and not just a fancy wine bottle either – think soda for instance!

Personalizing your own custom wine label does require a good idea of what will work and what does not – personalization is a double edged sword which can easily lead to a presentation disaster no matter how good the wine inside actually is.  The wine label for many is a certain symbol of the quality of the bottle which is why wine producers and distributors spend so much time and effort on creating a good looking bottle and label in the first place.

Check out the printing service offered and ensure that they provide help with the label design before you plunge into the personalization process.  Many internet suppliers do little more than provide templates which are bland and uninspiring and certainly nothing in the form of custom designs to suit your own particular requirements; this results in many wine and champagne bottles looking like cast off prizes from a cheap fairground instead of the bespoke and customized entertaining experience that a good label will produce.

You should also look for help in selecting your wines; this is where the really good wine label suppliers will stand out from those who are simply dabbling in the market – personalization means putting something of yourself into the end product and this creates an opportunity to demonstrate taste and something unique however, it is also an opportunity to get it completely wrong which will equally reflect upon you.

Make sure you select a supplier who is able to help you at all stages of the personalization and design process including helping you with your wine selection too.

Cheap labels now allow you to organize everything from your garage and tool shed, through to your home possessions for security purposes as well as the more traditional uses such as marking school books and sports kit so the kids do not permanently lose stuff when they forget it.

Across the board, every type of label has fallen dramatically in price.

Heavy duty all-weather Nalgene laminated tags now cost as little as their indoor equivalents used to mark items in your kitchen; marking up personal possessions with a permanent adhesive tag is one of the best ways of ensuring you get your possessions returned if they are stolen and this will cost a few dollars at most to do; marking your belongings no matter what or where they are is a mark of your ownership and possession so things do not get permanently mislaid and the only real investment you have to make is a little time to get the job of labeling done; in dollar terms it is a few bucks and no more.

You can find cheap label suppliers across the internet but with low cost you must be careful of the quality you are receiving.  Many low cost labels are produced in the Far East and particularly China, where highly toxic inks and manufacturing processes destroy the environment while the quality of the label material itself may leave a lot to be desired.  This said, there is no shortage of homegrown label producers right here in the US where standards are higher and despite producing cheap products you can easily afford, buying US labels keeps US jobs right here at home.