How To Make Labels For Bottles

Making bottle labels can be easy and fun.  Whether printing yourself or buying from a printer, the process of making labels is determined by a few important factors:

1. Determine your quantity needs and production schedule
2. Choose a size label to fit your bottle and design
3. Pick a label material for your bottle's use requirements
4. Determine your label type: rolls, sheets, or cut-to-size
5. Printing your labels or buying custom labels printed

Understanding Quantity Needs For Ordering

Knowing your quantity requirements is one of the main ingredients to putting together a solid purchasing plan to keep your costs efficient and your output on schedule.  Bulk ordering can significantly lower production costs and save you time and money, but over ordering can also leave you with unusable inventory when certain products become obsolete, updated or require new designs. Be careful to understand dynamic market forces and how they can affect your purchasing.  You may print in house with an inkjet printer and soon learn that a laser printer is much easier for your increased volume demand, or you may choose a printed roll label for label applicator and later find that you need a larger production applicator that requires a different direction of label placement.

Choosing a Label Size & Shape

Label sizes can be found in a wide range of stocked sizes and shapes, and custom sizes or shapes may be made easily with new tooling to match your exact need.  Its typically easy to find a size that is already stocked or for which tooling has been made. Shapes can include square, rectangle, circle, oval, triangle or any custom die cutout to match our logo or design ploy.  Some standard unique shapes include starburst, diamond & heart shapes that are readily available off the shelf or through a digital printing setup.

Bottle Label Material Options

Some of the widely used bottle labels include bopp, paper, or finished materials, and most of these options include gloss or matte laminate options depending on the process you choose.  Obviously if you are using a label for an oil bottle or a refrigerated product, you'll want something waterproof or resistant to the climate for the life of the label's usage. Paper labels are a great way to save money for products that don't need the overkill of vinyl or bopp.  A nice laminate or finished paper label can bring out an amazing appearance to your design and be the perfect solution for a professional product appearance that won't destroy your profit margin. Blank label materials can sometimes work on both laser or inkjet printers, but often you'll find specific labels for laser printing or inkjet printing.  Make sure you find the right material for your printing method if printing yourself, and make note that the ink from these printers will have a different look to your design - they are not always interchangeable when considering your brand consistency.

Label Type Options For Your Bottles

Determining the type of label will come back to a few factors such as knowing your volume, size & shape, and application requirements.  Labels are typically available on sheets, rolls or cut to size.  If you're buying blank bottle labels, you'll likely be purchasing sheets to be fed in your injket or laser printer.  You can also buy custom printed bottle labels at great prices on lower volumes for most hand applied bottle labels, and another great option for hand applying is printed cut-to-size labels. Custom roll labels are great for higher volumes, usually over 500 labels minimum, depending on the label size, and these labels come in variable layouts for either hand or machine applicator requirements.  Roll labels form digital UV printers offer a wide variety of materials as well as laminating options for extra sheen and protection against the elements.

Printing Yourself or Buying Printed Labels

Printing labels on your printer can be easy and rewarding, as well as cost effective.  You also have to consider factors such as time, ink costs, and artwork setup requirements that can be a setback to self printing.  Purchasing custom labels is often a great way to take the burden off the process and even save money at any volume of label requirements.