Many companies have a need to make a few small labels, decals or stickers but printers don’t want to bother with them. Company who print label are interested in long runs. They make a master and apply this to a printer roll. The cost of the master is the driving factor. An extra print is trivial is cost. The setup is costly. So printing a hundred labels is a lot of trouble. If they will do it, your prices will be very high. Many will not even touch these small jobs.
Display of the types of decals, stickers and labels others have made
This forces many to the desktop printer in the office. Blank labels can be purchased, but the quality is low and they just don’t look professional. Actually, they are not professional and put your hard work in a bad light.
Digital printing is relatively new. Signs for San Diego uses wide format digital printer called the HP L26500 to print signs on vinyl. We make signs, big signs, small signs and everything in-between. Along the way we use rolls of vinyl. We make a lot of signs that are less wide than the roll of vinyl we use, often much less. Signs are large and they are almost never the exact size of the rolls on vinyl we use. This translates into scrap. Sometimes a little and something a lot.
We like to have 3 or 4 customers that want labels, bumper stickers, other small format needs. This small jobs fit in the margins around the bigger jobs. These little labels, decals or stickers help us reduce our scrap! Most printers don’t want this business because it makes scrap for them, takes time and they can not make any money on it – we do want it.
Stickers, decals and Labels are designed is Adobe illustrator. This means they can be unique (serialize, have names, change colors) without a huge setup cost. Then we send them to the HP digital printer – just like a sign. The result is the materials used are first rate – they are designed to be long lasting and in many cases – used outside. The digital design means your creation can be customized, serialize personalized, carry account numbers or be dated. Our Digital printing equipment is the HP L26500 – a CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and key – black) printer that can print most labels. It is an excellent option for short runs with multiple designs. It also fits North County San Diego where most manufacturing is high value add products with high mix and low volume.
Label
The difference is in the set-up cost. The turn around time is variable because they are tagged to other jobs, but it is generally fast. Waiting for the right job may take a week or two. There is a $100 minimum, but many companies through in a production or door sign too. If you have short run or unique requirements, give us a call!!
What happens when you call??
The process is:
– Design – Design always takes the most time. We you’re your ideas and drawings and convert them into the correct quality, detail, colors and size. This is done is Adobe Illustrator. We can do black and white, or color and a range of colors at the same price. Our technology does not drive cost with additional colors so feel free to add a little style. Languages are not a problem – want English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish on the same label. You provide it – we can print it. Need a photo, a drawing, a color fade – no problem. The detail can be basic to extreme, the product can unique or a knock off – it does not matter
– Print – Your product is printed on vinyl. The material choices are more limited, but this hardly matters because the quality of these materials is generally much much higher than other label makers. It has to be – signs are longer lasting and used outside. Label makers do not use these materials because they cost too much. But getting a very high quality is not an issue when the material are the excess on another job.
Industrial Serialized Label with each having a unique serial number
– Lamination –lamination is a clear vinyl layer put on top of the print. It protects the print from scratching, UV fade, and chemical spills. While not indestructible – it is tough. Tougher than any normal label
– Cut and weed – We cut these manually or with an XY cutting machine that runs a blade along the edges. Machine cuts are very accurate, but need to be planned for in the design stage. Our machine cut is accomplished with a very small blade on this plotter that cuts through the decal, leaving the peal away liner uncut. The liner is thrown away. Label makers use a die (Die Cut) where the die takes time and money to make.
So is this the way to make your labels, decals or stickers? Companies dedicated and tooled for making decals, stickers and labels can do long runs much much cheaper. If you need thousands of labels – you are in their “sweat spot” and they are more cost effective, but what if you don’t need or want thousands? What if you need a few? Then you may very well find us to be a much better fit. Give us a call and find out!!
