Hi! My name is Jim and I'm from Optimedia Labs. I have been in the label industry for over seven years and currently manage thousands of businesses all around the world. I work very closely with many E-Liquid brands and companies providing labeling solutions for many of their E-Liquid needs. This is my AMA!
Below are just a number of the topics I specialize in, but you may ask me anything!
- Label Printers (brands like Primera, Epson and Afinia Label)
- Label Materials
- Label Rewinders
- Label Adhesives
- Label Applicators
- Label Sizes
- Label Software
- Label Design
- Ink Cost (for label printers)
I am now available to answer any of the questions you may have so feel free to ask away :)
Edit: I am available until 5 PM today. Any questions asked after will still be answered afterwards.
If you missed the AMA, please don't hesitate to send me a PM anytime and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible!
What's with all the labels on juice at the B&M that are sticky? It's not juice, and the stickiness goes away with handling. I've always wondered
Interesting question. I will have to look into it but it may be due to the label material bonding with the ink used for the label.
It's not only B&M juice though, many other widely available juices and concentrates have the same problem. The weirdest stickiness ever.
So this stickiness is caused by the label being printed by an inkjet printer. These inkjet printers have water-based ink which bond with the coating on the labels. When printing on High Gloss labels you will get less stickiness but most vape labels are printed on synthetic(plastic) labels which have a specific coating therefore leave more stickiness on the printed labels. If you want to get rid of this stickiness, try using a toner-based printers such as the iSys EDGE 850 or Primera CX1000.
I'll start, thanks for doing this.
Most of the people on this sub are making very small batches (1-10 bottles or so) and are interested in graduating from handwritten labels.
What is an ideal solution for printed labels in such small batches?
I like this one for labeling my personal testers http://www.amazon.com/Brother-P-touch-Office-Labeler-PT-D200/dp/B007TN092K/ref=lp_226180_1_1?s=office-electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1441385781&sr=1-1
Pt-D200 Portable Prints Up To 1/2in Tapes 20mm Per Sec Aaa Ad-24
|||| --:|:--|:-- Current|$16.95|Amazon (3rd Party New) High|$49.99|MacMall (New) Low|$7.99|Amazon (New)
No problem! An ideal printer for such a small batch would be the Primera LX400, assuming the size of your bottles are around the 30 mL range.
Anything cheaper than that? My kids would grow up without a father if I spent over 1k on a label maker
What is the main difference regarding costs when printing e.g. plain glossy labels vs. matte labels - maybe w/ glossy details?
Hey Jim! Thanks for answering some questions.
How many labels do you think is enough to make it worth it to buy a nice label printer instead of ordering labels? Like if I'm printing less than 500/yr do you think it's a better idea to order from a label company (or the other way around)?
Hi! We say that if you are printing less than 100 labels per month, you should use a smaller dye-based label printer such as the LX400. But for less than 500/yr, it would be better to print the labels in house (we do offer that).
I have been printing labels for coffee bags for over a decade. Do you have an integrated way for variable data from an invoice to automatically print on a label? We have always printed the invoice and then hand typed labels from there. Lots of errors and labor involved. Also, we have many custom labels so it adds layers of complexity. I fantasize that I can make an invoice and when I print, a label will print from the label printer.
Yes we do! We offer the BarTender label designing software which would probably solve these issues you are having.
Does bartender have a way to customize a label online and import it to the program after the fact? Or is it just a general serialized labeler program and you can't put graphics on the labels?
I use bartender at work and could print labels for free I just can't really sit there and mess with a label design while i'm suppose to be working.
What is your opinion on the kiaro? Have any printers like this you could recommend? Thanks for making your self available for questions!
The Kiaro uses dye-based inkjet technology which is the same as the Primera LX900 and Afinia L801 . The LX900 is the best selling label printer worldwide because of its price, $2500 USD. The L801 prints at a higher quality (1600 dpi) and is fastest printer on the market printing at 12 ips/60 ft per minute and also has the lowest consumable cost. One thing many customers complain about the Kiaro is the printhead replacement cost which is $2500 USD and have to pay for every three months.
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Edit: More clarification and detailed anaylsis
Hello jim! I have a design ready, and was looking to get about 100 labels made. How much would that cost shipped to Canada?
Hi jim! I'm looking for professionally printed labels (water/glycerin resistant, label applicator conform, maybe even custom shaped) we're production variables (like batch#, ml, productiondate and maybe even product name) can be printed on demand with a thermal printer. Does something like this exist?
Thanks
Hello, we have quite a few solutions which may suffice your printing needs. To get a better understanding of the various printers, if you can send us a design file for one of your labels designs at sales@optimedialabs.com, we can print it on all printers and mail it to you and see the print technology difference. That may better help you understand the difference if you can see all the printed labels.
Thanks for the fast answer. Can you specify the on the available technologies for adding variables to pre-printed labels, is it like a special layer you can laminate on to labels that add similar functionality?
Yes each printer has specific settings to adjust to the material of the labels. The labels do have predetermined finishes such as matte, high gloss, chemical, polyester and polypropylene. The latter three are more chemical-resistant and are BS5609 compliant and are also tear-proof.
What's your lowest cost/label printer, and at what point does printing your own become more cost effective than having your labels done in-house?(including the cost of the printer, ink, maintenance, and other printer costs.)
Lowest priced printer is the Primera LX400. That really depends on your needs. There is not a set benchmark but once you ramp up production and need to print thousands of labels per month, it is more cost effective to buy your own label printer vs. in-house label printing.
Jim - what would be the most economical printer and toner to use that can print a majority solid black background on a clear gloss label?
Production is ramping up but I haven't been able to find a Primera printer that prints on clear gloss labels.
The ones I have found capable of this blow through ink like it's going out of style. I should also note, a colored printer is required.
Basically all of my text is the non printed area (see through) with one graphic requiring brown/gold ink and thr large majority of the label being black.
Thanks for your help!
UniNet iColor 700. This toner-based laser printer will do the job and provide the lowest ink cost. However, it will not be able to print gold ink.
are you a timing angel? What/where do you mostly suggest me doing/going for getting my logo designed?
My Business is right around the corner from launch and I need a logo yesterday haha.
EDIT: too add on to that, I would be completely open too do business together, just let me know man, thanks