Looking for Die Cut Labels? Make Them With a Label Cutter!
If your company is using a digital label printer from the likes of Epson, Afinia, Primera, or many others it is very likely that you are constantly searching for the lowest cost labels you can find. While printing your own roll labels in-house is a great way to save time and money on your production, it can also have unexpected costs associated with it.
One of the largest cost items that should be considered is that of the pre-cut labels that need to go with the printer. While generic circle and square labels can be inexpensive to produce, the mark-ups for small orders can be as high as 500%!
This can be especially true for custom die cut labels or specialty label materials like holographic and foil materials. Inkjet coated materials in particular can be especially expensive for customers looking to print short run labels.
One way to avoid the markups for short run, custom stickers is to utilize the added benefits of a finishing system.
What is a Digital Label Finisher?
A label finisher a piece of equipment that takes printed sticker material and cuts and removes the waste to create a finished sticker.
There are a variety of methods for cutting out labels, including blade cutters, laser cutters, and more traditional analog cutters. Which of these methods is best for you will depend heavily on your levels of production and types of labels and label materials.
These sticker cutters can include a multitude of functions in addition to cutting. Some label finishing systems can add a protective layer over top of the label materials.
Other finishing systems can add a metallic foil over top of the preprinted label only in specific locations to give the label an additional “pop”. This process is called foiling, and it is very prevalent in wine labels.
Obviously as you add functions to your label cutter it begins to add cost to the system! Depending on your levels of production this may not be an issue, but for the vast majority of companies purchasing pre-cut roll labels the production needs do not justify the expenditure for higher end equipment.
How Can a Label Cutter Help You?
Adding a finisher to your label printing operation can help in a wide variety of ways. One of the main benefits is the cost savings on your custom roll labels.
Typical markups for custom die cut labels can be up to 500% of the generic roll stock. Having the ability to take a lower cost roll stock and cut it out yourself will create a positive ROI in no time!
Another, often overlooked, benefit to cutting out your own labels is the added flexibility of being able to produce whatever you want with the click of a button.
When cutting out your own labels you can produce any label size or label design on a pre-printed roll giving you the flexibility to have the labels you need, when you need them. No more 5 business day wait for pre-cut labels when you can produce them yourself!
What Label Cutting Options are Available?
The next step in your journey to reducing your label costs is finding the right label cutter to pair with your printer. We here at Arrow Systems, Inc. have a wide variety of finishing equipment for almost any budget.
If you haven’t checked out our previous blog on some of the best label cutters of 2021 you can find it here. To give a brief synopsis for this article, some of the best options for newbies to the label cutting space are:
Arrow Eco-300 Roll to roll label cutter
If you are looking for the most economical finishing system then we would recommend Arrow Eco-300 Roll-to-Roll label cutter. Eco-300 is one of the best die cut machine for a seamless print job production for short run in house label production.
The Eco-300 ranks above most other label finishers because it makes cutting labels simple and fast. It is also the most economically priced digital label cutter on the market!
With the ability of inline cutting, matrix removal system and rewinding labels, the Eco helps the users of any size add full .
The Eco-300 can be paired with any roll label printer. It features a maximum web width of 17” and is perfect for pre-press sampling. It is quite easy and convenient to print custom labels as the software is extremely user friendly.
Arrow EZCut 330R 13” Blade Finisher
We proudly present to you Arrow’s EZCut 330R 13” Blade finisher. With a high speed cutting head and support for 13” wide for digital cutting, the DBSX is one of the best blade finishers that we carry in our inventory.
The EZCut 330R provides precision cutting with a blade cutter for labels and one of the highest quality dual cutting heads. It can be equipped with up to 4 cutting heads for unparalleled speeds and precision. We also equip these with carbide cutter blades for the longest possible life!
The inline web guide keeps everything running true through the system. The integrated waste removal and slitting turn this machine into a one stop finishing solution! On demand production of finished labels has never been easier!