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How To Use A Label Printer For Your E-commerce Business

Delivery parcel at the door

Spending Too Much Time Writing Labels? These Label Printers Will Help

Need to print labels for your online business? Keen to learn how you should print labels that portray your e-commerce brand in a professional manner?

You will probably need a good label printer to keep things running efficiently if you run an e-commerce store and ship more than two to three orders a day.

Whether your store is on Amazon, Lazada, Shopee, or Etsy, you will need a way to easily keep track of inventory and be able to ship the right items out on time. A label printer can help you do just that.

In this article, we cover some of the benefits of having a label printer and the types of label printers best suited to your small business needs.

Why You Need a Label Printer for Your E-commerce Business

Here are some of the main benefits of having a label printer for your online store.

1. They help you to manage your store inventory and shipping

Label printers help small businesses to easily keep track of stock and access key product information. With a scan of a barcode, you will be able to access the relevant product information such as stock quantity, price, dimension, colour, and other variables. Poor quality labels could result in negative customer experiences and even impact your bottom line. If the addresses on your shipping labels are not printed correctly, or if the barcodes are not legible, your carrier may face a problem in processing your order. The end result is that your customer’s goods may not get shipped and delivered, resulting in delays and customer complaints.

2. They are more professional compared to manual labels

Like many small home-based businesses, you may have started out your business by manually writing your labels. While this may be possible for a small start-up, it can get time consuming when your business starts to scale-up.

That’s not all. While charming, your handwritten labels may get smudged during transit. This prevents you from getting your product to your customer on time—or worse, gives your customer a poor impression of your brand!

Compared to handwritten labels, professionally printed shipping labels look more credible and are less likely to tear during transit.

3. They keep your small office or stockroom organised

Do you enjoy having an organised stockroom or spending hours on end looking for items? A properly organised and clearly labelled stockroom could translate to greater efficiency and time savings, especially if you are thinking of hiring help in the near future!

Keeping things organised can also be a major time-saver, especially when your small business starts to expand and your number of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) start multiplying.

Online seller using laptop in stock room

How To Print Shipping Labels?

There are two main options when it comes to printing your shipping labels: printing them with a standard laser or inkjet printer, or a thermal label printer.

Let us look at the pros and cons of both printing options.

Printing labels using a laser or inkjet printer

Laser and inkjet printers can produce high quality labels if you buy the right label sheets. They also allow you to print labels of many different sizes and dimensions.

However, this may be costly if you need to mass produce labels on a regular basis due to the higher cost of label sheets and cartridges relative to other options.

Printing labels using specialised label printers

Professional label printers, on the other hand, are specially designed for label printing. The beauty of using such label printers is that you don’t need to worry about extra supplies like ink or toner.

Some of these labellers also come in nifty, portable versions which can help greatly when you need to move about and print shipping labels on-the-go. These come in really useful when your SKUs increase, and you need to process your goods and ship them Just-In-Time. Some of these label printers also allow you to print directly from your phone or other mobile devices.

Types of Label Printer

When it comes to specialised label printers for small businesses, Brother offers both thermal label printers and laminated label printers. What are the main differences between these printing technologies and which would suit your business better?

1. Direct Thermal Label Maker

If your online business requires labels for barcodes, address labels, shipping labels, and food packaging, the direct thermal label maker may be your best bet.

Thermal printing uses heat-sensitive label stock and directly burns text and shapes onto the label itself.

The main advantage of using thermal printed labels is that they are easy to use and are more accurate. However, do note that they should not be exposed for long periods of time to heat or direct sunlight as the material will darken over time.

The Brother QL-1110NWB Label Printer is a popular label printer in the Philippines that utilises thermal printing technology. It has a fast printing speed of 4.3”/second or 110mm/second, and also offers a high print resolution of 300 x 600dpi.

2. Laminated Label Printer

If you carry a significant amount of stock and need to pay attention to your backend assets such as labelling your shelves, office equipment and files, the laminated label printer may be more suitable.

Laminated labels are water and fade-resistant and can withstand a harsher environment such as abrasion, heat or cold.

The Brother PT-D600 Label Printer is ideal for clear and durable workplace labelling up to 24 mm wide. Its compact and sleek design ensures that it fits at any office workstation. It is perfect for the organisation of workspaces, clear identification of equipment, assets and filing, as well as creation of basic instructional or warning notices.

Conclusion

Getting the best label printer for your e-commerce business could be the best solution to achieving a smooth-running logistics and delivery process. Creating a reliable end-to-end system would make a world of difference — for your customers and yourself.

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How E-Commerce Success Is Tied To An Efficient Labelling Process

E-commerce is an industry born out of our desire for the best price and fast product delivery.

Sellers in online stores such as Ebay, Amazon and Etsy have been active for over a decade to provide the myriad of options for buyers but poor quality labels are still common and can have significant impacts on ongoing profitability and customer service.

So, what’s the link between a great labelling processes and e-commerce success, and how can you tick all the right boxes? In this article, we explain the essential considerations to refine your labelling process.

Shipping labels need to be standardised and legible.

How to refine your labelling process

Just like any aspect of a business, you want to have your labelling process down to a T so that you invest minimum time and see maximum results. Here are some tips to make that happen:

1. Avoid wastage

Wasted labels and paper are more than a nuisance for businesses that rely on ecommerce; they’re actively reducing your profit margins. If your printer is firing out misprints galore, this is a red flag that your e-commerce operation isn’t as smooth as it could be.

Worse still, if you don’t catch these misprinted labels before they go out for delivery, there’s a good chance your customers will experience delays in receiving their goods or might not receive them at all. It’s often, therefore, worth investing a little more in a machine that produces higher quality labels, so that yours are always properly centered, sufficiently adhesive and feature clean text with no streaking

2. Ensure compatibility with delivery companies

The most professional looking labels on the planet are no good if they’re not compatible with the demands of delivery organisations such as Australia Post or Parcel Post. It’s worth noting, however, that even if some models aren’t compatible with your chosen shipper out of the box, you may well be able to edit your label to achieve the desired result.

3. Look for a speedy setup

If you’re upgrading the printer you use for your e-commerce labels, a slow setup can mean a bottleneck in orders and slow delivery to customers. When researching your options, read consumer reviews – these will often highlight setup issues, or recommend products that were quick and easy to get up and running.

Talking of speed, you also should investigate the printing rate of your chosen model, so you have an idea of how your investment will impact the speed of your entire process.

4. Seek out portability

Large industrial label printers may be the norm in huge warehouses, but they’re often not the best option for online sellers. Having portable label printers can help with on-the-go printing and will save you space.

In addition, choosing a wireless model also stops your office getting cluttered with cables, and also means you can print directly from your phone or other mobile devices.

How to create the perfect label

Now that you’ve got streamlined your labelling process, let’s look at how you can improve the labels themselves. This may seem so easy you can ignore it, however failing this last little step can make all the difference to whether your service is completed.

  • Print your labels: First time e-commerce sellers may feel they have adequate time to quickly handwrite their labels – but beware the problems that come from this manual task. Writing your labels will quickly become very time consuming which can limit the speed of your production line. Furthermore, writing is not always 100% legible and is prone to smudging in transit. Do yourself a favour and invest in a high-quality label printer early on – it’s fast, efficient and accurate
  • Invest in quality: Labels need to be clearly laid out, very adhesive and most importantly fully legible. High quality print labels ensure all of these factors and are much less likely to break off, tear or smudge in transit.
  • Ensure correct sizing: Some printers are able to automatically detect the size of the label tape you’re using, adjusting the onscreen template accordingly so you can check that everything is as it should be. This is particularly useful if you use different shipping companies for different products or destinations
The multiple stages involved in e-commerce means that accurate and legible labelling is essential.

Easy labelling mistakes to avoid

Having discussed what you should do, it’s always a good idea to discuss some easy mistakes that can be equally simple to avoid.

  1. Sticking your labels over corners or seams: Your package will be scanned at every checkpoint along its journey. Barcodes that aren’t easily scannable are only going to slow things down or make delivery impossible altogether. Ensure that your label is on a level, flat section of packaging without any structural interruptions
  2. Consider your paper choices: Printing your shipping labels onto standard paper may seem like a cheap and easy option, but it creates a less-than-professional look. This can make your customers reconsider the quality and legitimacy of your business
  3. Avoid removable labels: Easily removable labels may be a blessing once the customer is in possession of their product, but in transit they can be a nightmare. Don’t risk having your labels lost
  4. Reusing old boxes: Even for the most green minded among us, reusing old tatty cardboard boxes is a no no. Not only do they look unprofessional, they can also break in transit, and the presence of old labels can be confusing for carriers. New boxes are a must – but try and find a producer who manufactures from recycled materials to minimise your carbon footprint

Label printing made easy

Label printing needn’t be a hassle. With Brother’s agile labeling systems it is simple to both keep track of your inventory and get accurate delivery. Taking advantage of advanced portable printing solutions will make for a smoother, more accurate process. For example, our portable wireless print solutions can deliver fast reliable printing by utilising Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, AirPrint®, and MFi.

For more information on how to improve your labelling process, get in touch with the team at Brother today.

This article has been republished from Brother Australia. The original article can be seen here: https://empowers.brother.com.au/2019/07/17/how-ecommerce-success-is-tied-to-great-labeling-processes/