If you are a business owner and package your own products, then you will need to label them, and for this, you will need a labeling system. A labeling system is a device that’s used to attach pre-printed labels to products. More often than not, these labels are added to products in order to promote a business’s brand.
The use of a labeling system will make attaching labels to your products significantly easier. Without one, you would have to do this manually. Manual label attachment can be very time-consuming.
This post will tell you about a few factors you need to consider when you are selecting a labeling system for your business.
Creating Budget
The first thing that you need to think about when you’re planning on buying labeling equipment is your budget. As is the case with any industrial equipment, labeling machines can be very expensive.
Thankfully, many suppliers and manufacturers of such equipment will offer payment plans to small businesses, just starting out. When you are working out your budget take into consideration the fact that a labeling machine will save you from having to employ staff to operate manual machines.
Automatic Systems
When it comes to labeling systems, there are two different types: manual and automatic. Manual systems are typically used for smaller quantities of products because they are operated by hand. An automatic labeling system is an industrial device that adds labels to products without the need for manual intervention.
If you will be handling a lot of products, then you need automatic labeling machines for your business, because having one will save you time and money. As a business owner, you should always be looking for ways to save time and money.
Product Size
Some labeling systems can be very large. If you don’t have a lot of space in your place of work then you will need to buy one that’s small in size. Make sure that when you are searching for a labeling machine you request measurements from the machine’s distributor.
You can then compare these measurements against the space that you have available. If you do not have a lot of space, you may need to purchase several small machines rather than one large one. Most businesses attach conveyor belts to their labeling machines so that products can be fed into a mailsack.
Machine Features
When searching for a labeling system, you need to think about your prospective machine’s features. What kind of features do you need? Labeling systems can come with many different features and functions. When searching for one, be sure to ask all of the suppliers that you come into contact with about their machine’s features.
You can then compare the features of machines against each other until you find the one that’s right for you. One other thing to think about is maintenance: is the machine that you’re buying going to be easy for you to repair and maintain yourself or will you need specialist help?
Configuration Options
Automatic labeling machines come with a variety of different programmable configurations. As with features, you should reach out to distributors and suppliers and ask them to explain their machines’ configuration options to you.
Again, you can compare these options and find the machine that’s right for you. If you are going to buy a semi-automatic labeling machine then you should be aware that you will have fewer configuration options. If you are using a manual machine, then you will have even less.
Sourcing Labels
Moving away from labeling systems for a moment, you need to make sure that the labels that you buy for your products are high-quality and use a strong adhesive. If your business’s labels aren’t durable and don’t make use of strong adhesives, then they could come loose or tear. If your label’s come loose or tear then it could interfere with your business’s shipping processes.
A very effective way of saving yourself money on label costs is to invest in the equipment needed to print labels yourself. You can then print labels, feed them into your labeling machine, and have complete control over every aspect of labeling and shipping.
Product Types
What type of products do you sell? There are different labeling machines for different products. Some labeling machines are used for bottles while other cartons. In addition to the type of product that you are going to be selling, you also need to consider each product’s individual size.
If the products are very large then a small labeling machine won’t do. You won’t be able to label large boxes using a machine that’s designed for glass bottles or jars. You should specify the products that you sell when you are reaching out to distributors and exploring labeling machine options, so they can recommend the one that’s right for the job.
Employing Staff
Again, moving away from labeling machines, even though automatic labeling machines don’t require human intervention, you will still need staff present to make sure that the machines are all working. If a machine breaks down and there’s nobody there to fix it, then your product line could be interrupted until the fault is discovered. Make sure that your staff is all properly trained in maintenance or at least have the machine’s instruction manual to hand, so they can make repairs quickly.
Using Barcodes
When you are labeling products, you may want to consider using barcodes. Barcodes can be used to identify individual products after they have been shipped or sold. However, it’s only worth your time creating and printing unique barcodes for your products if they are high-value items or if you are trying to improve your company’s inventory management.
You can print your own barcodes if you buy the equipment that’s needed to print out labels yourself. You can use barcode generation software to create the barcodes. Make sure that if you do use barcodes each one is logged on a database so that they can be individually identified later on.
A labeling system is an essential investment if your business packages its own products. In particular, automatic labeling systems are best. Automatic labeling systems make applying labels to products much simpler, removing the need for human intervention.
