Which label paper? Matte, glossy, waterproof or removable
Shops sell dozens of kinds of label paper. Four questions lead you to the right one for your printer and your purpose.
1. Inkjet or laser?
Every pack says which printer it is made for. Laser printers heat the paper, inkjet paper soaks up ink well. Always use the matching kind. Inkjet vinyl can even melt inside a laser printer.
2. Full sheet or pre-cut?
- Full sheet: one big sticker sheet that you cut yourself. Any size and shape works, round too.
- Pre-cut: the labels are already cut, for example by Avery or HERMA. No cutting, but fixed sizes. Pick the matching template in the editor.
3. Matte or glossy?
Matte is the safe choice: it dries quickly, doesn't reflect and takes a pen, for a date for example. Glossy makes colours stronger, but takes longer to dry on inkjet printers and smudges more easily.
4. Paper or vinyl?
- Paper: cheap, fine for dry places such as cupboards, binders and boxes.
- Waterproof vinyl or polyester: for kitchen and bathroom, wipeable and sturdy.
- Clear film: looks as if printed straight on the glass. White isn't printed, so light designs disappear.
- Removable: peels off without residue, good when contents change.
- Kraft paper: a brown, natural look that suits designs like “Botanical”.
Print it right
Choose “Actual size” or 100 % in the print dialog and a matching paper type in the printer driver, such as “Labels” or “Matte paper”. Thicker sheets often feed better through the manual tray. With pre-cut sheets print a test on plain paper first. Every step is in the printing guide.
Save ink
Dark designs such as “Chalkboard” use a lot of ink. The editor's “Save ink” option keeps the background light while the label still looks like the same design.
Get started
In the label maker you set paper and format and print a PDF that fits your sheet exactly.
Open the ready-made list in the editorFree, no sign-up.