Labels are important for everyone. From the small business using them for packaging their products, to the Sales & Marketing departments using them to update promotions or cover up outdated printed pieces, to the individual or business needing mailing labels for their envelopes or packages, everyone needs label stock. You can eliminate nearly all of these problems by printing digitally.
There are varying degrees of thickness and adhesiveness for label stock. Things such as label gun labels are thin and do not stay stuck very long because they usually do not need to. They communicate to the customer the cost of that specific product so they can pick it up and take it home. Once home, the labels are no longer necessary so they are easy to remove.
On the other end of the spectrum there are labels such as the ones I previously mentioned that you can stick on your car to advertise your business. These need to be more adhesive and thicker so that they can withstand weather and being on a fast moving vehicle. They could also be mixes of adhesiveness and thickness. The most popular example of this is bumper stickers, which are relatively thin but also very adhesive.
When you order from an online printer, you can usually get stickers on label stock for relatively inexpensive if ordering large quantities. This is just about the only upside to ordering online. Production/shipping time, specific templates, specific sizes, color limitations, shipping costs, not being able to see what the product will look like before the job is printed and paid for are major turn offs to printing online.
This is where local/digital printers excel. You can eliminate nearly all of these problems by printing with a digital printer. Local printers will offer a proof (some do this for free) so that you can look at a finished product before the entire job is printed. Another advantage of digital printers is that they have the ability to do custom prints. Local printers can do custom labels on larger label stock and cut it down to more specific sizes as opposed to standard sizes. Many places will offer delivery at a charge (some also do this for free) that is far less than having them shipped would be.
Most online printers will also charge you based on how many colors you’re using. Local/digital printers do this to a certain extent, but you can usually get a flat rate for all colors as opposed to one or two colors. Digital printers also can turn around any project much quicker. Where most online printers need weeks to do a project, digital printers can get it done in a matter of days. Another advantage of digital printing is that there is a far larger selection of paper stock that you can print your labels on. Digital printers offer label prints on matte, gloss, and vinyl stock of many different types of thickness.