LilFirecracker Posted May 8, 2022 Author Share Posted May 8, 2022 On 5/6/2022 at 11:53 PM, BusyBee said: One printer can cover all different types of printing needs. But in order to get the best result, you will need more than one. Black laser printer: Invoices, shipping labels, contracts, and best for black & white labels. Color laser printer: Best for less graphic color labels where letters & logo need to stand out. *I do warning labels with color laser printer, but color inkjet will do the job also. Color ink jet printer: Best for full graphic color labels where pictures need to standout more than the letters. Very nice label! I understand what you mean about the different printers for different jobs. Not great for someone in my position right now, but when I'm a little more established and have a bigger space to work in I could definitely see the upside to having more than one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilFirecracker Posted May 8, 2022 Author Share Posted May 8, 2022 On 5/7/2022 at 6:56 AM, NightLight said: Yes two printers. Thermal for shipping labels if you plan on being direct to consumer/Etsy or elsewhere. Then label printer if you plan on printing your own labels. I started with just a laser printer, but its too costly with toner to print shipping labels. Thermal printers are great no toner or cartridges to replace and you can get the labels cheap Amazon, EBay, UPS. I did notice the price of the thermal shipping labels when I was looking at other labels. That's definitely gonna be on the agenda later once I have things under control and have more room to work with. No ink to buy for it...ever! Yes please!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asr Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 On 5/7/2022 at 6:56 AM, NightLight said: Yes two printers. Thermal for shipping labels if you plan on being direct to consumer/Etsy or elsewhere. Then label printer if you plan on printing your own labels. I started with just a laser printer, but its too costly with toner to print shipping labels. Thermal printers are great no toner or cartridges to replace and you can get the labels cheap Amazon, EBay, UPS. I second this. I LOVE my thermal printer for labels. I used to waste so many when I only had one label to print so this was a great investment for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asr Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 20 hours ago, LilFirecracker said: I did notice the price of the thermal shipping labels when I was looking at other labels. That's definitely gonna be on the agenda later once I have things under control and have more room to work with. No ink to buy for it...ever! Yes please!!! Once I had made enough sales on Etsy to cover the cost it was the first thing I bought. Game changer for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShelleyF Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 On 5/6/2022 at 10:10 PM, LilFirecracker said: I thought they just sold the ink to refill the tanks.... Didn't know they sold the whole tank with the ink for half the price. And it's original Epson tank & ink? Yes that's what I meant. You buy the bottles of dye and refill the tanks. It I'd Epson original ink. I don't buy thr offhand because it voids my warranty. I heard it could break the printer too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightLight Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Listen if a printer is too expensive to get right now you can use a label service like Avery to start. You could buy a used thermal printer for labels. My first thermal was a used one off eBay. You can get thermals for labels pretty cheap right now on Amazon. Do everything in stages as your business builds. You do have to test your product and design, and you should also do test ships to see how you manage those with packaging product etc. Making products, you do have to create a workflow. So when I make a product, what is important to me is how long it takes to produce it from creation to shipping. If its too complicated and time consuming, it gets redesigned or ditched. Why? From Fall to now it can get crazy busy with DTC and wholesale and I have to be able to manage both quickly. Just something to think about. You could get some labels made, and then give out freebies to people to test market what design scents appeal before investing in equipment etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 I didn’t get a thermal label printer until 2 Christmas seasons ago. For over a decade I used a plain old printer with plain old paper and packing tape. I printed 4 labels to a page and cut as I packed. At one point I bought shipping labels on the sheets, but didn’t get as much bang as I wanted. The only reason I “splurged” on the thermal printer was seasonal order volume got too high to continue the old way. I think a thermal label printer nice to have, but not “necessary” for fledgeling businesses where crucial $ can be invested into other aspects. No matter what printer you buy for labels, you will deal with waste, frustration and unforeseen costs. The per label cost will always be higher than you thought initially. That’s just part of it. There’s no right or wrong printer. I get wanting to remain agile and adjust label design on the fly. Sometimes the answer is within scrapbooking design. Print black and white on a sheet of designed card stock, cut and adhere with two sided tape or spray adhesive or the tacky glue in hobby shops. Some really chic businesses never stick a label to anything. Some just use plain white mailing labels with black ink/toner onto a plastic container and package the containers in a cute bag with a ribbon. One of my favorite crafty colleagues built an entire brand without spending a penny on a color printer. She used thrifted fabrics, glassine or paper bags she had on hand and ran circles around me for premium pricing and profit margins. another packages her stuff in a muslin (or similar fabric) drawstring bag with a black and white hang tag and gets double (or more) for her products than I do. I took up that idea for holiday items splurging $30 on a custom rubber stamp and am realizing profits I missed for so long. Simplifying stands out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilFirecracker Posted May 27, 2022 Author Share Posted May 27, 2022 I'm sorry @NightLight and @TallTayl for just now responding! I haven't been by here in a while - busy thinking, researching, doing my thing! 😃 My plans have come to a screeching halt for a while, but I'll be back at it soon. I did decide to do it right and get the EcoTank soon. I'll just be kicking myself if I don't so - crisis averted! Hope all of you beautiful people have been doing great! Hoping to be around more now so I'm off to see what all I've missed while I was away... 🤯 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross-stitch Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 What do you guys think about the Canon Ivy Mini Photo Printer? I'm thinking of maybe looking into one to use for my label printing rather than a regular printer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 On 12/1/2022 at 1:51 PM, Cross-stitch said: What do you guys think about the Canon Ivy Mini Photo Printer? I'm thinking of maybe looking into one to use for my label printing rather than a regular printer... Never heard of it before. Have you seen the labels in person? I’m curious about the quality. No ink technology sure sounds good. If it is a thermal, though, candle labels might not be successful. I used a thermal label from my shipping printer on a candle and it turned completely black 😆🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross-stitch Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 Looked at that Canon printer and it was tiny!!! That thing was way too small to do anything useful at all and pretty much could fit in the palm of my hand! Been really looing at a Cricut Explore Air 2 cause we have one at work for sale. But, I notice that the only way you can use those is if you register it and am not sure about that. Did you register yours? If so, do you get lots of junk mail from registering? That's the thing I'm concerned of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 3 hours ago, Cross-stitch said: Looked at that Canon printer and it was tiny!!! That thing was way too small to do anything useful at all and pretty much could fit in the palm of my hand! Been really looing at a Cricut Explore Air 2 cause we have one at work for sale. But, I notice that the only way you can use those is if you register it and am not sure about that. Did you register yours? If so, do you get lots of junk mail from registering? That's the thing I'm concerned of. I have the silhouette cameo not the cricut. I didn’t think either was a printer, per se. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cross-stitch Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 Thanks for the info! I've done quite a bit of looking around about these trying to decide. I've heard lots of good things about the two machines though, just might not be quite what I'm looking for. I guess we'll see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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