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What To Look For When Choosing a Custom Label Supplier

Updated 07/31/2025
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Choosing a custom label supplier is crucial to your packaging strategy since customers often notice the products' labels first. The right label partner can make a difference by offering consistent printing quality, the right array of materials, and the proper communication to improve your label production process. If you're starting to print and design your labels or evaluate potential suppliers, this guide will walk you through the key qualities to look for in a reliable label provider.

How the Quality of Your Labels Represents Your Brand

When customers pick up your product, the label can help you communicate your brand and create a good first impression. A well-designed label shows your company's attention to detail, commitment to quality, and pride in your product. Also, using a label with a strong adhesive, durable materials, and well-designed graphics helps portray professionalism, and that can only start by choosing a good label provider.

For a label supplier to be considered reliable, they must provide an extensive variety of materials that match your specific application, brand aesthetic, and material choice. The most common material choices can range from waterproof to freezer-safe properties, to focusing on matte or glossy finishes.

At OnlineLabels, we understand customers' needs vary and don't adjust to a specific formula. That’s why we offer one of the largest material selections for blank and custom labels. We also provide a variety of adhesives, including Permanent and Removable. Each material in our catalog is carefully tested for performance and reliability, ensuring that your labels look professional and meet exterior conditions.

How Does Production Scalability and Speed help Your Production

When choosing a label provider, you should always consider how they approach timing and flexibility. If you are progressively changing the scalability of your product line due to a seasonal demand or because of a new campaign, your label supplier must be able to have speed times to adjust to your pace.

That’s why flexible order scalability and shipping speeds are two of the most important factors to consider. A good supplier allows you to print labels in-house when needed or outsource custom printing with different label techniques for a more polished look. This dual approach allows your business flexibility without compromising on quality or consistency. For scalability problems, we offer no minimum order quantities for most in-stock products and low minimums for custom orders. Allowing you to experiment freely, update designs, or respond to changes in your branding or product line.

At OnlineLabels, we understand the importance of keeping your production on track. That’s why we offer blank and custom-printed labels so that you can choose the best options for your products. Blank label orders typically ship on the same day if the items are in stock, and if they’re in production, it takes 1-3 business days. Meanwhile, custom label orders are processed and shipped in as little as 2-3 business days, so you can move from planning to packaging without delay.

Does Your Label Provider Have Easy Customization Tools

To ensure a smooth label design process, a label supplier must offer user-friendly design tools, flexible upload options, and support for small runs so you can test your design ideas before committing to a larger batch.

At OnlineLabels, we offer our design platform, Maestro Label Designer. This platform gives you the tools to easily create your label designs from scratch or work from pre-made templates. This program lets you import your artwork directly from platforms like Canva, Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, and more!

Customer Service, Support, and Professional Accessibility

A good label supplier also helps their customers through the entire printing and designing process. For this reason, they should offer a reliable customer service experience with knowledgeable and responsive answers, especially when navigating labeling for the first time or working on a tight timeline.

At OnlineLabels, we believe customer support should be accessible, friendly, and professional. That’s why we offer free access to customer service representatives who are ready to answer your questions and help you with your challenges. We provide live chat, email, and phone number 1-888-575-2235.

How Can Your Label Provider Help You With Specialty Features

Specialty label features can add the extra layer your design needs, but not every label supplier can offer these advanced solutions. A well-rounded label provider should provide more than the basics and the capability and expertise to help you explore custom improvements, especially finishes that adjust to your goals.

We go beyond standard labels with a growing selection of premium print features and materials, including:

  • Cold foiling adds a metallic finish to certain parts of your labels using a cold foil process. Perfect to bring a metallic effect to your labels.
  • Holographic labels add an eye-catching iridescence to your packaging for a shinier look. This is great for adding an extra layer of shine to your design.
  • Metallic/Foil labels add a chrome-like effect to label designs.

A Label Supplier Can Become a Strategic Partner

Selecting the right label supplier isn't just about finding someone who can print your designs; it's about finding a partner who understands your brand, supports your growth, and helps you deliver consistent quality to your customers. The best suppliers make your labeling process easier by offering a wide range of materials and specialty finishes, providing design flexibility, fast turnaround times, and dependable customer support. At OnlineLables, we're committed to being more than a provider; we're here to help you bring your vision to life with tools, options, and guidance built for labeling needs, and we're ready to support you every step of the way.


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