I use a laser printer and find that the black ink always smudges. The colors seem ok. I've experimented with matte and gloss as well with the matte being the only one that doesn't smudge. I'd like to use the gloss or weatherproof because it's water resistant. Any suggestions on how to keep the black from smudging? I've noticed that many people put a clear label over their printed one to prevent this problem, but that seems very tedious.

The weatherproof materials are very durable and coated for water resistance. Once printed, your design shouldn't smear or smudge when touched with a wet hand or when soaked in water. For the most durable print result, we recommend adjusting the printer's paper type setting to Photo, Glossy, Labels, or Heavy paper. A Standard or Normal print quality setting would be recommended as well since the Best setting could potentially oversaturate the waterproof topcoat. To better address the issue with the black ink smearing, please confirm your printer's make and model number as well as the printer settings you have already tried by submitting a support ticket at the link below. One of our Customer Support Representatives will be happy to assist you further. https://secure.onlinelabels.com/Support/SupportRequest.aspx

What's the paper weight?

The White Gloss Inkjet (WJ) features a facestock that is 4.1 +/- 10% mil in thickness and a 48# liner that is 2.8 +/- 10% mil thick. You can also view the material details here: https://www.onlinelabels.com/materials/gloss-inkjet-labels . If you'd like to try samples of this material, you're welcome to visit the link below. https://www.onlinelabels.com/samples

is the clear gloss label waterproof?

Our Clear Gloss Inkjet (CK) is not coated for water resistance and is intended only for regular, dry applications. However, our Clear Gloss Laser (CL) material is weatherproof. If you have access to a laser printer and require a waterproof material, we recommend selecting the CL material instead.

What is better inkjet or Laser for labels? Depending on which one, what printer is the safest bet for the most centered label

Both inkjet and laser printers offer advantages, whether you seek high-quality photo printing or greater efficiency. Below is an article link with more details on how these two printer types compare. https://www.onlinelabels.com/articles/determine-your-printer-type

Is this label compatible with an Avery label ? If so, which number ?

The OL421 is not compatible with an Avery item so I have included a link below to our available templates. https://www.onlinelabels.com/Templates/ol421-template.htm If you need an Avery compatible item, you can view our cross-reference chart at the following link. https://www.onlinelabels.com/av-cross-ref.htm

Does anyone know the width and height settings of the safe zone for this label?

For a safe zone or safe margin, we'd recommend allowing 1/8" (0.125") space between the design and the edge of the label. So you'd want your design to have a width and height of 2.0" x 1.5625" for the OL421.