Five Rules For Getting Your Custom Labels Done Right

Labels are one of the things in life that we all need. Without labels, we can't find anything, and there are all sorts of projects, products and other things that need labels. Labels are there to make life simpler by helping us to be as organized as possible. But that only works if making and getting labels is quick and easy, and that especially goes for custom labels. When you need them, you need them, and usually you need them fast.

Based on my several decades of needing and using labels, I know exactly where I want to get my labels from, and what places I'll avoid like the plague. Like almost everyone else I had to learn the hard way and there were some embarrassing mistakes. Embarrassing for me, as I needed those labels-done correctly--in my job or for projects on deadline, and embarrassing for the label companies that dropped the ball and certainly never got my business again. So let me tell you what I learned:

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First, finding a place that not only promises quick turnaround but also delivers is key. Be it tags, bar codes, food labels or some other product packaging labels, you hardly ever have the luxury of a lot of advance notice, and you can never afford to miss a deadline. So label vendor MUST deliver on time. If they have excuses, dump them and find someone else.

Second, ordering labels should not be rocket science, yet a lot of vendors make the process so complicated as to virtually guarantee errors. That is wrong. I always deal with label vendors who keep things simple and straightforward. This way, I don't have to waste time trying to figure out a convoluted ordering system, and there's much less of a chance that the vendor will mess up my decals or custom labels.

Third, I don't want to wait forever to get a quote. If someone tells me they'll "get back to me in a few days" with a quote, that's a no-go right then and there. It shouldn't take a label shop days to figure out what to charge a customer, so if someone can't tell you right there on the phone or via an online system, go somewhere else.

Fourth, deal with someone who has things in stock! If I hear one more time, "we can order that for you," I am going to scream. Ordering something they should have in stock can add days or weeks to the process, and I don't have that time. So I always deal with label companies that have things in stock. No exceptions. I mean, we're talking laser labels and bumper stickers here, not parts for the space shuttle!

Fifth, finally, I expect some competence on part of the label company. I don't want to be the one telling them how to do their job, what machines to use, or how to handle the colors or fonts or file formats. That's their job. I tell them what I need, and then it is entirely up to them to get the job done, and done properly.

I know, the above should all be common sense. But you'd be surprised at all the problems you can run into with your custom labels if you don't observe my rules. Take it from one who's been dealing with labels all his life.

Five Rules For Getting Your Custom Labels Done Right

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.
Learn more about Doing Custom Labels Right.