Most problems with a custom label order start before the file is uploaded. The reseller quotes from a one-line email ("500 labels for our sauce, 80mm round"), the client says yes, and then the questions start: fridge or shelf, hand or machine, one flavour or three.
This post is the brief we'd want you to take from your client before you quote and order labels on roll. We've already written the deep guides on materials, sizing and artwork; this is the ordering checklist that sits on top of them, with links where you need detail.
Mediapoint is a trade-only wide-format printer in Derrimut, Melbourne. Since 2006 we've printed signage, stickers and roll labels for sign shops, print resellers and agencies Australia-wide, white-labelled and blind-shipped, so your clients only ever see your brand.
1. What it goes on, and where it lives
Start here, because it decides almost everything else. Ask what the label is applied to (jar, tub, bottle, carton, pouch) and where that product lives: fridge, freezer, bathroom, pantry shelf or dry warehouse.
Also ask whether the label touches food directly. Our roll labels use a single acrylic adhesive and are not food-grade. They're fine on food and beverage packaging, not in contact with the food itself.
And ask the question resellers forget: is this actually a label, or is it a sign? Roll labels are for packaging and indoor products. If the client wants something on a shopfront, a ute, a bin or a fence, it's not a roll label job. Steer them to stickers or a rigid sign; stickers vs labels draws the line.
2. Material
We run four stocks: white BOPP, clear BOPP, silver BOPP and paper. BOPP is waterproof, oil and moisture resistant and fridge-proof. Paper is not waterproof and is for dry, indoor, short-term use.
| Client situation | Start with |
|---|---|
| Fridge, freezer, bathroom, drink bottles, anything that gets wet or oily | White BOPP |
| Wants the "no-label look" on glass or clear plastic | Clear BOPP (ask about white ink under the artwork) |
| Premium or metallic finish on cosmetics, spirits, candles | Silver BOPP (white ink where colours need to stay true) |
| Dry goods, cartons, short-run or seasonal, kept dry | Paper |
| Outdoors, vehicles, shopfronts | Not a roll label. Quote stickers or a rigid sign instead. |
For the detail on each stock, including how clear and silver behave with and without white ink, read our roll label materials guide. If the client's main worry is water, the waterproof labels post covers what BOPP actually survives.
If the material is new to the client, order a small sample run first.
3. Size and shape
Get the finished size in millimetres and a photo of the container. Clients often measure the flat face of a jar and forget the curve, or pick a size that wraps past the edge of a tapered bottle.
Our limits are simple: minimum 30 x 30mm, simple shapes only (circles, ovals, squares, rounded rectangles), a maximum of five points or corners, and every corner needs a slight radius. No fully square corners. We have one of Australia's largest die libraries and no die setup fees, and we accept custom simple die lines.
If the client wants an intricate outline, a logo-shaped cut or sharp square corners, that's a sticker job, not a roll label job.
4. Quantity and number of designs ("kinds")
Labels are printed across a 312mm web in lanes, and the number of lanes is set automatically by label width: one lane up to 308mm, two up to 152mm, three up to 100mm, four up to 74mm, five up to 58mm, six up to 48mm. The number of different artworks ("kinds") in a lot must be a multiple of the number of lanes. A 90mm wide label runs three lanes, so you can order 3, 6, 9 or 12 kinds, but not 4.
So ask: how many different designs, and how many of each? Four flavours on a 90mm label means adding a fifth and sixth kind (a plain logo label, a "sample" label) or accepting that the order rounds up. Quantities can also round up to fill lanes and rolls, so don't promise an exact count down to the label.
We don't bin or split a quantity across rolls, and there is no set number of labels per roll. If the client needs separate rolls, set them up as separate kinds.
5. Hand or machine application, and unwind direction
Ask how the labels go on. A person with a jar on a bench is hand application, and any unwind direction is fine.
If the client has a labelling machine, you need to know the unwind direction (orientation) the machine expects, and you choose it at checkout. Get it from the machine supplier or a photo of a roll that currently runs through it. Guessing is how a reseller ends up with 10,000 labels that feed in upside down.
All rolls come on a 76mm (3-inch) core with the waste matrix stripped, ready to apply. The sizing, core and wind direction guide covers the orientation options in detail.
One exception: the 312mm wide core roll (white and clear BOPP only, one lane, max label width 291mm, single continuous roll) is not suited to automatic machine application.
6. Artwork
We don't offer design or artwork services, so the file comes from you or the client's designer. The brief to pass on: 3mm bleed, a correct cut line, and a white ink layer for clear or silver BOPP. Preflight checks the file and you approve an online proof before anything prints.
Everything you need to hand a designer is in the roll label artwork setup guide. Send that link rather than retyping it.
7. Lead time, cut-off and minimum order
Ask when the client actually needs the labels in hand. Production is from two business days. Orders up to $2,000 plus GST placed before the 1pm cut-off dispatch in two business days, and it's roughly one more business day per extra $1,000. The exact date is shown before checkout, so quote from that.
The minimum order is $120 plus GST ($60 plus GST on 312mm wide core rolls). We print from 100 labels up to 100,000, so small first runs are fine.
Once the order is placed, production starts automatically and no changes are possible. Get the client's sign-off on the proof before you approve it, in writing.
8. Delivery
Blind shipping Australia-wide is free on all label rolls. Nothing in the box identifies us. Get the delivery address and a contact name up front. We don't split one order across multiple addresses, so a client with two sites is two orders.
Common mistakes resellers make
- Quoting paper for a fridge product. Paper is for dry goods. Anything cold, wet or oily is BOPP.
- Treating labels as outdoor signage. They're not. Outdoor jobs go to stickers or rigid signs.
- Promising an exact quantity. Lanes and rolls can round the count up. Quote the rounded figure from the portal.
- Four kinds on a three-lane label. Check lanes before you promise the client a number of designs.
- Guessing unwind direction for a machine. Get it from the machine, not from the client's memory.
- Quoting roll labels when sheets would do. A client hand-applying 200 labels may be better on sheets. See roll vs sheet labels.
- Approving the proof without the client's sign-off. Production starts automatically and there are no changes after that.
FAQ
What should I ask a client before quoting custom labels? What the label goes on, where the product is stored, how many designs and how many of each, whether it's applied by hand or machine, the finished size, and when they need it delivered.
Can I order one design in different quantities on separate rolls? Set each one up as a separate kind. There's no splitting or binning of one quantity across rolls, and no set number of labels per roll.
Why did my quantity round up? Labels run in lanes across the web and in whole rolls, so the system can round quantities up to fill them. The portal shows the figure before you pay.
Are the labels food-safe? They're not food-grade. They're fine on food and beverage packaging but not in direct contact with food.
Can the client's label go outdoors? Roll labels are for packaging and indoor products, not outdoor signage. For anything outside, quote stickers or a rigid sign.
Do you print custom shapes? Simple shapes only: circles, ovals, squares and rounded rectangles, up to five points, with a slight radius on every corner, from 30 x 30mm. Custom simple die lines are accepted at no setup fee.
Key takeaways
- Brief the environment first: fridge, wet or oily means BOPP; dry and short-term can be paper.
- Roll labels are for packaging and indoor products, not outdoor signage.
- Kinds must be a multiple of lanes, and quantities can round up. Check lanes before promising a design count.
- For machine application, confirm unwind direction from the machine, and choose it at checkout.
- Minimum order $120 plus GST, production from two business days, 1pm cut-off, free blind shipping.
- No artwork services and no changes after order placement, so get the client's proof sign-off in writing.
Ready to order custom labels on roll?
Labels on roll are live in the trade portal with live pricing by material, size, kinds and quantity, and the dispatch date shown before you check out. For the full range of custom label printing and sticker options, or to open an account, register for trade pricing.
