Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for label and sticker printers.
A checklist built from how label and sticker printers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Label job specification
- Master roll and slit stock
- Die and cylinder register
- Press run log
- Variable data and barcode checks
- Rewinding, counting and packing
- Repeat order template
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For estimators
- For prepress
- For press operators
- For the store
- For dispatch
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Stock of parent reels by material, width and metres
- Slit remainders available for new jobs
- Dies and cylinders by impressions run
- Spoilage and matrix waste by press and design
- Orders by design with last approved specification
- Rolls and labels dispatched by customer
- Repeat order frequency by design
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- Barcode data import
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- What does a label specification hold?
- Can it deal with roll stock and slitting?
- How are dies tracked?
- Can it handle numbered or barcoded labels?
- How is matrix waste recorded?
- Can the customer approve proofs from the system?
- Does it work for sheet stickers too?
- How do orders get priced?
- Can our old design files be moved in?
- What does it cost?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Master rolls are lost in the slitting
- Dies have no history
- Repeat orders depend on memory
- Roll counts do not match the order
- Variable data is checked by eye
Prefer to talk it through? See the label and sticker printers page.