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Ice cream maker needs printing help

sobegirl

sobegirl

New Member
Hello, I purchase labels for the ice cream pints in jobs of 1000 pieces. No problem there. However, I make many different flavors at many different times. I never know what the flavors will be in advance. So it is impossible for me to do large print jobs for these flavors when I have not much advance notice and I only need say like 30 of them.

I think it would be best to keep working with a printer for the ice cream logo for example but at the same time buy a printer I can use personally that will be able to print just the flavor of the batch. I will only need to pint about 20 of them for example. I will print 20 stickers of the words.. Vanilla Ice cream with Brownie. then the next week maybe I have some awesome blueberry. So I make 20 pints of that and print Vanilla with Blueberry..

The question is, what kind of printer do I buy? What kind of paper do I print on? Is it Vinyl the same thing used to wrap cars? The ink, will it be water proof of close to waterproof.

Also, if there is a printer here that can do small runs,, and turn them around to me quick I would just order them but I dont know anyone that will do that and make it affordable so maybe it is best I just buy my own printer for these small runs. ?? Thanks in advance.
 
sobegirl

sobegirl

New Member
oh yea sure.. it will take a week and they will charge 1 dollar per item. It wont work. I use them for the large runs of the logo.. but for the flavor I really need to so them myself. The logo for example is about 200 dollars for 500.. to pay 20 dollars for 20 of the flavor is not going to work so I have to do them myself..

what is a affordable personal printer that can print on vinyl and with a durable close to waterproof ink.. thanks.
 
sobegirl

sobegirl

New Member
logo that i do jobs in 1000 are 3.5 X 3

but the sticker to make the flavors will be 2 X 2. these I only need about 20 at at time..
 
Graphics@ToysForTrucks

Graphics@ToysForTrucks

New Member
sobegirl said:
logo that i do jobs in 1000 are 3.5 X 3

but the sticker to make the flavors will be 2 X 2. these I only need about 20 at at time..
Click to expand...

What about the Avery labels from your local office supply store, walmart carries them too- and print them from your computer? you can buy a laminate to put on top to make them more waterproof...... just a thought... :)
 
sobegirl

sobegirl

New Member
Jo-Jo said:
What about the Avery labels from your local office supply store, walmart carries them too- and print them from your computer? you can buy a laminate to put on top to make them more waterproof...... just a thought... :)
Click to expand...

when you say print them from my computer I have two printers.. a brother black and white lazer jet and a hp ink jet.. Both pretty inexpensive consumer grade.. If I buy the right vinyl sticker paper I can use either one of these to print a waterproof sticker that I can put on the ice cream pints?
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
There's another thread going on at this very moment about almost the exact same situation.

You're actually thinking of spending some big bucks to get some equipment to save a few cents ??

Once you purchase the printer, the correct inks, the vinyl and some software and other consumables, you'll easily have close to a dollar each in producing 20 little decals by yourself, for yourself. From start to finish, you'll have 15 minutes of time, plus all your costs and overhead. If you think $20 is highway robbery, then ya better use one of those machines you already have and put out a not-so-nice product.

Why don't ya just get a magic marker and write on shelf liner paper ?? How's your penmanship/calligraphy ??​
 
Solventinkjet

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
As Gino said, you need to look at the actual cost of making these labels on one of these printers. It's not just ink and vinyl. It's the cost of the machine, maintenance and repairs. Even if you save 50% on the stickers how long will it take to recoup your investment of $$$$? If you spend $8000 for the machine and save 50 cents per sticker it would take 16000 stickers to recoup your investment and that is just the cost of the machine not including the maintenance and repairs. If you do 20 stickers a week that's 1040 stickers which comes to about 16 years to recoup your investment. The machine won't even last that long.

I think you should look into a labeling machine and have the print shop print you a fancy boarder that you can just stick the labels onto. They will be water proof, the machine maintenance is almost non-existent and above all else, it's way cheaper. That way you only have to purchase a print from the sign guy when you feel like change in the design instead of every time you change flavors. Modern label machines have fancier types of colors like metallics now of days as well.
 
jfiscus

jfiscus

Rap Master
A Gerber Edge and plotter is going to be he best bet for what you're looking for. However, the software takes a while to learn. But is does offer you the ability to print on demand and use the labels immediately after printing, for ice cream labels thermal printing like this you wouldn't need to laminate and the "ink" would be waterproof. You should be able to pick up the "combo" of the printer & plotter & software used for under $5,000.
 
DerbyCitySignGuy

DerbyCitySignGuy

New Member
As already stated, you're going to spend too much money on trying to print your own labels.

Why not find a local shop and explain your situation? There's a good chance you'll find somebody who's willing to work with you and give you good pricing and a good turnaround. Especially if you bring in ice cream. Not even joking. That kind of thing goes a long way, especially with employees.

Boss: "Hey, the ice cream lady needs some labels, do you think you could work an extra 30 minutes today to get them done for her?"
Employee: "Oh, the one who brings in that delicious ice cream all the time? Yeah, I can do that."
 
sobegirl

sobegirl

New Member
This is a great forum. I am glad I found you all. I am going to post files of the print jobs I do now in a few hours. Maybe I can work with someone from here the next time. Not only do I need the package labels but also I need wrap for the small freezers that go into the stores. I am going to check out the suggesti0ns made in this thread.. thank you very very much all you wonderful "print heads" hehe...
 
C

ColorCrest

All around shop helper.
Avery carries durable labels for everything such as cosmetic bottles up to 55 gallon hazard waste drums. The size you're looking for cost about 5 cents each and should work with your printers and ice cream containers.
 
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