Stickers and labels for products made in E17

Clear labels are our most requested label job and the one most likely to go wrong, because of one thing: there is no white ink.

Our press prints cyan, magenta, yellow and black onto transparent material. It cannot print white. So anything white in your design does not get printed. It simply becomes clear, and whatever is behind the label shows through. On a clear glass bottle, that means white text vanishes entirely.

This catches out almost every first time clear label customer, so here is what actually works.

Dark or saturated colours on clear. Black, navy, deep green, burgundy: anything with density reads beautifully on glass and gives you the "no label" look people want.

A printed background block. If you need white text, we print a coloured shape behind it and knock the text out. The text stays clear and the block does the contrast. It works well and often looks better than the original idea.

Check what is behind it. A clear label on dark candle wax looks completely different to the same label on a pale soap. Tell us what the product is and, ideally, send a photo. We will tell you before you spend £65 rather than after.

If you need genuine white ink on clear, that is a different process and we would quote it as a custom job. For most people, round white paper labels at £45 per 100 solve the problem outright: true white, full colour on top, and £20 cheaper.

Will it survive? Standard paper labels are fine on dry packaging such as boxes, bags, cards and jars that live in a cupboard. They are not fine on anything that gets wet, cold or handled with damp hands. Bath products, candles that get condensation, anything going in a fridge, anything sold outdoors: those want the waterproof polyester upgrade, which is an additional £30 per 100.

Sizes. Round labels come in 45mm, 55mm and 65mm as standard, and we print rectangles up to about 10 x 8cm. Custom shapes, ovals and rounded corners are all cut in house. If you are not sure what size suits your jar, send us the dimensions of the flat face. A label that wraps around too much curve will wrinkle, and we would rather tell you that first.

Short runs are the point. 100 labels is our minimum, deliberately. Most trade label printers start at 1000, which is how small makers end up with 900 labels for a recipe they have since changed. Print what you will sell this season.

One thing worth knowing: a genuinely bespoke die cut shape, cut to your own outline rather than one of our standard shapes, needs a custom cutting blade made, and that only makes sense at 1000 or more. Below that we work within our standard shapes and sizes, which covers almost everything.

If your label needs a barcode, allergen text or a weight statement, send what you have and we will lay it out. Artwork work starts at £15, and getting a barcode the right size with the correct quiet zone first time is worth more than that.