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Ice cream maker needs printing help

AKwrapguy

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...

There are many people on here that will be willing to work with you. One thing to maybe look at, and again kind of out of the box here but what about some sort of stencil? If you only doing a few runs, I know at most arts and crafts store you can buy sheets of thicker plastic that you can create you own stencils and use a spray paint or roller.
 

sobegirl

New Member
thanks for the suggestion but that would be way to time consuming. I think what Im going to do is just get some vinyl sticker paper in Letter size. Print the flavor that the ice cream is on the letter size paper.. probably put like 20 on that one page.. then cut them with a paper chopper or whatever you call that thing. As for the other graphics I need in larger runs Im going to put them up here later to get some prices. thanks. this board is great.
 

Fred Weiss

Merchant Member
Fred, that link takes me to something totally unrelated....

Again, there was a day that this conversation would not have gone past the first post.......

If you look at the landing page, it gives you a button to continue on to the Amazon page.

Not sure why the OP isn't going for the suggestion of a thermal printer (Brother or Dymo) that offer solutions matching her stated needs.

I agree with your final comment but since new members are not moderated before approval anymore, this is the result.
 

GB2

Old Member
Thanks Fred....didn't see that....that information actually is going to be very helpful to me too.....and thanks for the explanation. Ahhh...the good ol' days!
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
If you look at the landing page, it gives you a button to continue on to the Amazon page.

Not sure why the OP isn't going for the suggestion of a thermal printer (Brother or Dymo) that offer solutions matching her stated needs.


I agree with your final comment but since new members are not moderated before approval anymore, this is the result.

That's one result, but you can also now monitor your poop, enlargement parameters and online dating girls all on the same forum. Sure saves time, huh ??
 

Billct2

Active Member
I think the label maker suggestions are your best bet. My concern would if they will withstand the moisture/cold. There are some spray clears you could use.
Personally I think since you are making these in such small custom batches you should just get some sharpies in different colors and write the flavors on by hand.
 

sobegirl

New Member
oh, I see I woke up he cranky old timers :). Today, barriers to entry to most of these industries are much lower than they were back in the day. I do however have respect for those that remember the days of "printing" with plates and what not. Gone are those times unless you are the federal reserve I suppose.
 

Fred Weiss

Merchant Member
That's one result, but you can also now monitor your poop, enlargement parameters and online dating girls all on the same forum. Sure saves time, huh ??

Well Gino, have you considered that the time it takes to moderate new members may be more than it is worth to keep Signs 101 open and running. It was getting to that point for me when I was doing it.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Well Gino, have you considered that the time it takes to moderate new members may be more than it is worth to keep Signs 101 open and running. It was getting to that point for me when I was doing it.


I don't really know. When I came on board, this stuff happened, we got spammed and hacked and even shut down a few times. It was all part of the package. I learned to deal with it, just as I am these days. However, the people in the last 6 months or so, coming on board, make it almost impossible to carry on decent conversations at any level. Most of the others don't seem to care, so I guess ya just hafta roll with the punches as progress moves in and on. Not my cup-a-tea, and not for a lotta others, but it is what it is. :toasting:
 
I think the label maker suggestions are your best bet. My concern would if they will withstand the moisture/cold. There are some spray clears you could use.
Personally I think since you are making these in such small custom batches you should just get some sharpies in different colors and write the flavors on by hand.

This is probably the best and most economical suggestion. Have the sign shop you currently use run a batch of your logo decals with a blank space to write the name in with a Sharpie, instead of printing them with the flavors like you would normally have them do.
 

equippaint

Active 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.
Your flaw in all of this is not realizing costs before you started doing whatever it is that you are doing. You can do labels yourself but you will not save anything, chances are it will cost you more. You can get mad at the stickers but that is not the actual problem. Buy 5000 labels for each flavor and use them as you go to get the best price. If you cant do that, you should really re-evaluate what you are doing.
 

Joe House

Sign Equipment Technician
Not sure if this applies, but if this is labeling for a food product that is going to be sold or given to the public, are there restrictions as to food safety in regards to the ink? I seem to remember from a long time back that food labeling needs to meet some FDA requirements even for indirect food contact. This probably applies to the label media as well as the inks used. I would certainly look into the requirements before considering making a $10K investment.
 

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
One issue you might want to look into before investing in a printer is what the requirements are for food labeling/ packaging in your area. Might be nothing or could be the end of your business if some inspector with nothing better to do gets interested.
I'm pretty sure eco solvent ink is non-edible unless you have built up a good tolerance like us sign printer guys.

wayne k
guam usa
 

equippaint

Active Member
Another vote for a Primera LX label printer.
Designed specifically for labels. Hardly any maintenance, and advertised to print food labels.
Label Printers & Digital Presses | Equipment | Primera Technologies Inc.
In batches of 20, it would take 60 different runs (1200 containers) just to break even on the printer IF you got all of the materials and ink for free vs paying someone $1 a piece which they have already turned their nose up at, with the absolute cheapest printer shown.
The OP said the barriers to entry have been lowered for this business, I don't see how when the stupid labels are a sticking point because of the cost. Its an ancillary item.
This is what came into my head after reading this thread..... I would have made a million dollars last year if I didn't have all of my overhead.
 

ikarasu

Active Member
Part of me feels like all these new posts are troll posts trying to get a response out of people.

I'm sure 99% of the population dont know what offset printing is. And every time people start complaining... The "grumpy old timers" get mentioned.


Either way... If you need variable labels, buy some sticker sheets off eBay...or use a felt pen. It takes the same amount of manpower to print 20 labels, laminate them, and cut them out as it does to print 200, that's why you're paying $1 per sticker in small quantities. Most people won't even touch $20 jobs... So I'd be happy you found a sign shop that will, and be thankful.


Buy one of these -
Dymo 1957331 LabelWriter 450 Bundle with 4 LW Rolls | eBay

Redesign your sticker so there's a blank space as big as whatever label size you want... Order 10,000 labels, and just print off whatever you need as you need it, attach it to your template decal and your good to go.
 
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