Looking for advice for high-quality inkjet label sheets

Your detailed reply gives us all a better idea of your problem.

Mars said:

I wasn't expecting to see the prominent white edges. It's possible this effect would be lessened with die-cut sheets, and I was hoping to get some feedback on that. Would be unfortunate to pay for a die and order label sheets sonly to see that the white is still as noticeable.

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From what I am reading this is your problem #1. The only way I can suggest to evaluate the effect of the die-cut "white-edge" is to print a representative black square on your chosen sample stock and then HAND CUT WITH A SHARP BOX CUTTER. The resulting edge that you see will be the same as you will get from a competent die-cut operation. Intuitively I think it should be far less noticeable than the image you uploaded, but not completely invisible. Different papers will probably give different effects and you may have to compromise some of your preferences.

Other less satisfactory solutions could include printing on a transparent label so the black of the cartridge shows through eliminating the white edge. However, presents other problems such as requiring an opaque white under the visible image - probably difficult with a home printer.

Another somewhat devious thought is to go to commercial label printers in your area and pose as a commercial customer who is thinking of producing several thousand and discuss your problems. They may have some insight on your white edge problem, and you may be able to score a few sample sheets of the stocks they have access to.

The solution is out there. Just gotta find it.

good luck. let us know.

rs

I'm going to order a small run of die-cut sheets from Papalio, since they aren't charging too much to setup the die (they are laser cut, so I'm not really sure they need to do too much at all with the vector file I gave them). I'm going to get some of the thicker Photo Gloss Adhesive sheets I already have, as well as some of their "film" paper that is significantly thinner. They said when they cut the die with the laser it will turn the edges soft brown, which should make the edges less noticeable. Hopefully next week I can test these sheets.

This week I received labels from two other companies (PlanetLabel.com and LabelsByTheSheet.com), but unfortunately they are also of poor quality. One of them appears to be very close to the labels I'm using now. The other is a glossy label material I've seen in the past, and already have a large stack of. These latter material has more accurate color reproduction and deeper blacks, but does not look nearly as good as the Papalio paper. Also, when viewed under light, you can see an odd color sheen in the gloss. And the glossy coating isn't terribly smooth.

So, I'll keep hunting in case the Papalio media doesn't pan out. It's discouraging when I had excellent labels for years, the company changes the labels, and it's now difficult to find glossy inkjet label sheets that are comparable.

A bit late here: I've never tried OnlineLabels glossies. I've ordered the laser waterproof (decent but not spectacular) the inkjet waterproof (not good for long term, would be OK for things like favors at a wedding that you don't want the ink to run if it gets humid or touched with wet hands) and the gold laser printable (nice!).

If you know anybody with a Silhouette Cameo "scrapbooking" cutter (really a vinyl plotter) maybe you can offer to buy them new blades if they can cut your label outlines out of full sheet stock. It will take a little trial and error to figure out blade depth/blade pressure to do it just right.