Choose "Hand Applied" if people will peel the labels off the roll themselves, however many. Choose "Machine Applied" if a labeling machine or applicator feeds from the roll. It's the "Application Method" choice on Custom Roll Labels.
Hand Applied
This is the easy choice, and the right one for most small makers. You get a standard roll that's comfortable to peel from, and the unwind direction doesn't matter.
It suits labeling a batch at a table, prepping stock for a market, or anyone who'd rather not think about cores and winds. If you only label a few dozen at a time, sheet labels may suit you better: there's no roll to manage, and the minimum is 25 instead of 100. See sheet labels or roll labels?
One thing still matters by hand. If the roll will sit on a dispenser with a spindle, check that the spindle takes a 3" core, because every roll we wind is on one.
Machine Applied
Choose this when a machine feeds from the roll: a bottle labeler, a tabletop applicator, or a labeling line. The roll then has to suit that machine as well as your product. A machine cares about:
- unwind direction, which edge of the label comes off first (you choose it on the order form by matching the picture in your manual; see which unwind direction you need);
- core size, the inside of the cardboard tube, which has to fit the machine's spindle (every roll we wind is on a 3" core, so check your machine takes one);
- roll diameter, the largest roll the machine can hold;
- labels per roll, which you tell us (fewer per roll costs more, since every extra roll adds labor, materials, and shipping);
- the gap between labels, which the machine's sensor uses to find each one (ours is about 0.15");
- whether labels face out or in (our unwind choices all wind the labels facing out, so if you need them wound in, ask us first).
Only the unwind direction is on the order form. Send us the rest before you order: email team@stickymade.com or use live chat, with your machine's make and model and a photo of the manual's roll specifications. We'll confirm what we can match before anything prints. The applicator checklist has the full list.
Buying a machine later?
If you label by hand now but plan to buy an applicator, choose one that takes a 3" core, and find out which unwind direction it needs before your next big order. Rolls wound the wrong way for your machine have to be applied by hand.
Ordering
Roll labels start at 100 of a design and ship 5 to 7 business days after you approve the proof. They never print until you approve it. The calculator on the product page shows the exact price before you add to cart.