TecStore's Food Labelling Systems for commercial food and drink distributors and retailers include a mono or colour label printer with label design software for use on a PC/Laptop, providing a complete on-demand professional label printing solution.

These food product labelling systems are suitable for PPDS (Pre-packed for Direct Sale) businesses such as warehouse, factory, kitchen-based distributors and retailers who prepare, pack, import or distribute their own ready-made products to sell to consumers, retail shops and supermarkets. They also enable compliance with the UK's Natasha's Law for the proper indication of Allergens within a products Ingredients list.



Our food labelling solutions are for use where products are not sold by weight or all items are the same net weight such as pre-packed jars, sandwiches, packs, biscuits, sweets, nuts, meat, cheese, olives and other food items and sold at a fixed price. For variable weight/price items, please see our Labelling Scales.

You can produce high quality, professional standard product labels with company logo, text (name, ingredients, storage instructions etc), barcode, accreditations and similar content. Choose from our range of Monochrome and Colour Label printers.

When choosing what type of food labelling system is most suitable for your food/drink distribution business we recommend you consider the following factors:

1. Colour or Monochrome Printing
Our monochrome (black) ink printers support text, barcodes and graphics on either a plain white label or a pre-printed custom background label. They are available in lower cost Direct Thermal print technology with standard print resolution of 203dpi or higher resolution where you require better print quality for smaller font sizes or more detailed graphics and Thermal Transfer print mechanism for more resilient print quality which uses a wax resin ink ribbon.

Our colour label printers use inkjet technology. They are available in various print-resolutions for standard quality or hi-res photo quality. Dye ink based printers provide better colour vibrancy. Pigment based printers use ink which is more resilient to water / grease etc.

Where your label design content is fixed, it may be more economic to get the static colour content pre-printed onto custom made rolls by a label roll manufacturer in high volumes. This would work out much cheaper as long as you can order rolls in large quantities (eg. 500+ rolls at a time). You can then simply use one of our lower-cost monochrome printers to over-print variable data such as Batch Number, Production Date, Expiry Date etc in black onto your pre-printed colour labels.

2. Size of Print Run
Lower cost printers are designed for short print runs of a few labels per day. Medium capacity printers are designed to print several hundred labels. Higher capacity printers are designed to print thousands of labels per day, faster and more economically.

A lower cost printer will be more expensive to operate in terms of ink cartridge costs than a higher-cost printer which is designed for higher volume printing more efficiently. So you should carefully estimate how many labels you will print on each print run and how often to determine your typical volume requirements and then choose the most economic printer accordingly.

3. Size & Shape of Labels
Printers are available to support media width of 2", 4", 5" and 8" - noting that you can print sideways if your design is in portrait format. All the printers support square and rectangular labels within their supported print width

For alternative shapes, you can either buy pre-cut label rolls, have custom label rolls manufactured with your required shape or you can use one of our advanced printers such as the Primera LX610e that can print and cut shapes as well as laminate.

4. Label Finish
On our lower-cost monochrome printers, these use plain thermal-coated labels.

For our colour label printers labels are available in matt, semi-gloss and gloss finish depending on your desired label appearance, intended use and shelf life. Some of our colour label printers support polypropylene labels which are suitable for outdoor use, more durable and are more resilient to dirt, moisture, grease, oil etc.

For some applications the type of label adhesive may also be a relevant factor depending on the surface the label will be stuck to and the temperature range the products will be in.

5. Design & Print Software
All our printers come with Windows-based design and print software. Some models are available with software for an Apple Mac. With the design software you can set up the layout for each of your product with required headings, text, graphics, logo and barcode in the required sizes and colours with any borders and boxes. We also offer stand-alone label printers (that do not require a computer to print), but you would need a computer to initially design and download the label layouts to the printer and to make any design changes.

6. Print Quality
Print quality is a measure of the readability and clarity of the printed content. For example, on our Lite package which is designed for low-volume printing of simple text contents, this prints at 203dpi in monochrome. On our high-spec 4000 package, this prints in full colour at 4800dpi with is hi-res photo quality content.

7. Ink Type
On the colour label printers, models are available with either dye-based ink or pigment ink.

Dye-based ink provides clear, crisp, high-contrast, waterproof and fade-resistant full colour prints. Pigment ink on matt surface labels gives a much higher UV-resistance making it suitable for outdoor use and for use with refrigerated and frozen products where there is cold temperatures, moisture and water.

On the lower-cost monochrome label printers, the Thermal Transfer printer with ink ribbon provides better resilience against cold temperatures and moisture.

8. Cost Per Label
Your cost per label will be determined by (i) the ink coverage to calculate the cost of the ink, (ii) plus the cost of the blank label media/rolls and any laminate sheets, and then (iii) the cost of staff time to print, peel and apply the labels. The Cost Per Label should be considered as part of your overall production cost to ensure it is not disproportionate to your overall product selling price. If your requirement is for a one-off or short-term nature then you may also need to factor in the initial cost of the labelling system.

9. Add-On Options
Some printers are available with Label Applicators, Take up Spools and Rewinders to better manage the printouts with high volume print runs. Check the specification and options for your intended food label printer if you require these add-ons.

Do you need additional advice? If you need more specific advice for your requirements please call us on 020 8936 7000 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm UK time), International +44 20 8936 7000, or use our Online Enquiry Form and we will be happy to assist. You will need to let us know: i) Do you require Black & White or Colour Labels? ii) The Shape and Size of each label iii) How many labels you'd print each day or each week iv) What content you require on the labels (including an example photo, sketch or actual artwork) v) Any preference for surface finish (eg matt, gloss, laminated, watermark etc) vi) Whether the label will be applied to dry products or refrigerated/frozen products vii) The typical shelf life of the product viii) Whether you require a take-up winder to put the printed labels neatly on a roll ix) Any other requirements. x) Your budget and requirement date. Our product experts will then suggest the most suitable solution for you, and provide a formal quotation with breakdown of printer cost, ink, labels and any accessories.

The above are our popular food labelling systems. We can offer other systems suited to higher volume labelling - whether you are printing tens or hundreds of thousands of labels per day - as well as special label sizes, shapes and finishes. Contact us on 020 8936 7000 (Intl +44 208 936 7000) with your requirements.



If you are labelling your own food or drink products for supply to supermarkets, online marketplaces like Amazon or eBay or other major retailers then you may need to register with GS1 to be allocated your own official range of EAN / UPC barcodes. Barcodes - More details