Are label sheets made for laser printers garanteed to work in all laser printers?

[aab1]

I have a customer for my printing business that wants these labels laser printed:

STAPLES | BUREAU EN GROS

It says they are for laser printers but does this guarantee they will work in my laser copier? I know incompatible paper can cause hundreds of dollars of damage to a laser printer so I want to be sure this is safe before accepting the print job, otherwise he'll take them inkjet printed but he'd prefer them to be water resistant.

Thanks

[Fer]

If it's a b/w printer there is not much to worry, be carefull with color machines.

[aab1]

If it's a b/w printer there is not much to worry, be carefull with color machines.

It's a color laser, how can I know if it is safe?

[charm5496]

What model machine are you trying to run them on?
The biggest thing is can you tell the machine you are running the labels on that the material is a label? if you can not then you will be running the risk that you could damage the machine. And just because the manufacturer of that label says that it is "compatible" with these machines does not gaurantee you that it will not damage your machine. Labels are a nasty material to run through any laser device and as soon as one peels off in your machine your profit will go out the door with it....run at your own risk.

[aab1]

What model machine are you trying to run them on?
The biggest thing is can you tell the machine you are running the labels on that the material is a label? if you can not then you will be running the risk that you could damage the machine. And just because the manufacturer of that label says that it is "compatible" with these machines does not gaurantee you that it will not damage your machine. Labels are a nasty material to run through any laser device and as soon as one peels off in your machine your profit will go out the door with it....run at your own risk.

It's a Canon MF8350Cdn, and I did see there is in fact a "Labels" option in the list of paper types. Does this mean I'm safe printing on labels? Does this also mean Canon will cover any potential damage under warranty?

[mrwho]

First of all, because a customer of yours tells you the labels he's handing to you are made for laser, it doesn't mean it is so. I've had customers of mine paying hefty bills because some customer told them the transparency they were handing were good for copies and they were not, ruining the fusing unit. Of course, those customers who brought in the inappropriate support were the first to run away at the first sign of trouble.

As a rule of thumb, I advise my customers to run only printing support they buy themselves and to refuse anything they don't know the origin. It may sound rough, but the risk is too high - will your customer pay for the damages if the labels he's asking you to print stick on the transfer belt or inside the fuser and ruin anything? Ask him that.

With that out of the way, just because labels are made for laser, it doesn't mean they are meant for any type of laser. Different machines have different speeds (obviously) and different working temperatures (not so obvious), so some labels that go through one machine without trouble, may jam and peel inside another.

Likewise, your printer having the option for "label" printing doesn't mean it can use any kind of label, just like you can't use handwriting transparencies for lasers.

[aab1]

Thanks for the details. I buy all papers for my printing business myself so trusting a customer isn't an issue. I would buy the Avery labels for laser printers at an office supply store. My printer also has "Labels" as a paper type, does this mean the labels made for laser printing and my printer set to label mode will work safely?

[mrwho]

Thanks for the details. I buy all papers for my printing business myself so trusting a customer isn't an issue. I would buy the Avery labels for laser printers at an office supply store. My printer also has "Labels" as a paper type, does this mean the labels made for laser printing and my printer set to label mode will work safely?

You can never be 100% safe when working with labels. I can say that, since your machine is a small form factor that has a fusing unit that doesn't heat too much and is a slow machine, you can be "quite" safe, as long as your labels come from a trusted source.

[aab1]

You can never be 100% safe when working with labels. I can say that, since your machine is a small form factor that has a fusing unit that doesn't heat too much and is a slow machine, you can be "quite" safe, as long as your labels come from a trusted source.

It's not that slow for a sub $1000 laser copier, there are $200 color laser printers that are 4-8ppm, that's slow. 21 ppm for a machine under $1000 that's also a copier/fax is still a good speed. Of course it's not up to 35 ppm like my inkjet, but if I set the inkjet to laser print quality then the laser is faster, but the inkjet start printing before I can even release the "Print" button while the laser takes 1-2 minutes before it starts.

Anyway after a year evaluating how much I make with this printer I'll see if it's worth getting a bigger and faster one, but so far most of my clients much prefer the inkjet prints, but I do use the laser myself for other businesses I run where I want waterproof prints/labels.

[mrwho]

It's not that slow for a sub $1000 laser copier, there are $200 color laser printers that are 4-8ppm, that's slow. 21 ppm for a machine under $1000 that's also a copier/fax is still a good speed. Of course it's not up to 35 ppm like my inkjet, but if I set the inkjet to laser print quality then the laser is faster, but the inkjet start printing before I can even release the "Print" button while the laser takes 1-2 minutes before it starts.

Keep your fanboyism to whoever cares - when I said "slow" I was merely stating a fact while comparing it to faster machines, not shoving it on your face.

[costd]

What I would add - if you are going to do labels, use the bypass. Less chance for a label to "peel up" from sharp bends.

[KenB]

As far as Canon standing behind any damages resulting from printing labels, that's simply not going to happen.

The only ones that they even may stand behind are their own brand, which you would most likely need to go through an authorized dealer to purchase.

And yes, they are quite pricey.

[mrwho]

As far as I see it, it's the end user's duty to make sure the media used is adequate to the machine - usually the user manuals are quite specific about what can and what cannot be used.

When in doubt, it's the media maker/seller who should be contacted and asked about what their media can handle. If the media manufacturer tells the media is okay to use in that machine, and if the machine breaks because of it, the media manufacturer should be called - after all they should know what their paper/labels/transparencies support.

If I pour unleaded fuel on my diesel car, and it starts rattling and smoking, I'm not going to blame the car's manufacturer, am I?

[kingpd@businessprints.net]

As far as I see it, it's the end user's duty to make sure the media used is adequate to the machine - usually the user manuals are quite specific about what can and what cannot be used.

When in doubt, it's the media maker/seller who should be contacted and asked about what their media can handle. If the media manufacturer tells the media is okay to use in that machine, and if the machine breaks because of it, the media manufacturer should be called - after all they should know what their paper/labels/transparencies support.

If I pour unleaded fuel on my diesel car, and it starts rattling and smoking, I'm not going to blame the car's manufacturer, am I?

end user read a copier manual? like that will happen.

[mrwho]

end user read a copier manual? like that will happen.

Honestly? Not my problem.