Can Switching Shipping Labels Really Help Reduce Mistakes?

The answer is YES! Switching labels can absolutely help eliminate costly mistakes.  There are varying degrees to how much a change can help depending on your current fulfillment center’s operations; however, if you have discovered a specific issue, you need ways to fix it and become efficient again.

If mistakes are being caused by the wrong packing slip being inserted into the wrong package, there are several products out there that can help eliminate this issue. Integrated labels, full label cut sheets, and other similar combinations where the shipping label and packing list are both printed on the same form, at the same time, could help with this problem.  These label form products work well as long as you drop the packing list in the box immediately after applying the shipping label.  This will avoid accidentally dropping the wrong packing slip into the wrong box further down the line. 

However, if your process is a bit different and your box may be in several areas, or very large, another great product is the fold under label option.  The unique feature on these labels is not only do you print the shipping and packing slip information on the same form, but they never get separated…at least not until the customer has their package in their hands. Meaning when you peel-off the label, you fold under the packing slip, and affix the entire thing to the box. No mismatching!

Regardless of the option you choose, all of the options mentioned eliminate that sometimes dreaded “invoice enclosed” pouch, where you have to take the time to fold the packing list, put it in the pouch, seal it, peel off the backing, and affix to the carton. Not only does this increase your chance of errors, but it can kill productivity in a growing business. Try it for a month…a week…even a couple of days. You will be surprised at how much you can achieve, and even learn, by trying something new in your distribution center.

Shipping Labels That Make You Say HMMMMM…

When you think of shipping labels, many immediately think of the white 4” x 6” labels on a roll that go through a printer and you slap on a box. We have come a very long way, and the development of creative designs to solve unique problems is the fun part of the printing world. Don’t get me wrong, the simple labels play an extremely important role in shipping, but different is great too.

One of my very favorite shipping labels is the fold-under label. This design solved a very interesting set of issues: 

1.       How can we print a shipping label and packing list in one pass to avoid mismatching mistakes?

2.       How can we save on toner? Or maybe even print heads?

3.       How can we include an invoice to a closed shipping carton without using a plastic “invoice enclosed” pouch to insert it in?

The fold-under label is one big label that had adhesive free areas.  You basically can print both the invoice/packing list and shipping label on one form eliminating costly mismatching mistakes.  Once printed, you can peel off the back label liner, fold the invoice/packing list information under, and affix the label to the box.  When the customer receives their package, they simply follow the pre-printed instructions on the label to tear off the “zip-strip” and they have their packing list in their hands. No more costly “Packing-List Enclosed” pouches.  For productivity, this means a person will not have to fold, insert, seal and affix a separate pocket to the carton and risk it falling off.

Fold-under labels are typically produced on direct thermal material, which obviously means they run through a direct thermal printer.  How does this benefit distribution centers? No toner and print heads which could potentially save them a ton of money.

It is a little mind-blowing that one shipping label can impact an FC so much.  It isn’t an option for everyone, but it is definitely worth a look !

Is Your FC Ready For The 2016 Holiday Season?

Yes…as crazy as it sounds, it is that time again already; time to begin the process of preparing for the

mad rush of orders that tend to flood in during the holidays.  And I know what you are thinking:

·         What are my productivity goals?

·         Do I have enough staff?

·         Is my equipment running efficiently and ready to take on the extra load?

·         What are my contingency plans should something go wrong?

·         Do I have enough supplies?

All of these questions are very important to answer; however, out of all of them, there is one that has the potential to bring an entire distribution center to a screeching halt and IS preventable. The last question about having enough supplies is one that, if miscalculated, could cost an FC hundreds or thousands of dollars per every minute their lines are not moving.  Shipping labels, barcode labels, any other process specific distribution labels, boxes, and other consumables are absolutely a necessity to ship out products.  Lose any one of these and you will be in panic mode.

So how do you prepare and know how much you may need?  What happens if you do run out? Those two questions have a loaded answer and they both revolve around research. A distribution center needs to look at historical shipment data and combine that with projected growth percentages to get a baseline approximation of what they will need to stay afloat during the holidays. That is a very simplified way to estimate; however, it is a starting point.  Once you know those numbers, you need to take a hard look at your suppliers and make sure they can keep up with your demand, be able to provide supplies at lightning speed if needed, and do both while maintaining quality and competitive process. 

Printingworx® can do all of these and more! We are a leading expert in providing quality label printing at great prices and we understand the dynamic of distribution centers.  Not just that, we have warehouses and plant locations throughout the United States to make sure if you need labels in a pinch; we can be there!

Key Tag Printing Uses

There are many uses of key tag printing.

• Fundraising
• Membership
• Discount Cards

Who uses key tags today?
Schools
Churches
Sports Clubs
Retail Stores
Restaurants
Memberships (ie. fitness)

Key tag printing options
There are usually different printing options for key tags. Usually using a plastic material, the cards come with 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 key tags printed, perforated so a user can snap all of the away from the larger plastic card.

Example of a printed key card with 5 break-away key tags:

Where to purchase printed plastic key cards?

A great place to purchase printed key cards is printingworx.

IMPROVING YOUR SHIPPING PROCESS WITH INTEGRATED LABELS

About our integrated labels offering.

This is the offering for you if you print your shipping documents and labels in a single pass through your laser printers. Select the integrated labels that works best for you from the six most popular stock integrated label formats.

Six different integrated labels formats to choose from.

Our six integrated label formats are 8.5” x 11” sheets with the following labels integrated into each sheet - For laser, inkjet and digital printers.

• 1 3.5” x 2” label
• 1 4” x 2.5” label
• 1 6” x 4” label
• 2 labels that are 3.5” 1.5” each
• 2 labels that are 4” 2.5” each
• 4 integrated label that are 2” x 1” each

You can see exact labels positions when you download integrated labels templates.

The patented process that guarantees your integrated labels stay flat and do not jam:

• High Quality White 24lb MOCR Paper
• Hot Melt Permanent Label Adhesive
• Full Width Liner
• Lay Flat – Stay Flat Die Cutting

The integrated labels features above provide you with these benefits:

• Smoother Feeding
• Fewer Jams
• Fewer Misfeeds
• Less Adhesive Build Up
• Low Minimums & Volume Discounts
• Fast 24 Hour Turnaround Time

The integrated label forms described above are in-stock. These are 8.5” x 11” laser compatible sheets with the number of labels you choose, without custom printing.

The largest and the smallest shippers in the world order integrated labels from us.

The integrated labels that we provide go on millions of shipments, every year. Our largest customers require us to provide consistent integrated label solutions to multiple distribution centers across the globe. Our smallest integrated label customers expect us to provide them with a great value. We will work with you online or offline. We have label specialists ready to talk with and meet with you. We are the global leader in integrated label solutions because we work hard to understand your needs and to exceed your integrated label expectations.

Integrated labels - stock, including integrated label products for simultaneous shipping label and invoice printing. In stock and ready-to-ship integrated label form products.

Plastic Postcards - Increase Your Local Market Presence

Plastic postcards are a great local marketing tool. They don't wear down when mailed, and users tend to be more "impressed" when they see a plastic postcard than a standard paper postcard.

Here are some great examples of plastic postcards we've produced.

Lawn Care Postcard Design

Roofing Postcard Design

Auto Sales Postcard Design

Whether you have your own artwork already, would like to use one of our online templates you can personalize, printingworx would love to work with you!

printingworx's plastic postcard printing is affordable yet the quality can't be beat.