By Timothy Indarsingh · Updated 15 September 2026

Start with the container

Tell your printer what the label goes on and how it is applied. Name the container material and shape, and say whether labels go on by hand, from a desktop dispenser or on an automatic line. Send two or three sample containers.

Give the minimum application temperature (the coldest the container will be when labelled) and the service temperature range (the coldest and hottest it will be afterwards). Chilled bottles that collect condensation, wet or oily surfaces, freezers and low-surface-energy plastics such as HDPE and polypropylene each need an adhesive made for that condition. Squeezable bottles need a face film that flexes with the container.

Describe the label size and materials

Give the finished width and height in millimetres or inches, and say which dimension runs around the container. Send a dimensioned drawing showing the shape and corner radius; rounded corners are less likely to lift. If your printer already holds a cutting die for this size, quote its reference. Measure the current container before you reuse the size from an old job.

Name the face material, adhesive and liner separately. “White paper” covers several constructions; “white semi-gloss paper, permanent acrylic adhesive, glassine liner” names one. Common faces are paper, white or clear polypropylene (BOPP) film, and polyethylene (PE) film for squeeze bottles. Add the finish, such as gloss varnish or matt laminate, and any foil or white ink. If you would accept an alternative material, say who approves the substitution.

Fit the roll to your applicator

Automatic applicators usually take a 76 mm (3 in) core. Desktop printers and hand dispensers often take 25 mm (1 in) or 40 mm (1.5 in). The applicator manual gives the largest roll diameter it can unwind. Give your printer that figure or the number of labels per roll, and they can work out the other from the label size and material.

Unwind position, also called unwind direction or copy position, combines two choices. The label is wound out (printed face on the outside of the roll) or wound in (printed face toward the core), and one edge leaves the roll first: top, bottom, left or right. That makes eight positions, and suppliers number them differently, so send the chart from your applicator supplier with your position marked.

Automatic lines usually need labels one across the web with an even gap between them; 3 mm (1/8 in) is common. Ask your applicator supplier for the gap and the maximum number of splices per roll it accepts, and pass both to your printer. Say whether part rolls are acceptable and how splices should be marked.

Check the quote against your specification

Before production starts, compare the quote, the approved proof and your order. All three should show the same size, material, quantity, core, roll diameter and unwind position. If you move from hand application to an automatic line, agree a new roll specification before you reorder, even when the artwork stays the same.

Keep a dated specification for each product version and note what changed at each reorder.

Roll specification checklist

Sample container, application method and temperatures
Width and height, shape, corner radius and drawing
Face material, adhesive, liner and finish
Core size, and largest roll diameter or labels per roll
Unwind position marked on your applicator supplier’s chart
Labels across, gap and maximum splices per roll

If your printer uses LabelMojo

Printers using LabelMojo record the core size, roll diameter or labels per roll, labels across, gap and unwind position on each label in your quote. When you reorder in their customer portal, the new quote request starts with those details filled in.

How reorders work in LabelMojo

Label roll specifications to agree before you order