Guides · updated 18 August 2026
Every material family, one honest table
The short answer: the table below is the whole material question on one screen — the nine families we print, what each one survives (water, grease, freezer, heat, UV, dishwasher, food contact), what it is typically used for, and the real starting price for 100 printed labels. Behind each row sit thousands of references; the row tells you which door to open.
The reference table
Nine families, seven resistances, one price column
Read it row by row. « Storage » means the label survives being kept in that condition but must be applied at room temperature; « packaging side » means the adhesive may face the pack, never the food itself. Every price is the real minimum for 100 printed labels, excluding VAT.
| Family | Typical use | Water | Grease | Freezer | Heat | UV, outdoors | Dishwasher | Food contact | From / 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coated paper | The default printed label — jars, boxes, cartons | condensation, if laminated | no | storage only | no | no | no | packaging side | £117 |
| Creative papers | Shelf appeal — kraft, laid, pearlescent, deep black | no | no | no | no | no | no | packaging side | £145 |
| Eco-friendly | Claims you can substantiate — recycled, sugarcane, grass, stone | films only | no | storage only | no | no | no | packaging side | £145 |
| Synthetic & waterproof | Bathrooms, workshops, squeezed packs, wet shelves | yes — immersion included | yes | storage yes | moderate | good | see the 80 °C stocks | certified option | £148 |
| Metallic | Real metal shine — always sold laminated | wiping | no | no | no | indoor | no | packaging side | £120 |
| Functional | The specialists — one job each, done properly | by stock | greaseproof £170 | −40 °C, down to −196 °C | +250 °C | by stock | 80 °C wash, £189 | certified, £223 | £145 |
| Industrial & security | Asset marking, years outdoors, tamper evidence | yes | yes | storage yes | high | yes — years | — | no | £139 |
| Blank rolls | You print them — thermal or inkjet | as the stock | as the stock | as the stock | as the stock | as the stock | as the stock | as the stock | £38 |
| Overprintable rolls | We print the brand, you add the date and lot | as the base stock | as the base stock | as the base stock | as the base stock | as the base stock | no | packaging side | £157 |
Blank and overprintable rolls exist in every stock — from ordinary coated paper to cryogenic and security films — so their resistance is whatever stock you choose. The five-question route through this table is in choosing a label material.
Read before you decide
Three traps hidden in the chart
« Laminated » is not « waterproof »
A lamination protects the printed face; the edges and the paper behind still drink. A laminated paper survives condensation, not an ice bucket. If the label is genuinely wet, change the material, not the finish.
Freezer = adhesive, not material
Cold rarely damages a stock — it stops the adhesive grabbing at the moment of application. « Storage only » means label warm, then freeze. Applying onto an already-frozen pack needs the deep-freeze range.
« Food contact » means touching the food
A jam-jar label is a packaging label — any row works, from £117. « Food contact » is the adhesive on a cheese rind or a bakery item, and only the certified range — the one sold with its documentation — is made for it.
Zooming in
When the job is specific, so is the stock
The chart above compares families. When one condition dominates — an ice bucket, a reflow oven, a wash line — the answer is usually a single stock, and these are the ones that come up again and again:
| The condition | The stock | What it survives | From / 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ice bucket, chilled bottles | Wet-strength paper | immersion, while keeping a paper look | £157 |
| Splashing and wiping | White polypropylene | bathrooms, kitchens, workshop benches | £168 |
| Applied onto frozen goods | Deep-freeze film | bonding onto a surface already at temperature | £151 |
| Laboratory cold | Cryogenic polypropylene | −196 °C, liquid nitrogen included | £56 blank |
| Oily and fatty products | Greaseproof paper | cheese, charcuterie, soap | £170 |
| Electronics, engines | High-temperature polyimide | +250 °C, reflow soldering | £163 |
| Reused containers | Dishwasher-safe stocks | repeated 80 °C wash cycles | £189 |
| Adhesive touches the food | Certified food-contact polyester | direct contact, supplied with documentation | £223 |
Two conditions at once — say a dishwasher and an oily kitchen — usually still resolve to one stock. Describe the product on the custom request form and we name it, with its price.
The price column
What « from € » actually includes
Every figure in these tables is a real order, not a teaser: 100 printed labels on the least expensive stock of the family, excluding VAT. Included in that figure:
- The printing itself — these are finished labels, not blanks, except where marked.
- Any die-cut shape. Round, oval, a shield, your bottle silhouette: on labels the die is cut for your job anyway, so the shape costs nothing.
- Production in 2 to 10 working days after proof approval.
Not included: delivery, which is quoted with the order — DDP, so the price you approve is the price you pay, customs handled. And the « from » moves with quantity far less than people expect, because most of a small run is set-up rather than labels.
- Quantity
- 100 printed labels
- Shape
- any die-cut outline, included
- VAT
- excluded
- Production
- 2 to 10 working days
- Delivery
- quoted with the order — DDP
FAQ
The comparison chart — what customers ask us
Which material resists the most overall?
The industrial polyester films, from £139 per 100: water, grease, UV and years outdoors, on reinforced adhesives. But « the most resistant » is rarely the right question — a wine label needs an ice bucket, not twenty years on a machine. Pick the row that matches your worst realistic condition and stop there.
Is there a genuinely waterproof paper?
One — the wet-strength paper at £157 per 100, which keeps a paper look and feel through an ice bucket, and is what wine and beer producers use. Every other paper, laminated or not, is for condensation at most. Beyond that level of water you are in the synthetic films, from £148.
Do the prices in the chart include printing?
Yes — every « from » figure except the blank rolls is for 100 finished, printed, die-cut labels, excluding VAT. Blank rolls at £38 per 100 are unprinted, for your own thermal or inkjet printer. Delivery is quoted with the order — DDP.
Can one label be dishwasher-safe and food-contact certified at once?
Not from a single row of the chart — the 80 °C wash stocks and the certified food-contact polyester are different constructions. In practice the question usually splits: the label on the reused container is a dishwasher job, and whatever touches the food is a certified job. Describe the product on the custom request form and we will say which stock, or which pair.
Two rows both seem to fit — how do I decide?
Take the five-question route in choosing a label material: water, cold, food, shelf appeal, who prints. In almost every case two candidate rows collapse to one by question three. If they genuinely both fit, take the one lower in price and spend the difference on a lamination.
Still unsure?
Ask the person who makes them
The guide covers the general case — your label lives on a real product. Describe it in two lines and a label specialist (not a bot) answers within 2 working hours.
All guides
Everything else we have written down
- Choosing your label material
- Choosing your label adhesive
- Bottle and jar label sizes
- EU food labelling — the INCO rules
- EU wine label rules
- Environmental claims and sorting labels
- Preparing print-ready files
- Variable data, explained
- Label material comparison chart — you are here
- EU vs UK labelling requirements
- What drives the price of a label
- Label glossary
Found your row? Price it.
Every stock behind the chart is in the configurator, at real prices, no account needed.