Guides · updated 5 August 2026

A hundred labels, a hundred different numbers

The short answer: variable data means every label in the run carries something different — a serial number, a barcode, a unique QR, a name. It is a supplement on the run, not a price per label: + €112 on a hundred labels, and still only + €147 on three thousand. Which is why it costs €1.12 a label at 100 and five cents at 3 000.

Labels leaving the press with incrementing batch numbers

Two families

Incrementing numbers, or a list you supply

Numbering and barcodes — the label counts. Serial numbers, batch numbers, sequential barcodes, asset references. You give us a starting point and a step; the press does the rest. This is what security seals, asset labels and numbered tickets use.

Unique QR codes and name lists — every label carries a different value that is not a sequence: a one-time authentication code, a personalised name, a URL per product. Here we work from the list you send.

Both are printed in the same pass as the design, which is what keeps them affordable: the press does not stop, it just changes what it prints. It also means the data has to be settled before the run — a numbered run cannot be corrected afterwards, only reprinted.

Two options, per run

Numbering, barcodes: from + €112
Unique QR, name lists: from + €127
Printed: in the same pass
Minimum: 100 labels
Settled: before the run starts

The economics

A supplement per run — so it collapses with volume

Quantity	Numbering & barcodes	Unique QR & name lists	Per label, numbering
100	+ €112	+ €127	€1.12
500	+ €115	+ €130	€0.23
1 000	+ €123	+ €139	€0.12
2 000	+ €136	+ €153	€0.07
3 000	+ €147	+ €166	€0.05

Read the first column and the last one together: the supplement grows by 31 % while the quantity grows thirtyfold. Numbering a hundred labels is an expensive habit; numbering three thousand is a rounding error. If you are hesitating on quantity for another reason, this is the argument that usually settles it. Above 10 000 labels, quantities are quoted at volume rates — up to millions.

The constraint

Four families accept it. Two do not.

Variable data is available on coated papers, synthetics, industrial and security stocks — thirteen materials in total, which covers every application where a label has to identify one particular object.

It is not available on creative papers or on eco-friendly stocks. Textured, uncoated and fibre-rich surfaces do not give a reliable enough mark for a code that must scan every time, and a barcode that fails on one label in fifty is worse than no barcode.

If you need both — a kraft look and a serial number — there are two honest routes: put the number on a second small label in a coated stock, or use an overprintable roll and print the number yourself. Tell us the case on the request form and we will say which is cheaper for your run.

Availability

Coated papers: yes
Synthetics: yes
Industrial: yes
Security: yes
Creative papers: no
Eco-friendly: no
Blank rolls: you print it

What we need

A starting number is usually the whole brief

For a sequence

The first number, the step, and how many digits. « From 1 001, one by one, four digits » is a complete instruction. Leading zeros and a prefix are free.

For a list

One value per line, in the order you want them. A spreadsheet is convenient but not required — a starting number or a simple list is enough, we handle the rest.

For codes

The symbology if you know it (Code 128, EAN-13, QR), or simply the values and what they are for. We choose the encoding and check that it scans.

Then leave the space: a number needs about 40 × 12 mm, a Code 128 barcode about 40 × 25 mm, a QR at least 10 × 10 mm with its clear margin. Put them inside the safety area, never across the cut — the rules are in preparing print-ready files.

Being straight about it

Three cases where you should not buy variable data

The data changes every morning. A use-by date, a batch cooked today. Printing it commits you to one production day. Take an overprintable roll: we print the design in colour, you print the date as you pack.

The same code on every unit. An EAN for a product reference, a QR pointing at your website, a wine e-label for one cuvée — that is ordinary printing, included in the price. Only a code that changes is variable data.

You already own a printer. If a thermal transfer printer sits on your packing bench, blank rolls from €44 per 100 plus your own numbering may be the cheaper answer — at the cost of a monochrome label.

Three routes to a number

We print it: + €112 per run
You overprint it: rolls from €183
You print everything: blank from €44
Same code for all: included

FAQ

Variable data — what customers ask us

How much does numbering cost?

It is a supplement on the run, not a price per label: + €112 on 100 labels, + €123 on 1 000 and + €147 on 3 000 for numbering and barcodes. Unique QR codes and name lists are + €127, + €139 and + €166 for the same quantities. Per label that is €1.12 at a hundred and five cents at three thousand.

Do I have to send an Excel file?

No. For a sequence, a starting number, a step and a number of digits are enough — « from 1 001, one by one, four digits » is a complete brief. For a list of names or codes, one value per line in any readable form works. A starting number or a simple list is enough; we handle the rest.

Can I have numbering on kraft or recycled paper?

Not in the online configuration: variable data is available on coated papers, synthetics, industrial and security stocks, but not on creative or eco-friendly ones — those surfaces do not give a mark reliable enough for a code that must scan every time. The workaround is a second small label on a coated stock, or an overprintable roll you print yourself.

Is a QR code on every bottle variable data?

Only if the code changes from bottle to bottle. One code per cuvée or per product reference, printed identically on the whole run, is ordinary printing and costs nothing extra. A different QR on each unit — for authentication or traceability — is variable data, from + €127 a run.

Can you start the numbering at a specific value?

Yes, anywhere you like, with any prefix and any number of digits — « FR-0450 » onwards, or 1 001, or 24-00001. Tell us the first value and the step. If you are continuing a series from a previous order, say so and we carry on from where the last run stopped.

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

One run, three thousand different labels.

From + €112 per run — and five cents a label at 3 000.

See numbered labels