Turn Up the Heat with Laser Labels

With multiple applications in numerous industries, laser labels add profits and versatility to distributors' portfolios.

Laser labels are everywhere. In fact, right now most people are probably surrounded by them. Whether working in an office, a retail store or a manufacturing plant, laser labels are used, and often in multiple applications. But for distributors who have overlooked adding these potentially high-profit items to their product mix, it is not too late.

Opportunities for laser labels can be broken down into two distinct areas: mailing and office-use labels and bar-coded labels. However, for distributors trying to determine which area to break into first, Steve Brocker, national sales manager, Western States Envelope, Butler, Wis., suggested targeting existing customers.

"If I was trying to find applications for laser labels, I would ask my current customers how they are printing their labels and then look for a way to process them more efficiently," said Brocker. "To win sales, distributors need to help customers take advantage of their printing capabilities and add value to their labels."

Sean O'Brien, national sales manager, Avery Dennison, Buffalo, N.Y., agreed. He said that "it is very hard to go into a business that is not using laser labels and win them over by waving a couple of laser sheets around."

The solution to this problem, he said, is to offer clients an improvement over their current printing system. First, O'Brien recommended that distributors find out what clients' printing requirements are, where they see their businesses heading and if there are any problems they would like to see eliminated. Next, he suggested targeting clients who manufacture and ship large quantities of products requiring bar coding. By replacing vast amounts of information normally processed by hand, bar codes can save clients time and money.

A good way to determine whether customers can benefit from bar coding, O'Brien said, is to simply ask how many product units they are shipping. If they are not shipping a significant amount, chances are they have already thought about using bar codes and decided against them.