Online Labels Forum

The results that you are seeing are very typical of laser printing. Printing with a laser printer onto glossy stock made for laser printing will not typically produce as vibrant a print image as printing with an inkjet printer onto glossy stock made for inkjet printing.

The difference really has nothing to do with the paper / label material. It has to do with the fact that ink (inkjet printer) is much different than toner (laser printer). Toner from a laser printing is applied onto the material and sits on top of the material whereas ink from an inkjet printer actually encapsulates into the coating on the glossy inkjet material. If you want that photo quality glossy look then inkjet is the way to go. In fact, I have found that you can't really see much difference between our matte white material for laser printing and our glossy white materials for laser printing when you have a situation where you have full toner coverage (in other words - you are printing a design that covers the whole label). The toner effectively dulls down the look of the material - hiding the glossy white material.

If you want a truly glossy looking photo quality label then inkjet printing is going to produce that result. Some laser printers do have toner that looks a little more than others, but generally speaking, I haven't seen anything that matches the vibrancy of inkjet printing.

I hope this information is helpful. Let us know if you have any additional questions.

Dave C.
OnlineLabels.com