Online Labels Forum

Toner from a laser printer is fused to the material by heat when printing so there is no dry time. It should work immediately.

Can you confirm you are using a laser printer (a laser printer uses toner cartridges) and not an inkjet printer (an inkjet printer uses liquid ink cartridges)?

Can you provide the printer model that you are using?

If you are using a laser printer it is critical that you select "Labels" as the media type when running the labels through the laser printer to ensure the best possible toner fusion? You should have the option to select the media type in your print options dialog box that pops up when you print a document.

Let me know the printer model and we can help troubleshoot the issue.

Thanks.

Dave C.
OnlineLabels.com

I thought that might be the case when you mentioned that the ink wasn't drying.

A color laser printer should work well with the OL250LP labels that you purchased assuming you select "Labels" as the media type. If you don't want the expense of purchasing a laser printer and would prefer to use an inkjet printer, we do have a waterproof inkjet material available in the size configuration that you purchased. It is our product code OL250WJ. You can check it out at the link below. It won't be quite as durable as the laser printable white polyester material, but it may work for your purposes.

https://www.onlinelabels.com/products/ol250wj.htm

I am happy to send you a few sample sheets for testing if you would like to fill out our sample request form at the link below.

https://www.onlinelabels.com/General/SamplesSelectItems.aspx

I hope this information is helpful. Thanks for your business.

Dave C.
OnlineLabels.com

Pablo -

I'm sorry to hear about the issue and I'll be happy to assist in any way that I can.

Before trying a clear overcoat spray you should first check your printer settings:

- Material type should be set to Other Photo Inkjet Papers or Other Glossy Inkjet Papers.

- Print quality should be set to Normal. Using the Best quality setting will likely result in over-saturation, and would potentially cause smearing issues like the ones you've described.

After printing, you should allow the printed sheets to dry for 10 to 15 minutes before touching the labels or applying them.

If you're still experiencing smearing at this point, you will likely want to consider using a clear overcoat spray to provide some additional protection to your labels. We recommend a product called Krylon Preserve-It. This spray comes in a variety of different finishes - we suggest using the glossy finish for the best possible results. You can view step-by-step instructions on applying the Krylon Preserve-It to your label sheets by visiting the link below:

https://www.onlinelabels.com/articles/krylon-weatherproof-waterproof-label-overcoat-spray.htm

I hope this helps. If you need any additional information please just let us know.

Edited by user Wednesday, November 15, 2017 5:35:59 AM(EST)  | Reason: corrected link

I corrected the link found in Josh's post. Here it is again:

https://www.onlinelabels.com/articles/krylon-weatherproof-waterproof-label-overcoat-spray.htm

Dave C.
OnlineLabels.com

R Squared Naturals - What is the specific issue you are experiencing?

Generally speaking, you should haven't to spray anything onto the labels after printing in order for them to work. That being said, certain types of oils have the ability to seep into the top coating on the material and can discolor or break down the coating on the glossy weatherproof inkjet labels. The Krylon spray puts a seal on the top of the ink after you have printed onto the material so it is very effective at protecting the top coating on the material and the ink from the oils. I think you will find that the sprays are very effective.

Thanks.

Dave C.
OnlineLabels.com

Nurul Ain - Is your concern the staining of the material due to the essential oils or is your concern that the labels are smearing due to being exposed to water? If you use the appropriate printer settings when printing onto the labels, water normally doesn't cause the waterproof to smudge/smear.

If you still want to go the route of applying clear labels as an over-laminate, I would recommend that you apply the clear labels onto the product after you apply the white label onto the product rather than applying the clear labels on top of the white labels while they are still on the label sheet.

We are happy to send you a sample of the clear labels for testing if you would like to fill out our sample request form. Because you are international (outside of US & Canada), there is a fee to send the samples, but it will be less than placing an order. I recommend the glossy clear labels for laser printing if you want to just use the clear labels as an overlaminate.

You can find our sample request form at the link below:

https://www.onlinelabels.com/samples

Thanks.

Dave C.
OnlineLabels.com

Nurul Ain -

Which settings did you adjust to resolve the issue? I haven't had a chance to use the Brother MFC-J2330DW, but with other printer models I've found that I'm able to achieve print results that do not smudge or smear when using the Photo or Glossy material type settings. I usually leave the quality setting at Normal rather than Best or Highest.

If you're printing with the highest quality setting you may be experiencing smudging due to over saturation. If that's the case, I'd adjust the quality setting back to Normal or Default and try printing again.

It's important to allow inkjet printed labels some time to set before applying the labels. Remove each sheet from the printer as soon as it's finished printing - don't let the printed sheets stack up in the output tray. This could potentially cause the ink to not set properly and result in smudging as well. Once you've removed the sheets from the printer let them sit for 15-20 minutes before applying them. This should ensure that the ink sets properly, and will allow for the most durable print results possible.

Of course, if you'd like to try the glossy clear material as an over-laminate we'd be happy to send you samples. You can request samples by visiting the link below:

https://www.onlinelabels.com/General/SamplesSelectItems.aspx

I hope this helps. If you need any additional information please just let us know.

Edited by user Friday, April 24, 2020 11:27:15 AM(EST)  | Reason: Added Hyperlink

Thank you for this suggestion! This could definitely be useful for other users that stumble upon this thread. Certain black ink formulations can have difficulty absorbing properly into the inkjet topcoat. This can often be resolved by adjusting the material type within your printer options to a photo or glossy setting, but it's great to have the option to compile black print from your color cartridges as well.

Thanks again for your post!

pongmanship -

I'm sorry to hear about the issues you're experiencing. I haven't had the opportunity to use the specific HP Envy model you're using, but I can provide some suggestions that will hopefully prove useful. Adjusting the material type setting is definitely the first step to improving print durability. You're going to want to use a photo or glossy setting to achieve the best results. With most inkjet printer models I've typically used the Normal print quality setting. You shouldn't need to move all the way down to Draft, since the Draft option will likely impact the print quality to some degree. Using the Best quality option will often lead to over-saturation and may result in excessive smearing and smudging.

Once you've printed your labels using the guidelines listed above you'll need to allow for some drying time. Most inkjet printer manuals specify that you should wait 24 hours after printing before using the printed documents, but I've found waiting just a few hours should allow for enough drying time to use the labels after printing.

One other factor that I'm not sure has been mentioned in this thread is that you'll want to make sure you're using official ink cartridges from the printer manufacturer. Using third party, recycled, or remanufactured inks can potentially cause issues related to smudging and print durability as well.

Following the suggestions listed above will give you the best chance of avoiding issues relating to print durability, but there can be other factors at play that are more difficult to account for. Designs that feature heavily saturated dark colors or black may be more susceptible to smearing than other printed designs, and in some cases the inks associated with certain printer models may be more prone to smearing than others. If you've followed the suggestions listed above and are still experiencing smearing or smudging issues, you may need to consider using a laminate to ensure that the labels are fully protected. You can apply a laminate using a clear overcoat spray or by applying a clear gloss label over your printed labels. More information about these processes can be found at the link below:

https://www.onlinelabels.com/articles/how-to-make-labels-waterproof

I hope this helps. Please just let us know if you need any additional information.

I'm sorry to hear about the issues. Our weatherproof gloss inkjet material has been tested across a wide selection of inkjet printers, including multiple models from HP. I haven't had the opportunity to test the material with the specific printer model you're using though. In general, we've seen excellent print durability with this material, even when placed in direct contact with moisture.

There are a few additional suggestions I can make that may help resolve the smudging issue that you've encountered. Rather than using the specialty paper setting, try using a standard photo or glossy setting. I just tried test printing a few sheets of the weatherproof gloss inkjet material using an HP Envy 4520. I selected the paper type listed as "Other Photo Inkjet Papers" and the sheets left the printer completely dry, even in areas with heavy black print.

After adjusting the paper type to a standard photo option, if you're still experiencing smudging you may want to try adjusting the print quality setting. If the print quality is set to the highest or best option the printer may be outputting too much ink, which can lead to smudging issues as well.

Something else you may want to try is forcing the printer to print in composite black rather than true black. True black print will use the black ink cartridge to output black ink, while composite black uses the cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges to combine and create black print. Some printer models will have an option or setting allowing you to choose composite black, but I was unable to find it referred to in the manual for the HP Envy 6055. It's definitely something worth looking into though, considering the problem you've experienced so far has been isolated to black print.

Finally, we do have some instructions on applying a clear overcoat spray to your labels. You can view the article at the link below:

https://www.onlinelabels.com/articles/how-to-make-labels-waterproof

If you're unable to resolve the smearing issue entirely, this should significantly improve the print durability.

I hope these suggestions help. If you need any additional information please just let us know.