Do you know that you can create your own stunning label design without the help of a professional designer? Of course, you’ll need to know how to use basic editing tools like Microsoft Word but aside from that, you’ll only be needing your creativity.

We’ve already discussed how to make custom labels on Microsoft Word and how to create shipping labels in our previous blogs where we talked about what information you should put on your labels and some tips in creating one. Here, we are going to explore other ways and tools you can use to create eye-catching label designs for your food products on your own.

Shipping-Label

Pros and Cons of Creating Your Own Labels

Before we proceed to our actual topic in this article, let’s first take a look at the pros and cons of designing your own labels:

Pros

  • More cost-effective
  • You can fully customize your labels based on your liking
  • You can experiment on different label designs to see which works best without spending money
  • You can revise your designs yourself in case some changes will be required without hiring a professional to do it again for you
  • You can improve your creativity so that you can make more effective labels in the future

Cons

  • You need to learn how to use different visual design platforms on your own
  • If you want to access the advanced features of a visual design platform, you might also need to pay a little extra though this is still cheaper than hiring a professional
  • If you are dealing with tight competition, creating a label without any experience might not be ideal

How to Create Your Own Personalized Labels?

So how to design a label? Although we’ve already listed the key features of a good product label before, the tips we mentioned were not only for creating an impactful product label design but also for making a good shipping label design. You can check out the blog I mentioned first before you start making a label to guide you through the process.

In this section, we will only be giving you tips when creating labels for various food package types because you can follow the same steps on how small businesses can create labels in the next section.

Learn More:

1. For Plastic Food Containers

  • Choose a label material with an adhesive that won’t drop off or fall away from plastic surfaces
  • Use paper labels if you plan to write on top of the labels
  • Go for waterproof labels if you are going to freeze or expose your food products to heat
  • You can either stick the label on the top or in front of your containers
  • Round and rectangle labels are the most popular label shapes for plastic food containers

2. For Bottles and Jars

  • Personalize your bottle and jar labels by adding your name and logo
  • If you want a waterproof option, you can opt for the clear and waterproof plastic label materials
  • Use cream textured paper labels if you want a more fashionable label
plastic-bottles-label

3. For Tin Cans

  • Since most food products are stored in tin cans, they are frequently handled so you’ll need a durable label that won’t easily come off like BOPP labels
  • The label must be scratch resistant as well as withstand the contents of the tin can
  • For round containers, you need a rectangular label for the body and a round label for the lid

4. For Cake Boxes

  • Use large rectangle labels on the inside of your boxes. Write allergen information or ingredients on these labels.
  • You can also print the flavor on small labels and apply them to the box’s roof

In relation to creating food labels, you can also read our blog on General Food Labeling Information for Small Businesses to make sure that you comply with required labeling laws.

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How Small Business Owners Can Create His Own Label?

For small businesses, you don’t need to hire a skilled professional to make your customized labels. You can easily make them on your own without spending anything! Of course, this is unless you are using a paid label design software. There are actually many ways on how you can create a label design but below are three simple and free methods on how to do it:

How-Small-Business-Owners-Can-Create-His-Own-Label

1.

Using Avery Design & Print

Let’s start with Avery label designs.

If you have been creating labels for quite some time, the term “Avery” won’t be new to you. Avery is among the most popular manufacturers of various labels in different shapes and sizes that also provides its customers a way to easily create their personalized labels in only 4 steps:

Step 1: Create an Account

  1. Go to Avery’s official website.
  2. Create an Avery account.

Step 2: Choose a Layout

  1. Click on the Templates tab from the menu.
  2. Enter your label’s product number on the search field or you can find templates by product category.
  3. Choose a layout you want to use.
  4. You can either choose a blank layout or a pre-designed one for your personalized labels.

Step 3: Customize Your Label

  1. Modify the existing design by clicking and deleting each graphic if you are using a pre-designed layout. You can also add texts and new graphics from the menu on the left.
  2. Click Edit All from the right side to apply your design to all labels or click Edit One and choose the individual label you want to edit.
  3. Review your label design by clicking on Preview & Print. Click Back if you wish to make some changes. 

Step 4: Print or Save Your Label Design

Click Print to start printing your labels. But if you wish to save your design for later, just click Save, enter a name for the file, and save it to your account or to your computer.

2.

Using Canva’s Label Maker

The second tool is Canva. Canva is an online graphic design platform that you can use for free but there are also paid subscriptions. You can create professional-quality labels with its label maker having the following key features:

  • Hundreds of customizable templates
  • Drag-and-drop feature
  • Millions of fonts, colors, images, and illustrations
  • It allows you to upload your own logos and images to match your brand theme

So how do you use Canva’s label maker? Just follow the steps below:

Step 1: Create an Account

Create an account for free. If you already have an account, just log in to your account.

Step 2: Choose a Template

  1. Search for Labels.
  2. Choose a template and click on it. You can add keywords that match your theme to make your search faster.

Step 3: Customize Your Label

  1. Drag and drop elements (icons, vectors, stickers) from the left panel onto the editor area.
  2. Upload your own brand elements, art, and photos.
  3. Fill in the details needed for the label and try out different font effects.

Step 4: Download and Print Your Label

Once you are done with your label, you can download it and print it using Canva Print.

3.

Using Visme’s Label Designer

Visme is another all-in-one visual design platform that allows you to create impressive reports, infographics, presentations, as well as labels in minutes. Below are its major features:

  • Drag-and-drop capability
  • Free label design templates
  • Fully customizable labels
  • Thousands of photos and icons to choose from
  • Allows you to easily resize the canvas
  • Labels are downloadable as high-resolution PDF files or images
  • Allows you to upload fonts, colors, logos, and other branding information

If you want to try out Visme’s label maker, below are the simple steps to follow:

Step 1: Create an Account

Create a new account or log into your account if you already have one.

Step 2: Create a New Project

After you are logged in, click on Create New Project.

Step 3: Choose a Template

  1. Click on the Printable tab and click Labels to access the free templates.
  2. Choose a template you want.

Step 4: Customize Your Label

  1. Customize the icons, images, colors, text, and others.
  2. Add your company logo along with other branding elements.

Step 5: Download Your Label

Download your newly created label as a PDF or image for printing.

What Is the Best Program to Make Labels?

If you want more label design software you can try aside from the ones we have mentioned above, we have also compiled the top 10 recommended tools you can use below along with the key features of each:

#1 Nice Label

    • Great protection
    • Pricey but comes with a trial version
    • Allows you to store labels on the cloud
    • Creates labels in no time
    • Supports printing in batches
    • Plain and intuitive interface
    • Best software for beginners
    • They serve various industries including retail, aerospace, consumer goods, chemical, automotive, electronics, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, apparel and garment, etc.

#2 Maestro Label Designer

    • Web-based
    • Specifically designed for label design and printing
    • Easy-to-use address label tool that also works for product label designing and others
    • It only has a limited library of fonts and shapes but you can unlimitedly upload your own typefaces and graphics
    • It comes with barcode and nutrition generator tools among others

#3 BarTender

    • Only works in Windows
    • The preview is not the same as the real design
    • You can create QR codes and RFID tags
    • Easy to use
    • Serialization feature
    • High printer compatibility
    • It can analyze data records via connection with your database
    • Best software for the creation and automation of labels for all business types but printing from different computers can be inconvenient

#4 Inkscape

    • It offers pen and pencil tools
    • It does not support CMYK
    • It supports various formats such as PDF, WMF, PNG, SVG, etc.
    • Even if its primary function is for drawing and designing images, vector graphics, and others, it offers flexible functionalities for label creation
    • It is not recommended for creating professional labels

#5 Adobe Spark

    • It is the most popular label printing software
    • It also has a library of photos
    • It has a wide collection of fonts layouts and professional fonts
    • If offers a lot of features and free customizable templates
    • Great customer support
    • Web synchronization and iOS applications
    • Social media integration
    • You can use it with other Adobe programs
    • It is simple and straightforward so it is also ideal for beginners, unlike other Adobe products

#6 Label Joy

    • Ideal for professional label printing
    • WYSIWYG interface
    • QR Code generator
    • Barcode generators such as Code 39, UPC, Ean13, and more
    • Customizable free templates, 6500 layouts, and 1500 clipart 
    • Great support and helpful tutorials
    • It allows you to export your files to various image formats like PDF, GIF, PNG, and JPG
    • It allows you to import data from other sources like SQL Server, TXT, CSV, Access, Excel, and more
    • It is not recommended for beginners because its features may take some time to master

#7 Handy Label Maker

    • Plain interface
    • Easy to learn
    • Windows-compatible only
    • Not so many features for advanced label design
    • You can choose label sizes
    • It allows you to import and export files
    • Aside from printing labels, you can use it to print mailing addresses
    • It gives you the option for managing your contacts
    • You can add clients, relatives, and friends to your Contacts list so that you can easily send letters, holiday cards, flyers, etc.

#8 ZebraDesigner

    • The best label designer for Windows
    • Free templates
    • Option for shipping labels
    • You can create barcode labels from fixed or variable date
    • It allows you to create RFID tags
    • WYSIWYG interface
    • Aside from a label designer feature, it also offers diagnostic tools, printer settings, and database connectivity capabilities for a more flexible label printing process

#9 Papilio Label Helper

    • 100% free
    • Easy to use intuitive interface 
    • Various barcode color addition
    • Barcode rotation (-90°/180°)
    • Improved font preview
    • Enhanced label design and printing
    • It allows image repositioning and adjustment
    • You can zoom it to allow a clearer vision

#10 Label Design Studio

    • It offers a wide collection of different fonts, colors, shapes, and images
    • The most recommended program for designing tags or stickers
    • It allows you to upload your own files to create more personalized labels
    • You can automate data import from CSV, TXT, or Excel files for creating tags
    • You can create business cards, leaflets, commercial publications, barcodes, and more

Although we only presented the key features of each of the above-mentioned tools, each one has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you better do your own research to see which label design software best matches your application.

Wrapping Up

Creating your own labels gives you more design flexibility and more savings. This is perfect for small businesses that want to keep their expenses low while still making attractive labels for their products or packages.

It is only practical to make and print labels on your own when you are just starting with your business and don’t have enough money to spend on professional services. But once you have generated enough profit, you can level up your label design by hiring a professional. If you want more guides on choosing the right label for your products, check out our related articles below:

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