What price tag solution should I choose for my business?

Paper price tags compared to plastic cards

 

To comply with the latest legislation on food tags and to meet consumer expectations, businesses now need to show greater transparency in terms of pricing, ingredients and food security (product origins and allergens).

Although the law may seem restrictive, you could see it as the perfect opportunity to update your labelling methods. And just like any other business, customers will be greatly enticed by a professional and well-designed display.

Standardised, clean and easy-to-read labelling reflects both a professional and attractive image for your business. Finding an affordable and attractive medium for price tags that you can set up quickly and keep clean with minimal effort, while displaying all the required information in a limited space, is no easy thing.

Several solutions are available, even on a small budget, to help you combine efficiency and professionalism, while steering clear of disparate labelling.

Is paper less of a bother?

 

Still widely used, cardboard or paper labels are of course the cheapest solution (around €0.10 per tag), despite the following disadvantages:

• rapid disintegration due to humidity
• the time spent on producing and replacing them
• the difficulty of cutting them neatly
• they are easily stained and difficult to clean
• less flattering visual appearance

Note: the cost is very often under-estimated, because it does not take into account the time spent on making, cutting and laminating them.

Handwritten tags: is it practical?

 

Lots of small businesses believe that writing labels by hand is faster and makes updates more flexible. But handwritten text:

• may contain spelling mistakes
• can be difficult to read
• may not be attractive, depending on the writer
• can be rubbed off or smudged if written in chalk or with felt pen
• can be difficult to fit into the available space on the label
• may not be hygienic

Customised plastic cards, printed in store

Another alternative to paper labels has had great success in recent years:

PVC labels that you can print yourself with a small office printer. Very robust, with a professional appearance, and capable of holding all the information customers need, plastic tags are now revolutionising shelf labelling for fresh goods as much as electronic solutions, which are actually more complicated.

Advantages and disadvantages of plastic card printing

 

The main advantages of this system lie in the autonomy it offers businesses, and the visual appeal:

• Robust and easy to clean
• Time saving (roughly 30 minutes saving compared to other methods)
• Professional brand image
• Suitable for food contact
• Fully customisable labels
• Great responsiveness for updating prices, highlighting promotions, etc.

The need to use a computer and to reprint cards for every price change might be considered a disadvantage, as the cards are not rewritable. Having said that, there are small printer models on the market that can be kept in the corner of the office and connected to a PC. The software that comes with the printer means that labels can be created in a homogenous and automated way, as these solutions include card templates that can be easily updated. No specific IT knowledge is required. There are many card templates available with this software.

Plastic cards printed directly at the point of sale are therefore an effective solution compared to all the effort that goes into producing paper labels. The cost of double-sided printing is less than 25 eurocents.