Should You Use Film, Paper or Vinyl Labels?

Should you use film or paper or vinyl labels

See what type of material is best for your labeling needs

Avery is proud to offer a huge variety of online labels that are suited for a wide range of applications. When deciding which label material is right for you, it’s helpful to understand what makes each label material different. In this brief article, we discuss the difference between film, paper, and vinyl labels and what’s best for you to use for your products, packaging, or personal projects.

Film Labels

Film labels are durable and resistant to water, oils and sun

When you need a durable label to stand up to water, oils, and sun, then film labels are the way to go. They are waterproof, tearproof, and resistant to oils, UV, sun, and fading. They last longer than paper labels when exposed to the elements.

Whether you’re selling a product that will be stored in the refrigerator, freezer, shower, or bathroom cupboard, film labels will hold up. Condensation, sweating, and spilled contents won’t affect the label, so you’ll have a professional-looking label with no running ink or unreadable labels.

Film labels are great for items such as jams, jellies, honey, sauces, and other food items. And they’re ideal to use for beer, wine, and water bottle labels that might be iced down. They’re also perfect for shampoos, soaps, lotions, ointments, and essential oils.

Avery offers film labels on both sheets and rolls depending on your specific need. You can order premium film labels professionally printed by Avery, or buy printable film labels by the sheet or in Avery retail packs.

WePrint also offers a squeezable conformable film that prevents wrinkling and peeling on squeeze bottles and other curved or oddly shaped containers. Clear film is a great choice when you want to add a no-label look to clear containers.

Film labels offer:

  • Tear resistance
  • Water resistance
  • Oil resistance
  • Scuff resistance
  • Fade resistance
  • Long shelf life
  • Strong foundation for laminates
  • Smooth application on curved containers

Vinyl Labels

Choose vinyl labels for extreme environments

Vinyl materials are ideal for outdoor applications or when the labels may come into contact with extreme environments. Available on WePrint sheets and on custom stickers, Avery vinyl materials feature a strong adhesive that prevents lifting and peeling on most flat surfaces. Durable and waterproof, they feature a premium UV coating that provides protection against ink scuffing, label tearing, abrasions, and extreme temperatures. Once they are applied, they’re guaranteed for 18 months’ removability from painted metal, glass, and most plastic.

You can buy die-cut or kiss-cut custom stickers that you can personalize to create awesome logo stickers, laptop stickers, car stickers & more. Order them in your shape & size up to 8 x 10 inches. They’re great for giving out as promotions, add-on sales at POS or as free gifts in shipments.

Our custom ultra-durable vinyl sheet labels provide a photo-quality, high-gloss finish. The 6 ml. vinyl is waterproof & resists oils, tearing, fading & abrasions. Great for product labeling indoors & outdoors, crafting, organization, and more. Avery WePrint also offers glossy removable vinyl sheet labels that remove cleanly with no sticky residue. All of our vinyl labels are great for products, packaging, and anything that needs extra durability.

Vinyl labels offer:

  • Tear resistance
  • Water resistance
  • Oil resistance
  • Scuff resistance
  • Fade resistance
  • Long shelf life

Paper Labels

Paper labels are best for indoor applications

Paper substrates are the most popular labels and are generally best for indoor applications. They offer a relatively short lifespan and can only handle limited exposure to moisture, chemicals, abrasion, and extreme temperatures. However, paper labels are available in a wider range of colors than film labels and they usually cost less. Also, you can add laminates and varnishes as topcoats to make the paper labels more durable but they still won’t be as durable as film or vinyl.

You can buy Avery paper labels in a variety of ways. Choose Avery WePrint to order professionally printed paper labels. Or order our blank labels by the sheet or our in-store retail packs.

Paper labels offer:

  • Cost-effective solution
  • Good ink adhesion
  • A handcrafted or vintage look

In conclusion

Once you’ve decided on your label material, see what label shape is right for your product and learn how to choose the correct label size. And if you have any questions along the way, please call our helpful Consumer Care Center at (800) 942-8379 and they’ll be happy to help you with your selection. They can also so help you with your design template and ordering.

Author: Melanie Neff

Melanie has an extensive writing background built on an impressive journalism foundation. As a reporter for USA Today and The Los Angeles Times for almost 20 years, she covered everything from the Los Angeles riots, fires, and floods to LA Lakers, Raiders and Clippers games and movie premieres. She followed her newspaper career with a long tenure covering commercial real estate financing and development. Melanie has been writing about small business marketing and labeling needs for the last 12 years. She thrives on reading, researching and expanding her knowledge of everything going on in today's business world and looks to provide the most valuable information she can to her readers.