5 Best Color Label Printers for Personal and Professional Use

Finding the best color label printer could make a big difference in your company’s productivity. And if you’re looking to purchase a device for personal use, you want to ensure that it is simple and easy to use.

As a team of experts helping businesses and individuals find the perfect label printer based on their needs, we’ve put together a list of the best color label printers to guide you in your search.

Afinia L301 Color Inkjet Label Printer

This compact printer offers efficient printing for product labels. It uses tried and true HP inkjet technology to provide stunning color labels at 4800 dpi.

Print labels up to six inches wide. Add an unwinder to hold label rolls for easier printing. The front features a touchscreen display.

The printer uses two ink cartridges: a tricolor cartridge and a black cartridge. You’ll find this more economical because it doesn’t require a mix of CMY to print in black, which uses up color ink faster, and costs more than using standard black ink. 

Use the printer for a variety of use cases, including:

• Matte
• High gloss
• Polypropylene
• Polyester
• Name badges
• Name tags 
• Vinyl label media

Afinia has produced a printer that balances price, performance and quality in a compact design that is ideal for personal or small business use. The long-term costs of owning this printer are also lower than some other models. If you print seasonally or in smaller quantities, this printer is ideal for you.

Primera LX500C Color Label Printer with Cutter

The labels this printer produces are simply beautiful as they are up to 4800 dpi. And for those with limited desk or surface space, this compact color printer is outstanding. It uses a single tricolor ink cartridge, which has cyan, magenta and yellow ink inside. You can print labels up to four inches wide. You’ll get reduced maintenance thanks to the print head being built into the ink cartridge. 

When you don’t need the cutter included, you can save a little money and get the standard LX500. Ink cartridges for the device are easy to find. And DuraFast can create custom labels for you to meet your unique needs. When you buy this device from DuraFast, you also get $250 in free labels when you use promo code LX500c during your purchase of the printer.

Afinia L701 Inkjet Color Label Printer

One of the benefits of the Afinia L701 is that it prints fan-folded labels, which can make your labels simpler to store and transport. As far as color label printers go, it is also very fast, which is great for commercial use. It is categorized as a mid-volume printer and rated for up to 8 inches per second.

It uses dye ink and can print labels up to 8.5 inches wide. The printer is the least expensive Memjet printer. Print up to 1600 x 1600 dpi for vivid labels using CMYK. And even if you choose to print black and white, you’ll get excellent contrast with rich blacks. 

The printer includes an unwinder for rolls up to six inches in diameter to feed the labels consistently and evenly into the printer.

VIPColor VP500 Memjet Color Label Printer

If you run a small business, you’ll find this printer ideal for your operations because it provides professional-quality color labels. This printer is considered high-speed and can print approximately 1,000 labels in 10 minutes. But just because it is fast doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality. It prints in 1600 x 1600 dpi. 

The printer uses 100ml ink tanks to reduce replacement costs and the frequency with which you must replace your ink cartridges. If you are printing food labels, this printer uses food-safe and environmentally-friendly dye ink.

You can print both 1D and 2D barcodes using this printer, allowing you to print labels with varying information, such as QR codes.

NeuraLabel Callisto High-Speed Commercial Color Inkjet Label Printer

This printer is ideal for large commercial operations where speed is crucial. You’ll pay far more for this printer than the others on this list, but with that, you get the capability to print up to 90 feet per minute with each label being high-quality and stunning color. It prints in high resolution of 2400 dpi.

Print labels that are up to 12 inches wide for more options than many of the smaller models. This printer uses pigment ink and can print from roll-fed or fanfold stocks. Print labels, barcodes, QR codes and other tracking information to track products through the supply chain. Use the printer for food industry uses thanks to its safe ink. 

Labels printed on this device are water, oil and chemical resistant, making it ideal for use in a variety of settings. If the price tag seems too high on this printer but you need commercial-quality labels for your products, consider leasing the printer through DuraFast Label Company.

What You Need to Know About Color Label Printers

Whether you’re looking to print name tags for your summer camp or high-quality product labels, a color label printer is the ideal tool for the job. Many printers can serve as black-and-white or color printers without being too expensive for black-and-white jobs. That way, you can use the same printer for the entire supply chain process for high-quality product labels and flawless shipping labels.

Some of the top names in color label printers include:

• Afinia Label
• Epson
• Primera
• VIPColor

What Can We Use Color Label Printers for?

Color label printers have many excellent use cases and can reduce overall printing expenses by eliminating the need to work with third-party print companies. Plus, adding a label printer to your business can allow you to print on demand and avoid upfront product expenses for printing hundreds of labels in advance.

Some benefits of purchasing a color label printer for business use include:

• Cost savings on external print expenses
• Custom label designs or sizes
• Reduced stress due to having greater control over the final product
• On-demand printing allows you to scale up or down quickly

While using a third-party print company for color labels works well for small businesses just getting started, it’s far better to begin printing in-house once your business is thriving.

Why Purchase Your Label Printers from DuraFast Label Company

DuraFast Label Company has been guiding the print industry and small businesses seeking in-house print solutions for decades. With experts who understand the printing niche, we can help small businesses avoid costly mistakes in selecting the wrong printer.

Click the chat button in the lower right corner to connect with an expert or call us at 866-299-0066. We’ll guide you to the right printer even if you choose to purchase it elsewhere. Or if purchasing a label printer is not realistic for you currently, we can help you lease a printer to reduce the upfront expenses associated with moving printing in-house.

Further reading:

• Are Wash-Off Materials the Next Trend for Product Labels?
• How Epson Cornered the Inkjet Printer Market
• Laser vs. Inkjet Printers: Which Option is Better?
• A Brief History of Inkjet Printer Technology
• Promotion: Save Big on the Epson TM-C3500 Inkjet Printer